Struggling to know what core exercises to do during your pregnancy?!
You're in the right place!!
There is so much information out there and you will often see on Google, "do this, don't do that." The truth is you don't need to fear training your core in pregnancy. There are so many benefits to properly training your core and pelvic floor, including:
Improved posture
Reduced back pain and midback/neck pain
Improved pressure management
Reduced urine leakage (incontinence)
Minimize severity of diastasis recti (abdominal separation) and facilitate faster postpartum recovery
Improved effectiveness of pushes during birth
So, what should core training look like in pregnancy?!
First and foremost, we have to start with learning how to properly coordinate and connect to our deep core system, which is made up of our diaphragm, deep abdominals (TA), and pelvic floor muscles. We can do this through learning proper 360 breathing/deep core connection.
360 breathing:
Inhale through nose -- feel rib cage expand 360 degrees (belly, back, sides, chest expand) and pelvic floor lengthens/descends
Exhale through mouth -- from the 'bottom up' -- pelvic floor gently squeezes and lifts as if you were sucking a thick milkshake up through the vaginal opening & draw your hip bones together in front (or visualize hugging baby up and in towards your spine during pregnancy)
Here is a great place to start:Side lying 360 breathing
Building a core circuit in pregnancy:
It's important to train the entire abdominal wall during pregnancy and incorporate different planes of movement! We want to train rotation, anti-rotation, extension, etc.
The biggest thing to pay attention to would be if you see excessive doming or bulging along your linea alba (midline). This is a form of connective tissue where the rectus abdominis muscles join together along the midline. When there are increases in pressure in our system like abdominal exercises, sitting up from a deep chair or out of bed, or even coughing/sneezing, we can get some doming/bulging in this area. During pregnancy, we just want to minimize this as much as possible to minimize severity of diastasis recti!
*A good rule of thumb is if the doming/coning is firm/hard to touch and doesn't go away with changing your breath or core engagement pattern, then it's probably time to modify!
Here are some examples of core & pelvic floor exercises I love for pregnancy that incorporate different planes of motion to strengthen the entire abdominal wall:
Hands and knees deep core connection - 5 breaths
Split stance pallof press + rotation - 6 per side
Tall kneeling band pull down + adductors - 8 per side
I hope this helps give you an idea of how you can train your core and pelvic floor during pregnancy and not to fear it!
If you want more guidance, education, and to learn specific, intentional strength training workouts to support your core and pelvic floor during pregnancy and learn how to prepare your birth --> My Core to Floor Holistic Prenatal Program is for you!
You will find over 75+ exercise videos and workouts to follow for each trimester so you can stay strong and active throughout your pregnancy. You get lifetime access to any changes/updates and email access to me with any questions that come up as you navigate the program! You can learn more information here!
Dr. Kaitlin
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