We’ve all heard that giving birth is like running a marathon, but there’s no need to sweat it out in the gym to get your mum-bod ready for labour.
Women’s health physio Chloe Lorback says these five simple exercises, which are doable in just five minutes, are a great addition to your routine leading up to the big day.
Labour is an endurance event, with the average first-time labour lasting 12 to 16 hours! So let’s prepare properly for this exciting day, building strength in your legs, hips and back, to help you stay active on your special day.
Plus, mobility in your hips will enable you to explore a variety of positions during your labour, especially if you are planning an active birth.
Keep up your daily walking to maintain your cardiovascular fitness and add this five-minute strength workout to your routine every second day.
Five exercises to help prepare for labour
- Hip circles – standing or sitting on fitball; 10 each way.
- Boxing arms – engage your core, bend your knees slightly, and alternate punches out in front for one minute.
- Squats – 20. Keep your back straight.
- Ducking squats – wide stance, shift your weight over to one side, then back through the centre and over to the other side – 15 each side.
- Crab walks – with a resistance band around your ankles, walk up the hallway leading with one leg, then walk back leading with the other leg. Feel your hip and bum muscles burn!
Read next …
Taking care of your body pre and post-baby can make a world of difference. Here are a few articles to help guide you in the right direction:
- How to look after your pelvic floor after having a baby
- Expert tips to ease pregnancy back pain
- How to avoid muscle separation in pregnancy
Chloe Lorback has always had a passion for women’s health, exercising during pregnancy and the post-natal period. She combined this love with her Pilates studies to establish Fit to Deliver in 2003 and is now also the 28 by Sam Wood Pregnancy and Post Natal Expert. Chloe has three young boys and enjoys the balance of being able to teach Pilates, regularly lecture at Melbourne University, do physio and of course – be a mum!
