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My top 4 prenatal core exercises

Many pregnant women get scared to do core exercises during their pregnancy as there’s a lot of misinformation out there that doing so will ‘create or worsen a diastasis recti (tummy gap.) Most exercises are safe to carry on doing however they will likely need to be modified rather than eliminated as you progress through your pregnancy.


It’s SO important to keep training and strengthening your core during your pregnancy. The core provides stability and protects our spine and it’s essential to load it and challenge it in different ways to strengthen your body as the baby grows.


If you notice any pain or pressure in the pelvic floor or bulging/coning or doming along your linea alba (line running down the middle of your tummy) then the exercise will need to be scaled back. For example if you’re in your second trimester and you’re using a raised surface like a chair to do incline high plank toe taps and you notice some doming then try using a sturdy table or a higher up surface so there is less pressure on your abdominals.


Here are 4 of my favourite exercises that I do with my prenatal clients:-


Elevated plank alternating leg lifts

Half side plank row

Blast off elevated plank

Palloff press


Make sure you breathe out on exertion (the hardest bit of the exercise) and engage your core. If you’d like a description of how to do each exercise just pop in the comments below!





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