Can I train my core during pregnancy?

This is one of the most common questions I get asked as an antenatal trainer. In my experience, those that didn’t ask either steered clear of training their abdominals at all, or carried on as usual and unfortunately caused undue and prolonged damage that could have been avoided.

The answer to the question is YES, you can train your core! BUT there are a few considerations and modifications to make along the way…

Think of your core as a corset that wraps around your entire mid-section. Our deep abdominal muscles (those that you cannot see) combine with the diaphragm and the pelvic floor to surround the contents of our abdomen. Each of these muscles constantly draws on the others engaging a low intensity hold which creates core stability. The main function of our core is to provide support for the spine and help stabilise the joints of the pelvis.

When a baby bump is added into the centre of this corset you can only imagine that things get a little misaligned. As your bump grows, the outer muscles of the abdomen (the rectus abdominals) stretch and your pelvis begins to tilt forward. All of this means that you are less able to maintain stability.

The good news is that your body is equipped to deal with these central changes. The pregnancy hormone - relaxin - is produced and released into the body which means your muscles are much more compliant to stretching. Issues arise when the muscles stretch too far - beyond the point of being able to grip at length and create tension to stabilise. In some cases the rectus abdominals separate resulting in what is known as ‘diastasis recti’ which sounds scary and is to be taken seriously, but isn’t irreparable.

Maintaining abdominal strength during pregnancy will help you properly carry your growing baby while avoiding symptoms like low back pain and to some extent pelvic pain. Working on your core now also tends to make postpartum recovery much smoother.

In the first trimester - whilst your baby bump isn’t likely showing and your core muscles haven’t yet stretched much - there isn’t a great deal that needs to change. You can still do the traditional abdominal exercises e.g. crunches, twists and curls. My advice (whether you’re pregnancy or not to be honest) is to move slowly through exercises, use your breath to set the pace (breath in to prepare and engage and out as you exert force), and focus on activation - feeling the right muscles working - rather than just going with the flow.

As your baby bump starts to make an appearance in the second trimester, begin to shift away from ab crunches and twists and opt for more deep core exercises instead. Examples include birddogs, bear taps and side planks. You can continue doing regular planks as long as they remain comfortable. However, if you begin to feel straining through the abdomen when performing planks try dropping to your knees, or adopting a table top position (hands and knees on the floor) to ease the pressure.

Some women struggle to lie on their back as they enter the later stages of pregnancy. This is because the weight of the baby can begin to put pressure on the main vein returning blood to the heart. Again, this sounds scary but trust that your body will let you know when it no longer feels good to perform exercises on your back.

In the third trimester you can continue with table top exercises for as long as they feel good and I would recommend you introduce stability ball work if you haven’t already. Something as simple as a seated leg lift performed on a stability ball becomes much more challenging when your core is weakened and your balance is off centre!

Remember that many pedestrian movements - such as getting up out of bed, getting up off of the sofa or even getting up off of the floor - inadvertently result in crunching and flexing your core. Particularly towards the end of your pregnancy, try to avoid this. Instead, roll onto your side and help yourself up with your hands. This sounds trivial but if you’ve put effort into training your core specifically but don’t take care in your every day, then what’s the point?!

A final note: at all stages of your pregnancy do practise your pelvic floor exercises and diaphragmatic breathing (also know as ‘belly breathing’). Remember that these two areas make up your core and are integral to creating stability and managing pressure through the abdomen.