Staying on the ball with pregnancy exercise!
Birthing balls are hugely popular with pregnant women, but many of them just aren’t used to their full potential. Instead of actually exercising with the ball, too many women leave theirs waiting until they go into labor.
In fact there are many advantages to inflating yours before you feel that first twinge – because these balls are one of the best things around for exercising during pregnancy, and also for getting your figure and strength back after the birth. Why are they so good? Because when you exercise on the ball, you have what we call an ‘unstable base’ – and it’s totally different to exercising on the floor or a bench, both of which are firm and stable. The instability of the ball makes your body, and your core muscles in particular, work harder to keep you balanced. In time these muscles will become stronger, resulting in fewer injuries and less back pain. Also, during pregnancy your centre of gravity is shifting on a daily basis so that improvement in balance becomes very important.
Before you start…
Even when you’re pregnant there are lots of exercises you can perform safely on a fitness ball. Once you’ve been given the go ahead by your OB-GYN (and do check first, as there are several contra-indications to pregnancy exercise), your workout should include exercises for your upper and lower body, your core and your pelvic floor, and also (as mentioned above) for your balance.
Before you start exercising you must learn to activate your transverse abdominus muscles (TVA). These are deep muscles that comprise part of your ‘core’, and learning to control and strengthen them is necessary to help maintain good posture, alleviate back pain and prevent injury. To find your TVA, lie on your back and put your fingertips inside your hip bones. If you cough, you’ll feel the muscles beneath your fingers twitch. That’s your TVA. To contract the TVA take a deep breath in, and then breathe out and at the same time pull your navel in towards your spine. Those of you who've done Pilates will have done this before, and will have heard of the term 'navel to spine' many times.
When you've got the hang of this, try holding it for 10 seconds while continuing to breathe. It’ll be tricky at first but once you've learned to 'fire and sustain' the TVA you will be able to switch it on any time you exercise, lift baby, or do anything else that requires effort.
Get on the ball!
Work up to three sets of each of these exercises, and finish with the stretches…
Pelvic tilt
Works your core muscles and abdominals.
- Sit upright on the ball.
- Contract your TVA.
- Without moving your feet, tilt your pelvis forward and upward.
- Hold for 5 seconds and return to start position.
- Repeat 12-15 times.
Biceps curl
You’ll need 2-3Ib hand weights or a dyna-band for this exercise, which helps builds strength for lifting your baby.
- Sit upright on the ball.
- Contract your TVA.
- Hold hand weights or dyna-bands at arms’ length.
- Keeping elbows pointing down, curl weight to shoulders.
- Lower and repeat 12-15 times.
Kneeling ball press-up
This exercise is great for general upper body strength, but will mainly work your chest and triceps, helping to eliminate those ‘bingo wings’!
- Kneel in front of the ball and place hands on ball at arms’ length.
- Contract your TVA.
- Keeping your back straight, bend elbows to a 90° angle.
- Pause, then return to start position.
- Repeat 12-15 times. If the ball rolls away, place it against a wall.
Seated balance
Balance is very important during pregnancy as your body changes shape and this exercise will help maintain and improve yours.
- Sit upright on ball with hands on the ball for stability.
- Contract your TVA.
- Maintaining this posture, raise one foot 8-12 inches off the floor.
- Hold for a few seconds, then return to the start position.
- Repeat 10 times, folding yur arms to increase difficulty.
Stretch it out…
The hormone relaxin is produced by your body during pregnancy to soften your connective tissue (tendons and ligaments), which in turn helps the birth process. Because of this it’s extremely important that you don’t overstretch, since this could lead to permanent damage. Just stretch to ‘biting point’ – where you can feel the stretch in the muscle – and leave it at that. On no account should any kind of developmental, pnf or ballistic stretching be practiced.
Hip flexor stretch
Your hip flexor muscles will become very tight during pregnancy as the weight of baby pulls you forward. It’s important to stretch them frequently, but take it gently at first.
- Sit on the ball.
- Slide one leg behind ball until straight.
- Maintaining your balance, lean back slightly until a stretch is felt at the top of your thigh.
- Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on other side.
- If balance is an issue, hold on to a wall or table.
Cat stretch
You’ll love this! It’ll stretch out your tired back muscles and you’ll feel the tension disappear.
- Kneel down on the floor with your arms out in front of you.
- Lower your head and push hands into the floor and body upwards, while arching your back like a cat.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
Chest stretch
This is to stretch your pectoral (chest) muscles. If you pronate your arm during the movement (ie, move your thumb down towards the ground), you can also feel the stretch in your biceps.
- Kneel on the floor with the ball at your side.
- Bend forward at the waist and roll the ball out to the side until you feel a stretch in your chest.
- Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.