The best prenatal and postpartum exercises

By Jen Dugard

Exercise during pregnancy and postpartum can be overwhelming.

When exercising as a mum or mum-to-be it’s important to take a holistic approach and know it’s not simply about the movements but also how you feel about the movements.

In what can feel like an overwhelming time, having an understanding of the Do’s and Don’ts will be reassuring when you think about each stage of your journey.

The experts at BUMP Health and Fitness have created a safe and supportive environment for mums and mums-to-be because having the right information and guidance is important during this time of immense physical change.

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Understanding the right way to exercise during pregancy and postpartum is important.

DON’T compare yourself with anyone! Remember, every conception, pregnancy and birth experience are different. Comparison serves no-one. Tune into YOUR experience and every step of the way ask yourself “Does this feel right for ME”.

DO move at your own pace! Especially in your postpartum stage. So many postnatal women strive for an aesthetic goal over and above all else and sacrifice their actual wellbeing in the process. Take your time. We want you to be injury free and moving safely and effectively for many years to come!

DON’T forget to learn about your pelvic floor – this group of muscles basically keep all your insides in their rightful place, bladder, uterus, bowel AND they need to be working well to help (rather than hinder) if you choose a vaginal delivery. We highly recommend you visit a Women’s or Pelvic Health Physiotherapist during pregnancy and postpartum.

DO remember your worth is so much more than the size of your body. You are not better or more lovable if you ‘lose the baby weight’ quicker. Your relationship won’t get better, and you won’t love yourself more just because you are smaller.

DON’T underestimate the worth of a great Personal Trainer or Group Exercise class that specifically caters for pregnant and postpartum women. Working with specialists within a supportive environment is a huge support for many women.

DO monitor your energy levels and remember to adjust your workout accordingly. Another great reason to train within an environment that understands mums!

DO consult an experienced pre and post-natal exercise expert when embarking on a pre and post-natal fitness journey.

Calum Wilson, Co-Founder of BUMP Health & Fitness says “The needs of pre and post-natal fitness vastly differ from regular training and first and foremost understanding the changes that women experience during and post pregnancy is fundamental to how they train.

For mothers to achieve their health and wellbeing goals, their exercise program needs to be both safe and effective.

Training at a specialist pre and post-natal club provides mums and mum-to-be with the reassurance they are in safe hands”.

5 moves to prepare your body for childbirth

1. Pelvic floor activations – taking time to understand your pelvic during pregnancy can be incredibly helpful during childbirth and postpartum. You can never be too early with this one!

We recommend learning your pelvic floor activations lying on your back or sitting on a medicine ball to start with as these enable you to really ‘tune in’.

Lay down on your back or sit on a ball with knees bent & feet hip width apart
Relax your upper body and make sure your head and spine are in alignment
Rest your hands on your belly to make sure it stays nice and relaxed.
Take a natural breath in
As you breath out imagine you squeezing and tampon in and drawing it up with the walls of your vagina
It’s about a 5% contraction so make sure not to go too hard!
Hold for a couple of seconds and then completely RELAX!
Repeat for about 10 breaths remembering that harder is not better!

It’s incredibly important to remember the relaxation phase of your pelvic floor as well as the contraction phase.

2. Squats – You’ll see squats in so many disciplines of exercise; from Pilates to strength training and everything in-between. We love squats for mums-to-be as they prepare her for labouring on her feet and in a squat position alongside building strength in her legs for after her baby is born.

Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart with your feet in a comfortable position.
Keep the weight toward your heels and send you bottom backwards
Sink down into your squat to around knee height
Then keeping your chest up & shoulders down
Push through your heels, squeeze your glutes and come back up to a stand
Complete 10-15 reps

As you progress through your pregnancy you may find it more comfortable to have your legs slightly wider apart and your feet more turned out.

You can also adapt to a box squat, so you know you won’t fall backward as your centre of gravity changes. Place a box behind you and sit down on it at the bottom of each squat movement.

3. Lunges – another exercise that crosses disciplines and is perfect for mums-to-be! After all, once the baby arrives you are going to be picking up lots of things off the floor over and over! We recommend static lunges during pregnancy to help to keep your pelvis stable and if you experience any kind of pelvic pain at all lunges you get to skip this one!

Imagine your feet are parallel on train tracks
Take a step backwards and keep the weight in the heel of your front foot – this is your start and end point
Bend both knees keeping your shoulders slightly in front of your hips until your back knee is hovering off the floor
Then push through the heel of your front foot, squeeze the glute of the front leg and return to your start mark.
Complete 5-10 reps on each side depending on how you feel

Make sure to steady yourself as your pregnancy progresses, stand next to a chair or rail for support and ensure you keep your pelvis straight throughout the exercise.

4. Bird dog – maintaining upper body strength and core stability is important throughout your pregnancy. This exercise is fantastic for both!

Find an all-fours position with your hands directly under your shoulders & knees directly under your hips.
Make sure you have a neutral spine and chin slightly tucked
Take a natural breath in and as you breathe out activate your pelvic floor and draw your abdominals gently in at your low-rise underwear line to also activate your transversus abdominis.
From here slowly extend one arm out to the front and the opposite arm out to the back, make sure to go no higher than your hip or shoulder
Slowly bring them back down to the start mark placing your hand and knee onto the ground at the same time.
Repeat on the other side making sure you stay nice and strong through the shoulders throughout.
Complete 5-10 reps on each side

Top tips during this exercise; remember to breathe and try and stay as stable as possible throughout the exercise.

5. Child’s pose – is a fantastic exercise to cool down after your training session. It promotes a relaxed belly and pelvic floor which are important as your pregnancy progresses.

Kneel on the ground with your feet together and knees apart
Gently rest your forehead on a mat on the ground with your arms either out in front or by your sides
Relax your belly and your pelvic floor
Enjoy some nice, big, steady breaths in this position
Hang out here for as long as you like!

5 moves for your return to exercise postpartum

Whilst all the above exercises are also great inclusions in the postpartum period here are another five of our favourites for our new mums!

1. Transversus abdominal activations – a great addition to pelvic floor in pregnancy and especially postpartum as you start to rebuild your body from the inside out.

Lay down on your back with knees bent & feet hip width apart
Relax your upper body and make sure your head and spine are in alignment
You can rest your hands on your belly to make sure it stays nice and relaxed.
Take a natural breath in
As you breath out imagine you squeezing and tampon in and drawing it up with the walls of your vagina to contract your pelvic floor
Then start to peel your skin away from low rise undies back toward your tailbone switching on your TA but keeping your obliques nice and relaxed
Again, it’s about a 5% contraction so make sure not to go too hard!
Hold for a couple of seconds and then completely RELAX!
Repeat for about 10 breaths remembering that harder is not better!

2. Hip bridge – a great exercise to not only activate your glutes postpartum but also to incorporate your adductors and pelvic floor. You can also include bub by resting them on your hips as they get bigger and your get stronger.

Lay down on your back with knees bent and feet hip width apart
Chin slightly tucked and shoulder relaxed
Keeping your pelvis in neutral push through your heels, squeeze your glutes & raise your hips off the floor until they are in line with your shoulders and knees
Pause here for a couple of seconds and then lower back down to the ground
You can add weight between your hips to increase the intensity of this exercise and your bub can be the perfect little addition for this exercise!
Repeat 10-12x

3. Banded row – as a new mum you will spend lots of time holding your baby and feeding meaning your shoulders are rounded so we want to make sure you have a nice strong back!

Grab a TheraBand or tubing and wrap it around a solid post
Either in sitting or standing move to where the band is tight and your hands are at shoulder height
Keeping your shoulders down draw them back squeezing your shoulder blades together
Then bend your elbows and draw your hands back toward your hips.
Slowly release back to the start mark keeping your shoulders down the whole way
Repeat x 10-12 reps

4. Deadlifts – Arguably one of the most important exercises to incorporate throughout the pregnancy journey. Once the movement pattern is perfected it can helpe strengthen most of the posterior chain muscles which include the hamstrings, glutes and lower back. This will help build strong foundations to promote great posture. This movement is preferable performed using some form of weight.

Start in a standing position with feet hip width apart and soft knees holding onto a barbell or 2 dumbbells.
Keeping your back and arms straight, slowly push your glutes backwards.
Keep your chest lifted and your head in line with your spine, or your chin slightly raised. Your heels should be on the floor and your shoulders over or slightly over your feet. Your gaze should be straight ahead or slightly down. Continue to push backwards until your upper torso is almost at 90 degrees, pause and slowly return to your starting position.
Ensure that you keep your glutes and abdominals engaged throughout the movement.
Repeat x 10-12

5. Kneeling pallof press – This is another exercise that is great both during and after pregnancy. Its works on all those stabilising muscles through the trunk which are so important.

Attach a resistance band to an anchor
With the band and anchor point to your left, Start by kneeling on the floor, with your torso upright and hips directly over your knees.
Hold the bands close to your body, slightly below chest height. Position your hands at the midline of your body. Engage your core muscles to activate your torso. Keeping your torso upright, pull your shoulder blades down your back without arching your lower back.
Keeping your body still and your core engaged, push both hands directly out in front of your torso, taking care to not lock your elbows. Pause before slowly returning to your starting position.
Repeat 15x on each side

Jen Dugard, founder of MumSafe™️ and the trainer education partner for BUMP Health & Fitness – Australia’s newest franchise specialising in pre and postnatal exercise.

For more information visit Bump Health