Supermodel Gisele Bündchen has revealed the five exercises she credits with rebuilding her core after welcoming her third child, sharing them with her followers on Instagram. The 46-year-old former Victoria's Secret Angel explained that she began the routine about two months after giving birth and now feels her core is “much stronger now”.
Exercises performed in bear plank position
All five movements use the same all-fours starting position, known as a bear plank, with knees and hips aligned and wrists under the shoulders. The first exercise involves lifting the knees off the floor and arching the back upwards in slow, controlled contractions before returning the knees to the floor.
The second move repeats the action more quickly, spreading the knees apart and bringing them together near the floor. The third keeps the knees together and twists to the side with each breath. The fourth hovers the knees just above the floor and moves the feet side to side, one at a time. The final exercise keeps the same pose and moves the feet forward toward the chest and back, similar to mountain climbers.
Progress and advice from the model
Bündchen said she started with five repetitions per set and gradually increased as her strength returned, now completing sets of 20. She encouraged others to focus on contracting the core and “squeezing everything together” to protect the back during the movements.
In her caption, she wrote: “After my last baby, I started these five slow, intentional movements around eight weeks postpartum. No traditional crunches, just gentle, conscious work that helped me reconnect with my core and they have been a game changer for me. Even now at 45 I feel super strong.” She added that she took almost a full year to return to regular workouts and believes slowing down helped her rebuild her deeper core and protect her back.
Family influence and career background
Recently, the mother of three shared a rare glimpse of her youngest child following her workout, leaning on dumbbells as she exercised. She wrote: “They’re learning from us even when we don’t realize it. Moments like this remind me that my actions matter more than what I say, because so much of who they’re becoming is shaped by the example they see every day.”
Bündchen rose to international fame as a Victoria's Secret Angel in the early 2000s and topped Forbes' list of highest-paid models for years before stepping off the catwalk in 2015. She initially stepped back to focus on raising her children, Benjamin, 16, and Vivian, 13, with ex-husband Tom Brady.
