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Home › Articles › Exercise in Pregnancy › Pilates and Pregnancy

Pilates and Pregnancy

The Perfect Preparation for
Labor and Delivery

By Paige Waehner

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5  

Get on your hands and knees with hands shoulder-width apart and knees under hips. Inhale and contract the abs as you extend your right leg out, lifting it until it's even with the hips. Exhale and return to start, repeating on the left side.

Spine Twist:
Sit on an exercise ball or a chair and extend arms out to the side at shoulder height. Exhale as you gently turn torso to the right, drawing the ribcage to the opposite hip and look at your right hand. Exhale and repeat on the other side.

Side Kick:
Lie on your side with head resting on your arm, bottom leg slightly bent. Keeping abs tight to hold your torso steady, exhale and extend the top leg forward until your knee and foot are in line with your hip (or as far as comfortable). Go back to starting position and repeat three to four times before switching sides. Make sure you maintain neutral posture as the leg moves forward.

Back Strength:
On hands and knees with abs tight, lift and straighten one leg and the opposite arm, forming a half-X and keeping both limbs in line with the torso. Switch sides and pay close attention to your balance.

The Do's and Don'ts of Pilates
As mentioned above, Pilates focuses on core strength, so it's possible for you to overstress your abdominal muscles. In addition, separation of the abs (diastasis) can occur later in pregnancy. If your abs have separated, you may want to avoid Pilates workouts or modify the exercises to keep the separation from growing larger.

To check for ab separation, lie on your back with knees bent and place your fingertips about 1 or 2 inches below your belly button, fingers pointing toward your feet. Lift your head as high as you can and, if you feel a ridge protruding from the middle of your belly, that's a diastasis. Pay attention to how you feel, and if you experience any discomfort in your abdominals or back, stop! In addition, take care to:

  • Avoid moves performed in the supine position during your second and third trimester. Lying on your back can cut off the oxygen supply to the baby.
  • Move within a comfortable range of motion. Your ligaments will loosen during pregnancy, so it's a good idea not to flail around too wildly.
  • Stay controlled. Pilates moves often involve holding your torso in place while moving your arms and legs in different directions. Make sure you go slowly so you don't lose your balance or hyperextend your joints.
  • Don't hold your breath!
  • Don't do any exercise that causes dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath or pain.
  • If you're a beginner, stick with workouts geared specifically toward pregnancy, which will provide adaptations for some moves that may not be safe.

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Re: Pilates and Pregnancy by anonymous on 10/01/2008 01:28PM

Great article. I have captured many articles and videos related to Pilates during pregnancy here.

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