4 Must-Do Pregnancy Exercises

It’s no secret that I’m consistent with my workouts. In fact, I’m rigid. Working out keeps me sane and strong. And that doesn’t change when I’m pregnant. But obviously, my exercises do.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll have noticed that I am still very much working out while pregnant. I worked out and maintained a fitness routine with baby bear right up until I gave birth- and ideally, this little cub will be no different.

Obviously, as I progress modifications are made. Part of working out means that you need to choose safe pregnancy exercises (see below!). My weights, intensity and overall volume decrease depending on how I’m feeling. But I still get in a workout most days. The truth is, there are a lot of benefits to staying fit while pregnant:

• Fitness is a great stress reliever
• Exercising correctly while pregnant can help reduce pregnancy-associated pain
• Staying active during pregnancy helps prepare your body for the workout that is labor
• Staying fit while pregnant allows your body to recover better post-baby.

Personally, I love all of these benefits but my favorite was being able to bounce back pretty well post-labor- something I hadn’t expected.

As I mentioned above, staying fit while expecting doesn’t have to be a big event. Find an activity you enjoy and rock it. 

For obvious reasons, working out at home is much easier while pregnant! And you truly don’t need much (least of a fancy gym membership!). I normally recommend my mamas-to-be grab a red strength band and green mini band and that’s it. Both of these are cost-effective, take up zero room and allow you to target your postural muscles much better. You can grab the bands at Prosourcefit.com and use code mamabearfit to save some money!

Hehe, the title of the blog post is slightly misleading because while these exercises have a ton of benefits during pregnancy, there’s no perfect one.

Each pregnancy is different, each body is different and each DAY is different. Which means, there’s no one size fits all approach. Obviously check with your doc before starting anything new but also know that some days these exercises might work for you and some days they may not.

Or depending on where the baby sits a certain variation might not work. Work WITH your body and not against it 🙂 Remember, goal number one is a healthy mama and baby and feeling good.

Safe Exercises While Pregnant # 1 Rows

With pregnancy comes a shift in posture and your center of gravity. Shoulders slowly round forward and naturally, you have a bit more of a swayback. This can cause a lot of back pain.

Strengthening the back muscles helps keep your body in better alignment and prevent some of the pressure loading onto your back. The stronger your back muscles are the more they will combat the increasing size of your chest and eventually, holding a baby in front of you for hours on end.

Rows are an amazing way to improve the upper posterior muscles. I adore weighted rows but trx or resistance band rows. Standing, seated or almost any variation will benefit your muscles.

Exercise #2 Face Pulls

One of my all-time favorite safe exercises while pregnant and another exercise for the posterior chain. Face pulls target the upper body, specifically the back, shoulders, and arms. All of which you need to improve posture and remain strong to carry a baby.

Keeping up your strength while pregnant will make it easier once you have a baby to tote around all day. Plus, training the back of the body helps combat some of the pressure from the front of the body expanding.

Exercise #3 Squats

This is a common one said by midwives and it’s true! Squats are great while pregnant. Again, there’s lots of different variations to chose from (weighted/bodyweight/assisted/banded etc) so find one that feel comfortable and is doable for your pregnancy.

Squats help open the hips and strengthen the lower torso. They’re a functional movement which means we use them every day. Having a strong squat foundation will make day to day tasks easier. Plus, they prep your body for birth by helping to open the hips.

When concentrating, squats are also an amazing way to engage and train your pelvic floor muscles as well which will help your body post-labor. If you need to learn more about the pelvic floor, why it matters and why you should get it checked out, go read my interview with a Pelvic Floor Physio!

Exercise #4 Clamshells

An eighties workout video exercise if there ever was one. But the truth is, clams are an amazing exercise to perform while pregnant. In fact, training the glutes is easily the biggest thing I would recommend in pregnancy.

Clamshells target the glutes and hips. They help strengthen the pelvic floor and stabilize the pelvis as it expands. By targeting the glutes you’re helping to alleviate back and hip pain from poor posture and as your pelvic girdle prepares for the baby (prenatal massages can also greatly help reduce pregnancy symptoms!)

Also, the glutes are one of the muscles in the “pelvic floor” so the more you activate them the better off you’ll be after the baby arrives.

Don’t forget to pin my favorite pregnancy exercises!

Training while pregnant doesn’t have to be intense but there should be an emphasis placed on safe exercises while pregnant. Focus on staying fit, active and comfortable. The goal of any training program should be to prepare for labor and recovery while alleviating pregnancy symptoms. These four exercises are fantastic for pregnant ladies as their body expands. Take it slow, find a variation that works for you and stay active.