Prenatal Refresher

For those of you who are pregnant and still desire to be active, click HERE for prenatal exercises.  Be sure to glide and click your mouse over the titles of each exercise and stretch to see either a picture and/or video.

For helpful prenatal information, such as appropriate blood pressure levels, click HERE.

The Fire Hydrant......ha



As hilarious as this exercise is, it's challenging and works!

Ha.

Muscles Used

-Gluteus maximus, medius, minimus

-Quadriceps

-Hamstrings (slightly)

-Lower back

-Chest, shoulders, core (slightly, for stability)

Daily Use of Muscles

-Sitting/standing

-Walking/running

-Balance, kneeling, going up/down stairs

Things To Remember

-Try not to let your back sink or stick out...keep it straight by pulling your belly button into your spine

-Look straight down at the floor to keep your neck in line with your spine

-Lift your leg a little lower than hip height

-This is also a great prenatal exercise for the lower body

-Try doing 3 sets of 10 reps on each side

-Breathe!

Fire Hydrant

Have fun!

Side-lying Hip Adduction

This exercise is wonderful for your inner thigh muscles. It also helps keep your lower body and core muscles in check by giving them extra support. Hint: this is also a great exercise if you are pregnant! 

Check it out, and try it out!

Muscles Used

-Gracilis

-Sartorius

-Pectinius

-Adductor longus, brevis, and magnus

-Quadriceps (slightly)

Daily Use of Muscles

-Walking

-Running

-Kicking

-Standing

-Sitting/squatting

Things To Remember

-be sure to lean slightly back, but not too far back, on your stabilizing leg

-remember to flex your foot (bringing your toes in to your shin) and lead with your heel

-let your head rest on your arm; do not strain your neck
-notice in the video, the person's other leg is crossed over the working leg; you can do either position, whichever is more comfortable to you
-do not lift it too far off the ground; it's not a very big movement

Side Lying Hip Adduction

Have fun!

Table-Top Opposite Arm & Leg Lift

Working the core, upper, and lower body, this exercise is excellent. It also challenges your balance!

This is also a phenomenal exercise when it comes to being pregnant. It targets many muscles that will be used during labor and childbirth, and it also helps strengthen those areas where women tend to be weaker.

Have fun!

Muscles Used

-Pectoralis (chest)

-Shoulders (deltoids)

-Biceps

-Triceps

-Abdominals and upper, mid, and lower back

-Glutes

-Hamstrings

-Quadriceps

Daily Use of Muscles

-Walking

-Pushing, pulling

-Squating

-Reaching

-Standing, walking upstairs/downstairs

-Balance

-Coughing, laughing

Things To Remember

-look directly at the floor, not ahead or to the side; try to keep your neck in line with your spine

-remember to breathe!

-try to keep your arms slightly bent

-do not let your back sag or round up...keep it straight!

-flex your foot (bringing your toes into your shin)

-try 3 sets of 8 lifts on each side (be sure to alternate sides!)

Table Top Opposite Arm & Leg Lift

Video

Prenatal Stretches

In addition to keeping your muscles strong during your pregnancy, it's also important to try to keep up flexibility. This is especially crucial if you're wanting to have an active labor and do things like squatting and such. However, be sure to use discretion when it comes to how far you stretch a joint and muscle. During pregnancy, your body releases a hormone called Relaxin, which in turn causes an increase in range in motion for the joints. So pay attention to the flexibility of your joints, and try not to hyperextend. Only go to a point of gentle tension and hold the stretch for at least 10-20 seconds. It's also important to remember not to bounce, also known as ballistic stretching, which can cause injury and strain.

Listed here are some stretches that are helpful in creating and/or maintaining basic flexibility crucial to pregnancy, labor, and delivery:

Downward Facing Dog

Starting in an all 4's position, or tabletop, pushing your arms into the ground and pressing your chest toward your thighs, tuck your toes under and press your heels into the floor. Try to keep your heels as close to the ground as possible.

Modified Downward Facing Dog

Instead of being on the floor, use a table, chair, or bench.

Video of downward facing dog

Simple Cross-legged Twist

Sitting in easy pose, keeping a straight back and twisting from the waist, bring opposite hand to opposite knee and do a gentle twist, stretching your back and slightly your abdomen.

Video of easy sitting twist pose

Cat/Cow

Starting on all 4's, let your belly fall closer to the ground, making your back into a U-shape, inhaling. Then round out your back and let your head and neck drop down, exhaling.

Video of cat/cow

Elevated Butterfly Stretch

Keeping your upper body elevated by pillows or anything else, bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open to the sides. 

Video of butterfly stretch

Again, be sure not to stretch a joint too much or too far. Your body is quite vulnerable during pregnancy, and it's important to keep it strong and yet flexible. 

Prenatal Cardio Exercises

Cardiovascular Exercises


In order for your body to stay fit and healthy throughout pregnancy, it's important to keep your cardiovascular fitness strong and healthy.  Birthing a baby is all about endurance, thus making low or no impact cardiovascular exercise crucial in an expecting mother's daily routine.


The following exercises are acceptable for prenatal cardio:

-Walking

-Running/Jogging (shouldn't attempt in last half of 2nd trimester-3rd trimester)

-Low/no-impact aerobics/on fitball

-Low impact dancing/zumba

-Cycling/stationary bike

-Swimming/Aquatic classes

Suggested Amount of Exercise

-20-30 minutes with the ability to talk comfortably

Prenatal Abdominal Exercises

Abdominals

Although you won't be doing any intense abdominal exercise while you're pregnant, it's important to keep your core muscles strong by doing low impact exercises.  The following exercises will help maintain some core strength during your pregnancy with little stress and risk for your belly and baby:

-Pelvic tilts- lying on back, seated, or standing (should be done seated or standing in 3rd trimester)

-Crunches equal to or less than 45 degrees (be sure to keep chin off chest, look at ceiling, and lift with shoulders) - lying on back, seated, or on stability ball.

-Diagonal crunches - opposite hand to opposite knee (shouldn't attempt in 3rd trimester, unless using stabilized fitball)

-Standing oblique squeezes - feel free to hold on to a wall, chair, table, etc. For women in their 3rd trimester, just bring your elbow towards your hip, squeezing your oblique, leaving your foot on the floor.

Suggested sets and repetitions

1-2 sets of 5-15 repetitions


How To Check Separation of Abdominal Muscles Each Week

Lying on your back, keep your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.  Bring your chin to chest, raise your head and shoulders 6-8 inches off of the floor.  Hold one arm out in front of you, and with the other hand check for a gap (you will feel this during the 1st few months of pregnancy and/or postpartum) or a bulge (you will feel this in the last 3 months of your pregnancy) in the middle of your abdominals.

Avoid severe separation by doing a mild abdominal workout with your hands crossed over your abdominals to help bring your muscles together.

Lower Body Prenatal Exercises

Working the lower body muscles during pregnancy is always crucial for the following reasons:

-strengthens joints and surrounding muscles

-improves posture

-lessens joint/hip/back pain

-increases muscular endurance

-helps quicken healing time after birth

Doing these exercises just a few times a week will only help and improve your body and health during pregnancy.

Gracilis and Adductors (Inner thigh)

    *standing leg adduction (rotate leg from hip to point toes to the side, and lift diagonally)

    *inner thigh adduction (leg under top leg lift slightly off ground)

    *squats

    *lunges

    *leg adducting machine

Iliotibial Band and Abductors (Outer thigh)

    *standing leg abduction - be sure to rotate from the hip to point toes inward

    *side lying leg abduction - again, be sure to rotate from the hip to point toes toward the ground

    *"fire hydrant" hip abduction 

Anterior Tibialis (Shin-front of lower leg)

    *seated toe raises - can also be done with resistance band (dorsiflexion)

 Quadriceps (Front of thigh)

    *squats (keep weight in heels, and sit back, making sure knees don't go past ankles)

    *lunges

    *knee extensions - seated or on a machine

    *leg press - can do it on machine; if belly gets in the way, feel free to find a standing leg press

    *leg lifts (lying on back, making sure toes are pointing up; shouldn't be done in 3rd trimester, instead do them standing or sitting, and make sure toes are pointing forward)

Hamstrings (Back of thigh)

    *standing hamstring curls

    *hamstring curl machine

    *hamstring curl on stability ball

Gastrocnemius (Calf-back of lower leg)

    *calf raises - on step or on floor- (toes point forward, out, and in)

    *squated calf raises - calf raises in a wide squated position

Gluteus Maximus, Medius, Minimus (Buttocks)

    *squats

    *lunges

    *standing leg extensions

    *table top (on all 4's) leg extension (1 leg is straight, and lifted up to the ceiling)- can also be done standing, bent over using a chair or table for support, and lifting leg backwards.

    *bridge (shouldn't be done in 3rd trimester-can be done standing, doing buttock clenches/squeezes)

Suggested sets and repetitions

~1-2 sets of 5-10reps/day

Upper Body Prenatal Exercises

Keeping your upper body strong during pregnancy is crucial. You're able to pick things up more efficiently (i.e. children, groceries, etc.), have less back pain and a stronger core with better posture.  Only a few times a week is all you need to maintain some strength for your upper body.


Biceps (Front of arm)

    *bicep curls - can also use with dumbbells, just use same form

    *hammer curls

    *wall push-ups - fyi- the further away from the wall your feet are, the harder the exertion will be

    *wall plank - same motion position as wall pushups, just don't lower your body towards the wall

Triceps (Back of arm)

    *tricep kickbacks - fyi - the more you bend over at the waist, the more the muscle has to work

    *overhead tricep extensions - fyi- can be done with a body bar or dumbbells

    *bench dips

    *wall push-ups

    *wall plank

Deltoids (Shoulders)

    *frontal shoulder raises (thumbs up) - fyi- try not swing and sway, and only bring weights up to or lower than shoulder height

    *lateral shoulder raises (thumbs up)

    *frontal shoulder raises (palms down)

    *lateral shoulder raises (palms down)

    *wall plank/push-ups

Pectoralis Major/Minor (Chest)

    *wall plank/push-ups

    *seated/standing chest press with resistance band

    *incline chest press - fyi- can also be done with a bench for more stability

Trapezius (Upper back)

    *standing bent over flys - fyi- use the back of chair for support doing one arm at a time

    *wall plank/push-ups

    *seated/standing pull backs using a machine or resistance band

    *seated/standing military press

Latissimus Dorsi ("Bra fat")

    *lat pull downs - can also do on a machine

    *lat rows (either seated or standing, bent over using a bench/chair for support)

    *wall plank/push-ups

Suggested sets and repetitions

-1-2 sets of 5-10reps/day

-stay between 3-8 lbs.

Things To Remember During Prenatal Exercises

DO:

-start slow!

-be sure to relax and stretch before and after exercise

-maintain correct posture by tilting pelvis and straightening back

DON'T:

-never exercise to the point of exhaustion/breathlessness

-avoid exercise in hot weather and rocky terrain (a woman's joints are more vulnerable to over-extending during her pregnancy because of over-excretion of the hormone, Relaxin, which is the connective tissue relaxer)

-no contact sports

-only do strength and cardio training to tone and to maintain current fitness level; no lifting overhead, bending over too low or too far, twisting, or heavy twisting of the abdominal region

-in the 2nd and 3rd trimester, avoid lying on back because it decreases the blood flow to the womb

-exercise 3 times/week; DO NOT exceed 5 times/week of aerobic exercise

-avoid bouncing and arching back

-do not bring feet over hips (i.e. the bicycle ab exercise); NO crunches past 45 degrees

-avoid precise balancing in later terms

-avoid lying on stomach

Appropriate Weight Gain Based on BMI

-underweight - gain 28-40 lbs.

-normal weight - gain 25-35 lbs.

-overweight - gain 15-25 lbs.

-obese - gain 11-20 lbs.

Normal Prenatal Blood Pressures

-Average - 110/70

-Normal - 120/80

-Hypertension - 140/90

*blood pressure is usually lower because of progesterone (relaxer hormone); it sometimes can cause dizziness

*watch out for signs of preeclampsia: dizziness, breathlessness, tiredness