During pregnancy (and most aspects of life) we need a strong, but not rigid, abdominal wall to help maintain pressure within our abdominal cavity, and to assist in stabilizing our spine. The abdominals, particularly the transverse abdominis, or corset abs, and internal obliques, are a component of our deep core system. This deep core system consists of the transverse abdominis, internal obliques, pelvic floor, diaphragm, and multifidus.
The deep core system is anticipatory, where it turns on before movement is initiated, in order to stabilize the spine during movement. We use breath as a means to utilize this stabilization system most effectively. You can read more on diaphragmatic breathing for stabilize and function here.
Our deep core helps to manage pressure in the abdominal cavity through the use of breathing techniques. When we properly manage pressure, we can better stabilize our spine and pelvic girdle, which may in turn increase prenatal comfort as it alleviates low back and pelvic girdle pain. Remember, we may feel pain when a joint is instable!
So, we need to continue to train our core during pregnancy in order to:
Optimally manage pressure in our abdominal cavity
Stabilize our spine and pelvic girdle
But we also need to consider the normally occurring diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) that occurs during pregnancy! This is the normal separation of the six pack abs on the front of the abdomen. The linea alba, or the connective tissue that connects these two halves of abdominal muscle, stretches and thins throughout pregnancy to accommodate for your baby’s growth! This NEEDS to occur, and if you carry well into your third trimester, you will most likely have DRA. It is not anything to fear!
However, not everyone keeps its in the postpartum! Maintaining a DRA beyond 6-weeks postpartum is not normal. There are a few factors that may contribute towards why you may have a lingering DRA, some within our control (movement patterns, breathing mechanics) and some without (genetics, number of babies you’re carrying).
What movement patterns could contribute towards a more severe DRA? The theory is that abdominal flexion and extension, where the tissue of the linea alba is overstretched or aggravated, could worsen DRA. So, crunches or sit ups (abdominal flexion) or exaggerated back extensions (abdominal extension) could damage the linea alba even more than normal pregnancy does.
Our approach to core training involves focusing on functional core movements to help strength the core without involving abdominal flexion/extension to protect the linea alba during pregnancy.
Functional Core Movements:
The Anti-Movement
The anti-movement resists movement or activates the core while not changing the length of the muscles. Some of our favorite movements include anti-rotation movements and anti-lateral flexion movements. Movement variations of the pallof press (anti-rotation) and farmers carries (anti-lateral flexion) are regularly programmed into our prenatal fitness programming. This movements strength the core without involving any abdominal flexion or extension, so would be safe for pregnancy and early postpartum.
The Rotational Movements
Our thoracic spine, or upper back, needs to move; the degree of rotation is nearly double what the lumbar spine’s (low back) degree of rotation is! During pregnancy, we tend to take on this protective posture that is rounded in the upper back, and may result in a lack of mobility in the upper back. When our thoracic spine is less mobile, we will still accomplish movements but may adapt to a compensation pattern. This means that places that are meant to be stable (lumbar spine) will become more mobile to accomplish movements (aka could increase back pain).
Focusing on rotational movements helps to keep our thoracic spine mobile and we can strength the abdominal muscles that accomplish rotation of the torso (think obliques).
Our hips are also highly mobile! Lots going on in our pelvic girdle, so having mobility in our hips is important, as well. We can pivot in the legs for rotational movement in the hips.
When doing rotational movements, focus on the chest or upper back moving or the hips, as opposed to the low back. We love programming the keg lift or rotational pallof presses as a rotational core component to our fitness programming.
The Extension Movements
The final component that we include in our core training is extension movements. This incorporates an anti-flexion/extension of the spine while extending in the hip. This movement is any movement that is hip extension: squats, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, lunges… and so on. You may not think of the hips as a part of the core, but they are very much a component!
The key to the extension movements is that the spine remains neutral; so, we resist the spine curling or arching during movement. Extension movements are easy to program, but during our conditioning workouts we are fans of programming dumbbell cleans, kettlebell swings, and sled pushes!
We can still train the core during pregnancy, and we should for optimized function! But we need to move away from traditional core movements such as crunches or sit ups! Focusing more on functional core movements, such as anti-movements, rotational, and extension, can still strengthen the core throughout pregnancy but will be more mindful of how our bodies are changing as we grow our own human(s).
Check out our online fitness programming options for workouts that are tailored to your phase of motherhood: pregnancy, postpartum, c-section recovery, and return to running! We incorporate a mindful core training progression that helps you connect with your core for optimized function!