by Sofia Moreau

Planning to expand your family? There’s a lot to consider, and that includes preparing your body for the physical journey called pregnancy. These five pilates exercises, recommended by a top prenatal fitness expert, are designed to gently fortify your body and make it a welcoming home for your future little one.

Piece Together Your Prenatal Pilates Program

Considered as standalone exercises or a complete sequence, these pilates moves can be done as many repetitions as your body is comfortable with. The purpose? To tone, strengthen, and better equip your body for the days ahead.

Your Curated Prenatal Pilates Workout:

1. Skyward Stretch

Teaching your core to stabilize your spine and counteract the backward leaning effect caused by the increasing weight of your growing baby on your pelvis, the Skyward Stretch begins with you standing and reaching your arms upwards, maintaining a neutral stance. You control them back down, repeating the move, engaging your front abdominals.

2. Graceful Bows

Activate your hamstrings and glutes, which get weak due to prolonged sitting, with this exercise. It involves bowing from the hips, mimicking a prayer position—the very muscles that will, in time, support your pelvis as your baby grows.

3. Balanced Hip Raises

Our day-to-day activities can leave our hip flexors weak and restricted. But during pregnancy, we need them strong and flexible. This exercise helps improve your hip flexor’s functions and maintain a balanced pelvis by working both the shortening and lengthening of muscle activation aspects.

4. Quad Strengthener

Instability of the pelvis? Not with this exercise. Strengthening your pelvic stabilizers, this Quad Strengthener exercise makes a world of difference in preparing you for pregnancy. Here, you learn to engage your abs and glutes, all while boosting your core.

5. Side-kneeling Elevation

This exercise aims to work your hip abductors, which support the pelvis and its surrounding muscles. Controlled yet potent, this move demands you to lift your leg as high as you can, ensuring you hit the right muscle groups.

In the marathon of life, pregnancy is a significant yet rewarding milestone. By incorporating these workouts into your routine, you nourish your body and prepare it for the beautiful journey of carrying your baby. Remember, strength, flexibility, and a balanced body make a happy mom—and a happy baby too!

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