3 of the Best Workouts for Pregnant Women
Pregnancy is a time when many women feel totally lost when it comes to exercise. Even if you have been to hundreds of workout classes or have always been a runner, pregnancy changes everything. All the sudden your body starts to feel unfamiliar as it grows to accommodate your baby. Or maybe you read online about all the things NOT to do while pregnant and you’re feeling scared to do anything at all! But the truth is that 150 minutes (or more) of exercise per week during your pregnancy can have many positive effects for you and your baby. Reduced risk of gestational diabetes, healthy birth weight, stress management, better sleep, and maintaining muscle mass are just a few of the benefits of exercising while pregnant. I’m sharing 3 of my favorite exercises to coach with my pregnant clients, and why I love them!
Connection Breath
Like all breath work, the Connection Breath is less of an ‘exercise’ and more of a practice. The foundation of what I teach every pregnant and postnatal client how to do is using this breath. The Connection Breath is a method of breathing that helps you to utilize 360° breathing while consciously integrating the pelvic floor. This breath is not only centering but can also aid in the birthing process and ease pelvic floor symptoms during your postpartum recovery. Want to learn how? Watch this video from Girls Gone Strong!
2. Hip Thrust
I’ll be honest - this is one of my favorite exercises in general! But I especially like to coach it during pregnancy workouts. The hip thrust is a glutes, hamstring, and back dominant exercise. This is important because these are key areas to work on strengthening during and after pregnancy. Another great part of this movement during pregnancy is that most people will do it with an added weight at the hips - but for my pregnant clients, all the extra weight you need to make this challenging is right there! A growing belly becomes the perfect level of challenge as pregnancy progresses. See how to do the hip thrust in the video below.
3. Bicep Curl to Press
Typically bicep curls aren’t my go-to exercise. But for moms, or soon-to-be moms, bicep curls are actually super functional! Moving a baby around between different positions, holding a baby while feeding, and lifting a diaper bag up to your shoulder are all movements that include a bicep curl. The stronger we get in the gym, the easier your day gets (at least the physical challenge of keeping up with a baby!) I like to combine a bicep curl and a shoulder press to make this move just that much more of a challenge, and prepare you for heavy overhead movements - like piggy back rides!
There are hundreds of amazing exercises you can do while you’re pregnant. These are just a few of my favorites! And truth be told, the list of ‘absolutely nots’ while pregnant is relatively short for most women. Try some of these if you are working out while pregnant - I hope you feel amazing afterwards! And remember that 150 minutes per week of any exercise at all is going to benefit you and your baby - so get moving!
If you’d like to learn more about exercising while pregnant or postpartum exercise, shoot me an email! I also offer in-person training in Austin, Texas as well as virtual training for women all over the country. If you like training in a group, sign up for my 45 minute virtual group class on Fridays at 12:00pm CST.
