The Best Hip Exercises While Pregnant (to prepare for labor and postpartum)

Use these hip exercises while pregnant to reduce pregnancy-related pain as well as prepare your body for labor. Pregnancy hip exercises should be low-impact and help the mom to be feel good, not place extra pressure on her. Glute exercises are beneficial as a new mom and hip exercises when pregnant help the expecting mom reap those benefits early.

Hip Exercises While Pregnant & Staying Active

Staying active while pregnant has SO MANY BENEFITS. And while being active during pregnancy looks different for every mama (especially in the first trimester when life is brutal), there are a few key elements almost all mamas should try to tie in. 

For many mamas, it’s a big struggle to keep up with their workout routine while pregnant. And I totally get it. I was able to continue to work out in my second trimester and third trimesters but it was hip exercises while pregnant I credit for a lot less pain and a lot better recovery postpartum.

Before we delve into the good stuff I want to remind expecting mamas to two things: 

The first is that every pregnancy is different and every situation is different. Consult with your doc or before randomly doing an exercise (especially if you weren’t overly active when you got pregnant!)

The second is that I like to advise pregnant clients to be “active” and not “fit”. Meaning: your goals have shifted. You should not be worried about aesthetics, performance, or personal records. Instead, move because it feels good. Walk more, take up prenatal yoga etc. It shouldn’t be about intensity but about preparing for labor, postpartum, and general enjoyment.

 

The Importance Of Glute Work & Hip Exercises While Pregnant

If you follow this blog, you’ll know I touch on glutes (your bum muscles!) a lot. From Why You Need To Train Them, my favorite glute exercises, and some pretty badass glute finishers. 

And I especially love hip exercises during pregnancy! In pregnancy as well as in recovery, stong hips:

• can help prevent back pain 
• They’re a muscle that contributes to the elusive “pelvic floor” you hear so much about. Your pelvic floor is essentially like a big sling that helps keep your internal organs where they should be. So you can see what having a strong one might be beneficial (learn more about your pelvic floor and why you’ll want to have it checked out postpartum here)
• The glutes are hip and pelvic stabilizers. As our babes grow our posture shifts placing more stress through the back and lower torso. Our hips also begin to widen in order to prepare for birth. All of this is expected and normal.

However, if your hips are chronically loose, you’re going to have trouble stabilizing which is going to cause pain, discomfort, and problems with movement. Keeping the muscles around and supporting the hips and pelvis strong is one way to prevent these issues.

So what’s a pregnant mama to do? Build up some strength! Below are a few of my favorite hip exercises during pregnancy. These exercises are low impact and require only your bodyweight or use of a Green mini band. Nevertheless, each and every pregnancy is different so double-check with your doctor, midwife or osteo if you’re struggling.

A Quick Note On Glute Training

One major benefit of working the glutes muscles is that you feel them working within 1-2 repetitions. The glutes muscles not only change shape when contracting but they burn after a few reps.

If you’re not FEELING the glutes work, your position is probably off. If this is the case, tweak the move until you feel it where you should. As with any at-home, full-body workout, engaging the muscles properly is far better than going through the motions just do to do them.

 

Hip Exercises While Pregnant: The Glute Bridge

Glute bridges while pregnant are best done in the first trimester when laying in a supine position on the floor is still comfortable and are one of my favorite hip exercises for pregnancy. It targets the main glute muscle so long as you move through your hips and not your low back.

Rep Range: glute bridges can be used in higher volume so a range of 15-20 for two sets is great. Add in a pause at the top to really feel your glutes contracting.

Notes: Adding a Green mini band.  right below the knees will help target the outer hips as well as the main glute muscle.

As you can see, I was able to perform glute bridges well into my third trimester as laying supine was alright for me. This isn’t the norm as laying on your back can cause restricted blood flow to the babe after first trimester.

 

Quadruped Kickback

A hip exercise that requires a stable core! You’ll be on all fours on this one and while the main goal of the exercise is to move through the hips, the challenge while pregnant is to engage the front abs a bit and not allow excessive movement through the low back.

Make sure to keep the foot close to the ground and think of pushing back with your heel while squeezing the bum muscles to extend the hips.

Rep Range: 10-12 repetitions per leg so long as the low back can stay stable

 

Hip Thrust

This is a one-up on the glute bridge and targets the same area. Hip thrusts while pregnant are best performed in the second trimester when laying flat on your back can cause problems. This exercise isn’t great for those in the third trimester though as the belly begins to get in the way.

Rep Range: 15-20 reps for two sets. Pause at the top to get the most of the exercise.

Notes: Adding a Green mini band.  right below the knees will help target the outer hips as well as the main glute muscle.

 

Clamshells

This hip exercise while pregnant targets the outer hips which provide more stabilization to the pelvis. You’ve got to really ensure you squeeze the glutes to open the knees instead of rotating the entire pelvis.

This pregnancy hip exercise is great throughout all trimesters so long as there is no discomfort from training unilaterally (one side/limb at a time)

Rep Range: 15 repetitions for two sets.

Notes: Add a green mini band above or below the knees will provide additional resistance and strengthen the hips further.

 

Side-Lying Abductions

This exercise is exactly like the clamshells but with a longer lever. Again, the goal is to use the bum muscle and the hips to lift the leg- not to swing the leg up high or roll the hips open. This exercise is great throughout the entire pregnancy so long as there is no discomfort from training unilaterally (one side/limb at a time).

This can also be done standing which can sometimes be a bit better for mamas in the third trimester as getting up and down off the floor can be an issue.

Rep Range: 15 repetitions for two sets.

Notes: Add a green mini band around the ankles that will provide additional resistance and strengthen the hips further.

 

Kneeling Squat

This exercise looks exactly as it sounds. You’ll be on your knees (use a mat!) and coming into a squat position. The difference is that you need to hinge from the hips so you lean forward a bit versus drop straight down. From there, engages the glutes and extend the hips by squeezing your bum and coming into a posterior pelvic tilt.

This articular hip exercise will be cut out towards the end of pregnancy though as hinging forward becomes more and more problematic. At that time, working on standing posterior pelvic tilts is a great way to get the glutes fired up.

Rep range: 12- 15 repetitions

 

Banded Squat

Another great squat exercise this one can be done throughout all trimesters (though you’ll have to widen your stance in the third). The band helps provide external resistance to the squat and forces you to use your glutes to push against it thus strengthening the outside of the hips.

Rep Range: 10-12 repetitions for two sets.

 

BONUS: Squat With Towel Slide

Squats during pregnancy are great to help build muscle around the hips and strength through the lower body. Adding in a sideways slide makes the exercise a bit more challenging and targets the outer hips more. This movement is perfect in the first and second trimester but becomes a bit too unstable with the growing belly by the third. It requires a lot of stability on the stationary leg and hip musculature and you’ll want to make sure that the knee isn’t caving in.

Rep Range: 8 slides per squat for two sets.

 

Hip Exercises While Pregnant: Mini Workout

Below is an example of how you can use pregnancy hip exercises. While you can easily perform them one by one for 2-3 sets, you’ll get more band for your buck taking a few of them and making them into a mini circuit.

For the workout below, perform each exercise back to back for the prescribed number of reps. Don’t rest until the last exercise. Then, rest and repeat for a total of 2-3 times.

This mini glute circuit can be done 2-3 times per week and is a great way to get hip exercises in while pregnant!

A1. Banded Squat x10
A2. Kickback x12/leg

A3. Clams x15/leg

A4. Hip Thrust x15

A5. Abductions x15/leg

 

One Last Tip For Pregnancy

For all the expecting mamas out there looking for natural baby products… they do exist! Personally, I am a cloth diapering, DIY baby homemade baby lotion with beeswax fanatic.

But if you’re not into the DIY aspect check out the baby products from Primally Pure (especially the baby balm!). They’re all-natural, skin-safe, and made with ingredients I can both pronounce and buy. Use code fitasamamabear to save yourself 10% on your entire first order. There are some pretty wicked all-natural beauty products for us mamas on there too 😉

Don’t forget to pin these hip exercises while pregnant!

These pregnancy hip exercises don’t have to be done all at once (though they can). You can pick 2-3 of them and work them into your current programs or make a circuit from them and perform the circuit a few days per week. There are lots of ways to go about using them.

Keeping the hips strong and stable throughout pregnancy is hard- your body is working against you. But it is doable! Staying strong through that musculature will help lessen discomfort and chance of injury as well as speed along your post-labor recovery. Rock these exercises throughout your pregnancy and you’ll be set!