Core training in pregnancy
Pregnancy and the core confusion…
Hands up if you feel / felt lost on how to train your core during your pregnancy?!
I had already taken my first pre/post natal cert by the time I found out I was pregnant, but even still, a quick Google on the safety of certain exercises in pregnancy could leave me questioning myself. Maintaining core strength during pregnancy has so many benefits, but with so much contradictory information out there, I’d understand if you told me you’d avoided it altogether.
Why is training your core so important?
A strong core will help support the growing belly and reduce the risk of pelvic and lower back pain during pregnancy. Maintaining your connection to the core during pregnancy may also assist during labor, help reduce the extent of diastasis recti and make for easier core healing postpartum.
Which muscles make up the core?
We typically think of core training as movements that work mostly the rectus abdominus (6 pack muscles) with sit ups / spinal flexion movements, but during pregnancy it’s more beneficial to focus on maintaining the connection to the deep core.
The deep core consists of 4 muscles. The pelvic floor, transversus abdominis (TA), diaphragm and multifidus.
The pelvic floor supports our pelvic organs, provides stability as part of the deep core and prevents leakage of urine, gas and faeces.
The TA is a postural muscle that stabilizes the spine and pelvis, protects the abdominal cavity, assists in forced expiration, prepares us for movement and manages intra abdominal pressure.
The diaphragm is our primary respiratory muscle. It creates pressure in the abdomen and separates the thorax from the abdominal cavity.
The multifidus stabilize the vertebrae during spinal movement.
How do you train these muscles?
Start by breathing!
Connecting your deep core to your breath can coordinate and optimize core function, stabilize the spine, manage intra abdominal pressure and maintain core strength during pregnancy.
The Connection Breath
Start seated. Stack the ribs over your hips and ensure you are seated on the sits bones, not the tailbone
Place one hand on the lower belly and one on the rib cage
Inhale and allow the trunk to expand 360 degrees, breathing into the lower belly, ribcage and even lower back. You should feel a lengthening in the lower belly (lower TA) and pelvic floor. The diaphragm should rise as the core canister becomes pressurised
On the exhale, gently lift the pelvic floor (Kegel), pull the lower belly back in towards the spine and lift the baby up and off the pelvis. You should feel the diaphragm descending as the pressure in the core drops.
Once you’ve mastered this breath strategy, you can incorporate it into all of your training (or challenging daily movements) to build and maintain a strong core during your pregnancy. Inhale on the easier part of the movement, and exhale on the more challenging part of the movement. The strength of the exhale and deep core contraction should correspond to the difficulty of the movement. Heavier weight = bigger exhale and more powerful core engagement.
Laura 💛
