Written by

Gina Conley, MS

April 16, 2024

The Best Prenatal Workout Warm-Up Routine for Birth Preparation

Birth Preparation, Fitness, Pelvic Floor, Prenatal

Now that I am in the second half of my pregnancy, I have started to incorporate the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit into my prenatal warm-up routine (and try to do it daily even on my off days) to help prep my body for birth! I also include some mobility exercises specific to my daily workout, as well!

I am currently doing the MamasteFit Prenatal Strength Program! It syncs to my current week of pregnancy, so whatever week I currently am, the program is also on that week. It offers me trimester-specific lifting modifications and also pelvic floor and pelvic opening exercises to prep me for birth!

In this workout, I was doing squats and deadlifts plus tons of accessory work to support single leg stability to improve my lifts but also pelvic stability exercises to keep my core and pelvis feeling strong and stable, and pelvic opening/pelvic floor exercises for birth prep.

A quick breakdown of my workout (and why these exercises are helpful for my pregnancy):

Squats and Deadlifts help to strengthen my lower body! These are the main lifts for today’s workout, so I will be lifting around 70-80% effort to maintain my strength throughout my pregnancy.
Lateral step-ups are a single leg exercise which I incorporate internal hip rotation at the bottom to improve hip mobility, which creates more space in my lower pelvis for birth.
Standing banded abduction (and I did adduction, as well) strengthens my outer glute and inner thigh to support opening the top versus the bottom of the pelvis. Plus this helps with pelvic stability.
Single leg deadlift with a row is a posterior oblique sling strengthening exercise! The hamstrings play a bring role in pulling the pelvis into internal rotation (opens the lower pelvis). The posterior oblique sling helps to stabilize the lower back and SI joints.

Hip shifts with foam roller is a pelvic floor release mobility exercise, that I have been loving. The external feedback with the foam roller has helped me really find a more closed hip position to release tension in my posterior pelvic floor.
The final circuit includes the Bulgarian split squats, split squat march, and glute 2! This is a pelvic stability circuit that helps address pelvic balance (my right glute and quad area little weaker compared to my left) and strengthens the myofascial slings that support the pubic bone too!

This is what my daily workouts look like in our training app to support your pregnancy! It includes main lifts (with modifications, as needed), accessory work to support your main lifts + core/pelvic stability exercises. So, you can stay strong and pain-free throughout your pregnancy!

Plus our programming includes birth preparation exercises, such as pelvic opening (certain muscles help to open the pelvis, and certain muscles need to be released to do so) and pelvic floor release exercises too! All of this is weaved into a daily workout!

If you want more daily workouts to support a strong pregnancy as you prepare for birth, join our online prenatal fitness programs!

MamasteFit is unique in that we are one of the ONLY prenatal/postnatal training facilities in the United States. We develop our workout programs from our experience of working with in-person pre/postnatal fitness clients and work closely with physical therapists to refine our programming. In addition, we are birth workers, so we combine our experience as perinatal fitness trainers and birth professionals to ensure that our programs actually support your birth preparation and recovery!

Our prenatal fitness programs are offered in several formats:

40-Week Prenatal Strength Program in the Teambuildr App:
- This program is a self-paced workout with shorter demo videos. This is ideal if you like to workout in a gym setting and prefer a traditional workout delivery format.
- This program syncs to your current week of pregnancy, so you can start anytime, with one-time payment or month-to-month payment options.
- This program has a full and mini version, depending on how much time you have to dedicate to workouts!
Prenatal On-Demand Fitness Program:
- If you prefer to follow a video as you workout at the same time, this workout program will be the best option!
- This program syncs to your current trimester, so you can grab the trimesters you need!
Prenatal Yoga Classes:
- If you want prenatal yoga, join our prenatal yoga program! This also syncs to your current trimester.

My Prenatal Workout Warm Up Routine

Now that I have gone over what my workout includes, let’s break down what I did to warm up for this workout! I am 21 weeks pregnant (at the time of writing this), so I am now including the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit into my warm-up routine.

The Birth Prep Circuit helps to release common areas of tension during pregnancy that may impact our ability to create space in our pelvis.

During pregnancy, we tend to favor a more extended spine (arched back) position with external hip rotation–which may make it harder for us to find a rounded back (posterior pelvic tilt) and internal hip rotation (both of which are important to opening the pelvis for birth). Plus our circuit includes exercises to release the posterior pelvic floor, where most of us have way more tension!

In the birth prep circuit, I have included:

Forward Leaning Inversion to release tension in the uterine ligaments to support your baby’s position.
Back Expansion Breathing drill to release tension in the back to help you find more of a posterior pelvic tilt and this helps release tension in the posterior pelvic floor.
Forward Lat Stretch to continue to release tension in the back.
Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch with Side Body Opener to release tension in the hip flexors to make it easier to find a rounded position
Hip-shifted pelvic tilts (all fours) to release tension in the posterior pelvic floor and help you find more internal pelvic rotation.
It finishes up with the standing hip shift to find another position to release tension in the posterior pelvic floor and internal pelvic rotation (both of which create space in the lower pelvis).

1) Forward Leaning Inversion (MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit)

The first movement in the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit is the Forward Leaning Inversion. This exercise releases tension in the vertical running uterine ligaments, and feels so good! I usually feel a great stretch in my lower back/sacrum area and my round ligaments (that have been on the tighter side for me as my belly as really popped this past week).

In this exercise, I will take three deep breaths, then move out of it. It usually takes less than 20 seconds!

Releasing tension in the vertical running uterine ligaments can support your baby’s position too! Their positions are not random, but rather based on the space that is available for them. If the uterine ligaments are tight or twisted, it could impact your baby’s position for birth!

2) Back Expansion Breathing Drill (MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit)

Next, I did the back expansion breathing drill from the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit. This exercise is amazing for lower back release.

I hold onto a sturdy structure and sink back into my hips, as if I was trying to sit in a chair that was just a little bit too far away. I inhale to feel my back expand, then exhale to engage my abs to round more by pulling my rib cage and pelvis closer together. I feel myself move deeper into the rounded position with every exhale!

This one is my favorite for lower back release too!

It is really important that we can find a rounded position, posterior pelvic tilt, as this helps to create more space front-to-back in the top of the pelvis (helps move the sacral promontory backward). Plus, a posterior pelvic tilt makes finding internal hip rotation easier, so it can help you create more side-to-side space in the lower half of the pelvis too!

3) Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Release (MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit)

Next up is the half kneeling hip flexor release. My hip flexors always feel so tight, so this is a great one for me personally (and I bet it will feel great for you too).

In the half kneeling position, I tuck my butt under to feel more of a stretch in the front side of my thigh then push my hips forward to intensify the stretch. Then I will reach overhead with the same side arm, to increase the side-body stretch too.

I find holding onto something helpful for my balance in this position!

The hip flexors pull the pelvis forward into an anterior pelvic tilt, so this is important to help us find more of a rounded position (the importance that we discussed in the last exercise)!

4) All Fours Hip Shifted Pelvic Tilts (MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit)

Next, we are moving onto our pelvic floor release exercises! The posterior pelvic floor, or the back portion of our pelvic floor, has more tension than the front for most of us. This is due to us favoring that common prenatal posture of external hip rotation (decreases space in the posterior outlet) and extension of the spine (also decreases space in the posterior outlet).

So, the front half of our pelvic floor tends to have more length/stretch while the back half is a lot tighter.

Hip shifted exercises can stretch the posterior pelvic floor! In this position, I shift my weight towards the elevated knee to feel more of a stretch in my glute/pelvic floor.

Then maintaining this shift, I begin to round and arch in my back to move through some pelvic tilts. I usually feel like my pelvis is rotating on my femur as I move through these pelvic tilts.

We must release tension in our posterior pelvic floor because this can influence how well our sacrum can move! And our sacrum needs to move in order to create more space in our pelvic inlet and outlet!

Plus, our prenatal comfort is at stake too! If your posterior pelvic floor is tighter, it can impact your pelvic floor function, as well. So you may experience more constipation issues, tailbone pain, or even pelvic pain!

5) Supported Standing Hip Shift (MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit)

The final movement of the MamasteFit Birth Prep Circuit is the supported standing hip shift. This is similar to the all fours hip shift, but it is a static position and the upright position tends to change the activation (some find they feel the hip shift more in this upright position).

I find this static position helps me focus on breathing into my pelvic floor to release tension too! You can try to inhale to expand in the back half of your pelvic floor, and exhale to lift up in the front half of the pelvic floor as another release technique too!

Want to learn more on how to use prenatal fitness to support a strong and pain-free pregnancy, plus exercises to release tension in the pelvic floor and open the pelvis for birth? We also break down how to use prenatal exercise and labor positions to support your baby’s position!

Pre-order our book Training for Two! This book includes 90+ exercises to build your confidence as you navigate fitness throughout your pregnancy and prep for birth, plus a whole chapter on early postpartum recovery!

6) Squat Therapy: Deep Squat Mobility with Thoracic Rotations

After the birth prep circuit, I included some exercises that are specific to my workout: deep squats and hip mobility.

I started with our squat therapy routine where you press both knees out in a deep squat position and then move into thoracic rotations still in this deep squat.

The thoracic spine influences our pelvic position, so it is important that we still include thoracic mobility even if its not the pelvis or pelvic floor. How we are positioned in our upper body can increase or limit where we can position our pelvis!

7) Adductor Rock Back to Pigeon: Hip Mobility

I finished up my warm-up routine with this adductor rock back to pigeon stretch. This will probably not be super accessible as I make it towards my third trimester, but it’s been a fun hip mobility exercise for me! I have more tension in my right adductor and left glute, so targeting this on those sides specifically has been helping my hips feel great going into my workout!

Stay Strong During Pregnancy and Prep for Birth!

Hopefully this breakdown helped you understand WHY I program certain things into our prenatal fitness programs. Our warm up routine helps you prep for your workout AND for birth. Stay strong throughout your pregnancy as you prep for birth with our programming!