How To Train Your Core During Pregnancy
We talk a lot about training your core postpartum, but what about during pregnancy? Core work is often overlooked during pregnancy — especially with a growing belly — but maintaining a strong core is actually very important! Not only can core strength benefit your pregnancy, but it can also increase your chances of a smooth delivery and getting your core strength back after pregnancy.
Here’s how to safely train your core during pregnancy — plus why it’s so important you prioritize core work.
Stay Connected With Your Core During Pregnancy
When you're pregnant, your core muscles stretch and weaken as your baby grows and your uterus expands. Since your abdominal muscles help support your back muscles, having a strong core can help reduce lower back pain during pregnancy. Weak pelvic floor muscles can also contribute to pelvic girdle pain — pain around the pelvis and groin. Research shows women who strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which are part of your core, can significantly decrease pelvic girdle pain.
As your abdominals stretch, they can also start to separate and cause diastasis recti. This splitting/gapping affects the center line of your six-pack muscles. As a result, diastasis recti can make your abs feel "separated" and your belly look pooched or flabby — often referred to as a "mom pooch." Diastasis recti can also affect your abdominal wall strength, leading to lower back pain and urinary continence. Research shows women who train their core while pregnant are less likely to experience diastasis recti.
Training your core while pregnant may also increase your chances of a smoother delivery. Women who maintained a strong core during pregnancy have also reported improved pushing during delivery.
Keep Your Sides Loose
Loosening up the the obliques during pregnancy helps clear the trail so the superstar transverse abdominal (TA) can shine! Our oblique muscles are beautiful helpers during pregnancy. These muscles attach to the fascia – connective tissue at the sides of the six-pack muscles – and help stabilize your spine and pelvis as your belly grows. But the obliques can also be problem children and become too tight trying to help.
As the obliques overcompensate for weaker core muscles, they also prevent those muscles from activating correctly. Women often stand with their belly hanging out during pregnancy because this is the first time they let it go, but this also weakens the core and makes the obliques work overtime. In addition, core work is often let out of pregnancy exercise programs because old research used to avoid this area. Instead, we want to keep the obliques loose so the TA muscles kick in.
Keep Your Deep Muscles On Board
Our deepest core muscles — the TA — can be difficult to activate as the abdominal wall stretches to accommodate a growing baby. These muscles wrap around your core like Spanx to hold everything together.
You want to make sure you aren't ignoring your deep core muscles while pregnant. Keeping your deep core muscles strong offers the most benefits: like easier pushing, avoiding diastasis recti, and less pelvic pain.
Here’s how to find and activate your deep muscles:
Give your baby a hug
Try this habit stack: Whenever you fill up your water bottle, inhale and relax your pelvic floor. As you exhale, pull your tailbone toward your beltline to activate your TA. Then, squeeze baby, hugging them closer to your spine. You can also practice quadruped baby-hugging, seen below. (you can also try this with your back on the wall)
Don't let it all hang out
Align your growing baby over your pelvis as much as possible.
To have optimal alignment, make sure your rib cage is aligned over the pelvis.
Breathe With Your Entire Core
Our core is so much more than the abdominal muscles and includes four parts: the diaphragm, pelvic floor, back, and abs! During pregnancy, you want to make sure you're using those other systems, especially when breathing.
Make sure you breathe into your back and fill your diaphragm with air. Breathe naturally travels to the area of ease – including our stretched-out tummies during pregnancy. Try bending over a counter to help move your breath. This forward-leaning position can help open up the diaphragm and make it easier to fill your core as you inhale.
How to Train Your Core
You're in luck if you're not a fan of sit-ups and crunches. You should avoid these exercises during pregnancy — and any other movements that make abdominal muscles bulge out — because they can contribute to ab separation.
Instead, we'll focus on pregnancy-safe exercises that keep your obliques loose, strengthen various parts of your deep core, and help you improve your core breathing.
Exercises that Keep Sides Loose
Side Lying X
Standing QL Stretch
Breath Exercises
Doorway Stretch With Breath
Unilateral Doorway Stretch With Breath
Deep Core Exercises
Quadruped TA Contraction (Baby Hug)
Standing Chops
½ Kneeling RB Twists
*Training your core while pregnant is safe with the right modifications — unless your healthcare provider says you should avoid exercise or core work.
Takeaway
Pregnant women often skip training their core or think it isn't safe. But training your core during pregnancy can help you better support your growing belly and reduce pelvic and back pain. Core work can also help you prep for birth and recovery.
PREGNANCY STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM
The Expecting and Empowered App has a program specifically designed to train your body during pregnancy. This is your complete roadmap to an empowered and strong pregnancy.
Sources
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2020). Back Pain During Pregnancy. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/back-pain-during-pregnancy
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2022). Regular Exercise Reduce Back Pain. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-during-pregnancy
ElDeeb AM, et al. (2019). Effect of Segmental Stabilizing Exercises Augmented by Pelvic Floor Muscles Training on Women with Postpartum Pelvic Girdle Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30636728/
Fernandes da Mota PG, et al. (2015). Prevalence and Risk Factors of Diastasis Recti Sbdominis from Late Pregnancy to 6 months Postpartum, and Relationship with Lumbo-Pelvic Pain. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25282439/
Piper TJ, et al. (2012). Core Training Exercise Selection During Pregnancy. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Fulltext/2012/02000/Core_Training_Exercise_Selection_During_Pregnancy.9.aspx
Rise E, et al. (2019). Is There Any Association Between Abdominal Strength Training Before and During Pregnancy and Delivery Outcome? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6428922/