6 moves to prioritise as you get near your due date
I have been SO lucky with my pregnancy so far. I haven't had any nausea, my energy levels have been pretty consistent the whole way through and I've been able to move my body, taking on some pretty challenging Barre classes every week! I can't pretend I'm not starting to feel a wee bit more tired as I get closer to my due date, I'm getting a bit bigger now and my daily walks seem to wipe me out more than teaching 2-3 classes a day does! With that in mind I'm starting to shift my mindset towards my weekly workouts and I've started prioritising movement that still feels really good and movement that will support me through the marathon that will be labour!
This blog post gives you an idea of movement that you'll want to be prioritising as you get closer to your due date. Some of these exercises you could practice as stand alone movements that you can do of an evening in front of the TV and others you might like to include in a full body workout so you're still working on total body strength and endurance at this time.
1. Reverse breathing / push prep
If you're a mumma-to-be and you've been a part of our Barre community throughout your pregnancy then I'm sure you're focusing so much on breathwork, core engagement and pelvic floor strengthening that you could do it in your sleep. That is absolutely amazing and you'll be grateful for all that core strength throughout your labour but we do now need to start doing a bit of practice on relaxing your pelvic floor to help with your birth. This is a technique that you'll want to apply to the pushing / active phase of labour. For this, we take the foundations of our 360 diaphragmatic breathing technique but crucially, we want to keep the pelvic floor relaxed at all times rather than contracting it;
Take a deep, 360° inhale feeling the ribs expand, allow the pelvic floor to relax and naturally 'lengthen'.
Exhale intentionally out through your mouth, start to engage your core from the top down - 'wrap'/engage your upper abdominals, your mid abdominals and finally your lower abdominals, leaving your pelvic floor relaxed.
You'll see how the technique is really similar to what you've been practising throughout your pregnancy but the big difference is relaxing and not contracting the pelvic floor. When you're focusing on wrapping / engaging your core muscles, you'll want to focus on drawing all the pressure in your core towards your spine - you never want to force that pressure out towards your belly button. We've been doing lots of work to make sure we're being mindful of diastasis recti throughout your pregnancy and that's a focus we want to take into labour with us - drawing pressure towards your spine rather than pushing out through your belly button will really help with that.
2. Squat variations
Squats are amazing for building glute strength which is really important for pelvic stability. I noticed from around week 33 that I've had to limit single leg work and focus more on movements that help with pelvic stability rather than trying to challenge it. Squats are a really functional movement and we're squatting more in day to day life than we realise so it's a great one to practice.
If squats are feeling good for you then you can take a wider stance to perform the movement, perhaps holding a pair of light hand weights to increase the level of challenge. If you'd like to use your squats as an opportunity to increase pelvic stability then I'd take a narrower stance and pop a small Pilates ball in between your thighs to get your inner thighs working, helping to increase stability.
3. Deadlifts
Deadlifts are another great exercise for targeting your glutes as well as your hamstrings which is great for increasing stability for your pelvis. The movement of a deadlift is also amazing for your pelvic floor as you work through both the lengthening and contracting phases of the pelvic floor muscles.
Depending on how you're feeling, single leg dead lifts might still be feeling good for you but if you're struggling with pelvic stability then you'll want to go for a normal deadlift with both feet on the floor, potentially adding a pair of hand weights to increase the level of challenge.
4. Upper body work to support you postpartum
Lots of women will experience some postural changes during pregnancy which can make muscles, particularly in your back, feel tense as they take on more strain than normal. A great way to combat this is to increase the strength in these muscles. Movements like rows are amazing for strengthening the muscles around your mid back. It's also worth incorporating bicep and shoulder work in your prenatal workouts to help build strength to help with carrying and feeding your baby.
5. Stretchy goodness to help you feel more mobile
If you don't have the energy for some more challenging exercises then there's still so much benefit in moving your body through some different stretchy exercises to help you feel a little more mobile. You'll want to focus on chest openers to relieve tension across your upper back and 90/90 and figure-4 stretches to help release tension from the hips and glutes. You can find a whole variety of stretchy goodness workouts here.
6. Birthing squat
This is a great movement to not only help with pain relief but also to facilitate the downwards movement of your baby. It's generally a position that feels good to get into during labour so it's well worth practising it during the later stages of pregnancy so you feel really familiar with the movement when it comes to labour. Here's how to find the position;
Start on all fours and push back into a squat position with your heels coming down to touch the floor. Make sure you step your feet wider if that feels more comfortable for your hips. A slight turnout through the feet will also feel better for your knees.
Adding a gentle twist by reaching alternating arms to the ceiling can also feel really good if you're practising this exercise during pregnancy.
Although your energy levels might feel lower as you get towards the end of your pregnancy, it will be SO beneficial to support you through labour if you can keep up a prenatal-specific workout routine. If you need some more support in understanding exactly how you could be modifying workouts to make them feel good for you at this stage then just give me a shout and we can get you started on the Bump & Beyond Movement Series with a complimentary 1:1 session. Sign up for your free 7 day trial here.
