There are so many types of exercises we can incorporate into our prenatal fitness programming to support a comfortable pregnancy and preparation for birth.
In my experience, most prenatal fitness programs on the market are a collection of exercises deemed “safe” for pregnancy: no sit-ups, no crunches, no jumping, etc. But these programs are not necessarily specifically designed for pregnancy. Rather, it’s a program meant for the general population that has omitted the “unsafe for pregnancy” movements.
Our prenatal fitness program is designed FOR pregnancy and focuses on:
- Prenatal strength and conditioning to stay strong throughout pregnancy, maintain stamina during birth, and recovery easier postpartum
- Pelvic stability with myofascial sling emphasis
- Pelvic opening to support preparation for birth
Now, since we specialize in prenatal fitness programming, what types of exercises do we think are the BEST to prepare for birth?
Movements that:
- Prepare the pelvis to open for birth
- Strengthen the glutes
- Release pelvic floor tension
And the type of movement that meets all these criteria includes movements that emphasize internal rotation of the femur (closed hip positions).
The Best Prenatal Exercise: Find Internal Rotation to Open the Bottom Half of the Pelvis!
When preparing for birth, we want to ensure that we can open each level of the pelvis:
- The top of the pelvis: external rotation of the femurs, pelvic tilting
- The middle of the pelvis: asymmetrical movements with external rotation of the femur AND internal rotation of the femur.
- The bottom of the pelvis: internal rotation of the femurs, pelvic tilting
External rotation tends to be EASY during pregnancy!
It is a postural tendency that many of us favor throughout our pregnancy, and is also a position that is emphasized in most fitness programs (think squats, deadlifts, extension, extension, extension)!
But we tend to see more issues with the ability to find internal rotation (or rather the inability to do so).
Internal rotation is needed to open the bottom half of the pelvis. If we cannot find internal rotation with one femur or both, we tend to see late labor stalls or baby appearing to be stuck in the pelvis.
One way to overcome late labor stalls:
- Open the bottom half of the pelvis with internal rotation
The good news is we do not need to wait until labor to address pelvic opening!
We can use prenatal fitness as an opportunity to ensure we can find different hip movements so that we can open the pelvic levels.
Prenatal fitness programs should emphasize the FULL range of motion of the hip:
- External rotation/open hip positions
- Internal rotation/closed hip positions
- Pelvic tilting
Our prenatal fitness program DOES incorporate all of this, and we break down pelvic biomechanics in more depth in our childbirth education courses.
Learn the science of pregnancy and birth to take the mystery of labor away! Understand why you are feeling what you feel, and learn strategies to confidently move through pregnancy and birth!
- 9 hours of on-demand video
- Lifetime Access of E-Course
- Watch on Mobile Device
3 Prenatal Exercises to Prepare for Birth
External rotation of the hips is an incredibly common movement incorporated into almost every fitness program (I would put money on EVERY fitness program have tons of external rotation emphasis).
What we can do to prepare for birth is to emphasize the FULL range of motion by incorporating internal rotation!
The following exercises start in internal rotation, move through external rotation, and back into internal.
So, we are focusing on the full range of motion of the hip to support:
- Better glute engagement and activation = stronger glutes
- Pelvic floor release and activation = more even tone and improved function of the pelvic floor
- Pelvic opening and birth preparation
If you want more of a breakdown of WHAT to do throughout your prenatal workouts, check out our prenatal fitness programs! We offer it in two formats:
- 40-Week Prenatal Strength in the Teambuildr App (traditional delivery format)
- Prenatal On-Demand with full-length workout videos that you follow along as you workout
1) Step Ups with Internal Rotation Emphasis
Step-ups are one of my favorite ways to teach internal rotation!
Starting with one foot on an elevated surface:
- Put weight into the foot on the box, focusing on big toe ball mound, ankle, and knee staying aligned.
- Then rotate the pelvis to the femur. Think belly to thigh WITHOUT moving the knee outwards or shifting weight into the outside of the foot.
- Reach forward with the opposite arm, as if you were trying to grab something in front of you.
- Step up onto the box as you rotate the hips forward
- Step back down shifting back to this belly to thigh position.
Watch the video below for a breakdown.
2) Reverse Lunge Row with Internal Rotation Emphasis
The reverse lunge with banded row incorporates the posterior oblique sling to stabilize across the SI joint. We can also add an emphasis on internal rotation with lunges!
At the bottom of the movement:
- Focus on keeping weight into the big toe side of the foot, and the knee/ankle staying aligned.
- Step back into a lunge, as you rotate belly to thigh to find internal rotation without the knee moving outwards.
- Reach forward with the opposite hand to hold on the band of the forward leg
- As you reach, feel yourself sink deeper into internal rotation.
- Exhale to stand up as you face forward and row the band back at the same time
- Inhale to return to the starting position
Watch the video below for a breakdown of how to do this exercise!
3) Standing Hip Shift
The standing hip shift is a breathing drill that releases the posterior pelvic floor and shifts the pelvis into internal rotation on one side.
- Put weight into one leg, then grab onto a sturdy structure with the opposite hand.
- Shift back into a hinge type movement (hips to wall behind you) as you straighten the leg
- Round slightly in the back as you think push the chest away from the floor
- Rotate the knee inward without moving the foot
- You should feel a stretch from the arm holding onto the structure to the opposite glute/hamstring
Watch the video for a breakdown of how to do this movement!
Learn how to prepare your pelvic floor for birth in our online, self-paced pelvic floor prep for birth course!
In this course, we break down HOW the pelvic floor functions and basic anatomy. This course includes breathing drills to learn how to move the pelvic floor, mobility drills to support the pelvic and pelvic floor position, and pelvic floor relaxation to prepare for birth.
Stay Comfortable Throughout Pregnancy & Prepare for Birth: Find Internal Rotation of the Hip
Our prenatal fitness programming should be designed for pregnancy, NOT a general population workout program with “unsafe” exercises for pregnancy omitted. Our programming should be focused on staying comfortable and strong throughout your pregnancy and preparing for birth!
While many fitness programs incorporate external rotation, as we prepare for birth we can emphasize full hip range of motion by focusing on internal rotation! This is what we focus on in our prenatal programs, that we have designed specifically for pregnancy and birth preparation!