Exercising in the Third Trimester

Exercising throughout your pregnancy can be very beneficial. There are a variety of classes and at-home exercises that many women throughout their pregnancies do religiously. However, what about the third trimester? Is it safe to exercise when you’re super pregnant and if so, what moves are okay?

Dr. Annette Perez-Delboy, MD, FACOG, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstretrics and Gynecology, and the Medical Director of Labor and Delivery and the Co-Director of the Mother’s Center at Columbia University Medical Center, believes that exercise is important before, during, and, after pregnancy and thus recommends it in every trimester.

“Exercise will help control the weight, blood pressure, and, blood glucose at the same time improving the chances of healthy pregnancy and infant,” Dr. Delboy says. “Exercise can help you stay in shape and prepare for labor and delivery. It can ease or prevent back pain, improve moods, intensify energy levels, improve sleeping, build stamina, strengthen muscle, and promote stamina. And, exercise lessens the symptoms of postpartum depression, reduces constipation, bloating, and swelling.” weights

That said, Dr. Delboy also recommends that mothers discuss exercise programs with their health care providers. She recommends refraining from exercise if you are a patient with complex heart disease, restrictive lung disease, high blood pressure, cervical problems, vaginal bleeding, preterm labor, placental problems or multiple pregnancies.

“The third trimester of pregnancy can be a very uncomfortable time for women, and many stop exercising because they feel tired in their movements–and frankly, pretty crowded!” says Mahri Relin, American Fitness Professionals and Associates pre- and postnatal exercise specialist and owner of Body Conceptions. “On the contrary, exercising in your third trimester can make you feel much more energized and looser in your joints. It can also help maintain strength in your abdominal muscles, which will help you tremendously during labor. As long as you get clearance from your doctor to exercise and you listen carefully to any body signals that tell you to stop, exercising very late in pregnancy can make an enormous difference!”

Below are some exercise routines that Relin recommends for women in their third trimester. These exercises provided by her, require using a large yoga ball and 2-lb weights (or two full water bottles).

Before you begin, grab a small snack and some water. Continue drinking during and after you exercise, and consider snacking after you exercise as well. If you feel dizzy or short of breath, make sure you sit down and take some deep, slow breaths.

1) Arm Work on a Ball with Weights
Sitting on a yoga ball can give you tremendous relief toward the end of your pregnancy, and it’s a wonderful tool for exercise both during and after your pregnancy. For arm work, sitting on a ball will allow you to focus on isolating your arm muscles without any discomfort in your lower body.

– Hold weights or water bottles in each hand, and reach your arms out to the sides with your palms facing forward. Keeping your shoulders down and chest lifted, circle your arms back 20x and forward 20x.
– Bend your arms in front of you at 90-degree angles with your elbows at shoulder level and your arms parallel to each other. Pulse your arms up and down in this position 25x.
– Reach your arms straight behind your body and held as high as you can with your shoulders down your back, your chest reaching forward, and your palms facing the ceiling. Pulse your arms up and down in this position 30x.

2) Parallel Lunges with a Ball
Come to standing with your feet wider than hip distance and your knees and toes facing forward. Rest your hands on the ball in front of you. Lean forward with your back long and tailbone reaching back (pushing the ball forward with your arms).

– Keeping this upper body position, lunge to the right–bending your right knee while keeping your left leg straight. In this deep lunge position, pulse up and down with small movements 15x. Keep your knees over your toes, and come up if you feel any knee pain. Repeat on the other side.
– Come up to standing with both legs straight and your hands resting on the ball. Come to a squat while rolling the ball forward with your arms reaching on the ball in front of you. Keep your abdominals pulled into your spine and avoid arching your low back. Do not squat so deeply if you feel any pain in your knees. Come back to standing, and repeat 10x.

3) Pelvic Curves on Hands and Knees
Come to your hands and knees on a mat or towel, making sure you have plenty of padding under your knees. Start with a neutral spine, and take a slow inhale. As you exhale, slowly curve your back into a “Cow” or C-shape, while pulling your low abdominal muscles deep into your spine. Return to a neutral spine as you relax and inhale. Repeat 12x.

4) Leg Lifts with a Ball
– Stay on your hands and knees, and place your right hand on the yoga ball slightly in front of your body by your right shoulder. Reach your right leg straight behind you at hip level with your right hip slightly open. In this position, pulse the leg up and down 25x.
– Now completely stack your hips open while keeping your right hand on the ball with your leg reaching straight out from the hip.* Pulse the leg up and down 25x. (This time, you’ll feel the work on the side of your hips/glute muscles.)
*If this position feels too hard on your standing side, you can lie all the way down onto your left hip and place your right hand on the ground in front of you. Bend your bottom leg, and reach your top leg straight out from the hip. Pulse the leg up and down.
– Complete both exercises on the right side, then both on the left.

To check out prenatal and postnatal classes / training at Body Conceptions, visit Bodyconceptions.com.

Debra Flashenberg CD(DONA), LCCE, E-RYT 500, RPYT, Director of The Prenatal Yoga Center, Prenatal & Postnatal, also recommends prenatal yoga during the third trimester. “Prenatal yoga is advantageous for a practioner through her whole pregnancy,” she says. “This unique yoga practice helps prepare the mother-to-be both physically and mentally for labor, birth, and the transition into motherhood…By the time a woman is in her third trimester, our focus shifts to preparing the pelvis for birth and encouraging the baby into the optimal fetal position.”

Flashenberg believes that a great way to prepare a pregnant woman for child birth is to help align and balance the pelvis.

“If the mother’s uterine ligaments, pelvic floor muscles, and psoas are tight and the ligaments are somewhat twisted, it may prevent her baby from settling into a good position,” she says. “Luckily, many poses we do in prenatal yoga encourage the pelvic and uterine ligaments to gently open and relax.” Below are specific asanas for preparing the pelvis for labor and delivery:

Baddha konasana (cobbler’s pose)