I like to compare pregnancy to an athletic event which means that we can prepare for it and we can train for it. I’ve used this analogy in other blog posts before and I’m going to come back to it again. During the preconception phase or trying to conceive health and wellness may be less on your mind than it is once you’re pregnant…but it should be your top priority throughout your entire journey to parenthood.
If you read last week’s blog you know that I’m an advocate for strength training (if you haven’t read it you can check it out here). And I will advocate for this at any point along your preconception, pregnancy or postpartum journey…or just at any point in your life at all really (kiddos or no kiddos). Strength training and exercise can be used to help prepare the body for pregnancy by improving posture, increasing strength and muscle mass, preparing the core and pelvic floor, and just overall health and wellness. All of this we want to achieve without over stressing the body and pushing it too hard which can negatively impact your journey trying to conceive.
Strong and balanced muscles prior to pregnancy will allow you to be able to better maintain this throughout pregnancy and postpartum. This stability can help to relieve the tension on your tendons, muscles and joints which can be helpful as your body changes. Building lean muscle mass is not something that happens overnight so if it is something that you are looking to do preconception you will want to begin strength training now. Remember that your training will evolve once you are pregnant and as you move into the postpartum period but during this preconception phase your training will be less limited and require fewer modifications.
When trying to conceive, as always, you want to strive to fit your exercise into your lifestyle as opposed to letting exercise take over your life. Strength training can be done 2-4 times per week for most people. If you are training more often just ensure that the exercise you are doing is not over stressing your body. Over-exercising can actually negatively impact your conception journey in some cases. Also, ensure that you are never forcing yourself to do an exercise that causes you pain. Below we are going to talk about my 5 favourite exercises to incorporate into your preconception strength training plan but please be aware that there are alternatives to these exercises and if something isn’t working for you that’s okay, adjust as you need. Also keep in mind that this list is not all encompassing and that you should not limit yourself to only these exercises. A full body approach is key when trying to build overall strength and muscle mass.
Before we get into my favourite exercises I want to touch on diaphragmatic breathing (connection breath). I have a post you can view here for a more detailed look at the Connection Breath. It’s important to remember that your pelvic floor is a muscle, just like your biceps or quadriceps and not only does it need to be able to contract but it also needs to be able to relax as well. Mastering core and pelvic floor training preconception can be an immense help when you are in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. This training will be important all the way through, but building a base when you are not under the stress and emotions that can accompany pregnancy can be imperative in continuing to do this during pregnancy and even into the postpartum period.
Now for my 5 favourite exercises. Keep in mind that these exercises are beneficial during your preconception journey and they are my favourites, but they are not all encompassing. If you are looking for an all encompassing preconception training program you can reach out to me here and we can discuss your requirements and create an individualized program for you that will meet all your needs.
Exercise 1: The Squat
Squats can be considered a full body exercise and are vitally important in life. How many times a day do you bend over or squat down to pick something up. Practicing squats can help you make your everyday movements more effective and can help to prevent injuries. Squats also help to strengthen your core as well as your lower body. Squats can help with many activities of daily living including walking, sitting down, climbing stairs, carrying heavy loads and picking things up off the floor. Mommas, how many of these things do you use in your daily life?! Right?! But my absolute favourite thing about squats is how versatile they are…there are literally so many variations that can help keep you entertained in your workouts that you will never be bored with one exercise again!? And if you aren’t fond of one variation, there is likely a variation that you can try that you will enjoy more. Bring on the squats!
Exercise 2: The Row
Rowing exercises focus on strengthening in the upper back. The upper back (rhomboids specifically) is a muscle group that often gets lengthened and weakened when we spend a lot of time hunched over our phones or our computers. These muscles can also be impacted during pregnancy and postpartum for mommas as your breasts grow. Strengthening the rhomboid muscles helps to pull our shoulders back and together which allows us to better stack the diaphragm over the pelvic floor. This is a helpful posture to keep in mind all the time, but it can be particularly beneficial during pregnancy and postpartum so getting familiar with it preconception is a great idea. A note on posture; posture should be relatively relaxed and shouldn’t cause you to become exhausted or incredibly uncomfortable. Focusing on posture while trying to conceive will only help you further as you progress through your pregnancy and postpartum journeys.
Exercise 3: The Pallof Press
A strong core can help to support your growing belly and uterus throughout your pregnancy. As your belly grows your centre of gravity changes and may affect your balance. A strong core can help assist you with balance as it changes throughout pregnancy and again in the postpartum period. Improving your core and pelvic floor musculature as you’re trying to conceive will help serve you better as you move through the various stages of motherhood. My favourite thing about the Pallof Press is that unlike many core exercises, it is one that you can continue to use variations of it throughout pregnancy and postpartum as your core heals…so why not start pulling it in now!
Exercise 4: The Hip Thruster and/or The Deadlift
Okay, so I might be cheating a little bit here, but I want to ensure that you are focusing on strengthening your glutes and your hamstrings and I love pretty much any exercise that does this so you’re getting a bonus exercise here. Strengthening the glutes and posterior chain will forever be something I advocate for pretty much everyone and this doesn’t change as you embark on your journey to parenthood. During pregnancy your belly and uterus are going to grow in size. This often causes your pelvis to tip forward. Having strong glutes (and posterior chain as a whole) can help counter the extra weight and gravity as your belly grows. These are also exercises that you can continue to incorporate with modifications as you move into and throughout pregnancy so getting comfortable with the basic mechanics now can be helpful when you need to adjust to modifications during pregnancy.
Exercise 5: The Lunge
Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with lunges?! Although they are a tough exercise for me and I can’t class them as a favourite, the benefits are unparalleled, important and necessary. Lunges are what we call a unilateral exercise. This means that one side of your body is doing something different than the other. This leads lunges to be excellent for helping to improve balance and stability and they challenge your core extensively. Like many of the exercises mentioned here, lunges can come in many variations and changing it up can keep your workouts interesting and exciting. You may also find yourself using lunging movements in your everyday life as well which makes them a good functinoal exercise that can translate to other tasks.
So there you have it. My 5 favourite exercises to use in your preconception strength training program (or in any program really). Most of these exercises can be continued through your pregnancy journey with some slight modifications so it’s important to build the foundation now so you are familiar and comfortable with them as you continue on your journey to parenthood. Are you looking for more information or an individualized program? Reach out here and I would love to discuss options for you. Virtual sessions are available now!
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