Leg workouts during pregnancy should be a part of every expectant mother's routine (2023)

By now you know that there are many reasons for thissports during pregnancy– Less back pain, reduced risk of gestational diabetes and faster postpartum recovery, to name a fewpossible benefits.

But if you thought the focus was just on maintaining a stable core to regain abdominal strength after childbirth, you're missing out on some of the body's largest muscles, many of which are in the lower body.

Benefits of exercises for glutes and legs during pregnancy

To put it bluntly, building lower body strength is essential during pregnancy. In particular, lower-body exercises that strengthen the glutes can help counteract pelvic and joint pain.Back pain in expectant mothers.

As pregnancy progresses, many pregnant women may experience a more extreme situation.anterior pelvic tiltas your baby bump grows. This tilt can put pressure on your lower back and lead to tight hamstrings.

Strengthening your lower body through strategic leg and glute exercises can help prevent these imbalances and ensure you feel physically supported as you carry a growing child. Finally, pregnant leg exercises can make walking easier and help increase overall stability for expectant mothers.

Exercises for buttocks and legs to avoid during pregnancy

While it's safe to do lots of leg and glute exercises during pregnancy, you may need to change your moves as the weeks go by. When in doubt, always consult your doctor, but in general it's best to avoid leg and glute exercises that:

• Compromise your balance.Your balance is already a little off during pregnancy, so adding it during exercise increases your risk of falling.
• They involve ballistic movements.Avoid jumping jacks or other high-impact exercises common in CrossFit and HIIT training. They can lead to an increased feeling of instability and cause pelvic discomfort or injury.
• Lie face up.Too much time in this position, combined with the extra weight of the baby, can compress the vena cava, the vein that carries blood to the heart from other areas of the body.
• Requires only one-sided loading.Unilateral weight-bearing exercises (such as split squats or single-leg deadlifts) can increase pelvic floor discomfort in some women during pregnancy. In this case, avoid one-sided exercises and ensure a balanced movement.

The best exercises for buttocks and legs during pregnancy

Try to do at least two strengthening exercises per week, such as B. pregnancy yoga or Pilates. Complement your lower-body (as well as upper and full-body) workouts with a light aerobic routine such asgo.

Overall, most pregnant women should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.

Looking for inspiration for your next pregnancy leg workout? Try these leg and glute exercises together for a targeted workout, or add them individually to a full-body routine.

reverse squat

1. Start with feet hip-width apart, toes turned slightly outward. Keep your chest up and bend your knees until your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.
2. Push through your heels while squeezing your butt to return to a standing position.
3. Keeping your chest lifted, step back with your right foot and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle. The torso should remain upright with the hips facing forward.
4. Press into your front heel to return to a standing position.
5. Squat down, then step your left leg back into a reverse lunge on the opposite side. This is a repeat.

Do 8 to 10 reps, switch sides.

Knicks lunge for side lunge

1. Start with feet hip-width apart, then step your right foot diagonally behind your left and bend your knees to about a 90-degree angle. Make sure the front knee doesn't stray too far from the midline. (To increase intensity: Pulse up and down 3-5 times with each arc.)
2. Push through your front heel while squeezing your back to return to a standing position.
3. Immediately step your right foot to the side and bend it at a 90-degree angle with your right knee to do a side lunge.
4. Press into your right heel to return to standing position before repeating the arch to side lunge lunge pattern. Complete all reps on the right side, then all reps on the left side.

Do 8 to 10 repetitions on each side.

Bribes from the buttocks

1. Start on all fours with your palms under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2. Extend your left leg directly behind you, heel into the air, keeping your abs tight and spine neutral. Back to the starting position. Complete all reps on the left side, then all reps on the left side.

Do 8 reps on each side.

Side leg raises

1. Lie on your left side with your left arm supporting your head and your right arm resting on your hip or the floor in front of you. Bend your left knee.
2. Slowly and under control, raise your right leg straight up until you feel the gluteus externus lock into place, without having to push yourself up. Keep your right hip stacked over your left.
3. Lower your right leg in a controlled manner, never letting it hit the floor, but hovering just above it. Repeat. (To increase intensity: At the top of your range of motion, pulse up and down a few inches, or rotate your leg forward and then back.) Do all reps on that side, then all reps on the opposite side.

Do 10 reps on each side.

glute bridge

1. First, lie on your back hip-width apart and your knees point straight up. Your heels should be close enough to your butt that you can reach the back of your heels with your fingertips.
2. Place a Pilates ball, yoga block, or rolled-up towel between your thighs.
3. Breathe in and out to strengthen your core, squeeze the ball and push through your heels to lift your butt off the floor. Be careful not to overstretch at the top and avoid arching your back.
4. Slowly roll back to your starting position and release your pelvic floor when your hips touch the floor.

Do 8 to 12 reps.

second position folded

1. Start by standing with your feet wider than hip-width apart and your toes turned outward. The shoulders should be stacked over the hips. Can be attached to a wall or chair for extra support.
2. Inhale while counting to two times to lower your hips to the floor, bend your knees and keep them in line with your toes. Exhale and push through your heels to return to standing, counting twice as you do so.

Do 15 to 20 repetitions.

Pulse curve of the second position

1. Start by standing with your feet wider than hip-width apart and your toes turned outward. The shoulders should be in line with the hips. Can be attached to a wall or chair for extra support.
2. Inhale while counting to two times to lower your hips to the floor, bend your knees and keep them in line with your toes.
3. At the bottom of the movement, hold with your knees at about a 90 degree angle and push in, moving your hips up and down an inch. Each impulse is a repetition.

Do 20 to 30 repetitions.

four-legged donkey kick

1. Start on all fours with your palms under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2. Keeping your spine neutral, straighten your right leg and raise it so it is in line with your hips.
3. Bend your right foot and arch your heel toward your butt. Count twice to get as close to your buttocks as possible and squeeze your hamstrings. Extend your right leg behind you, keeping it parallel to the floor as you continue to curl.

Do 15 to 20 repetitions on each side.

four-legged hydrant

1. Start on all fours with your palms under your shoulders and your knees under your hips.
2. Keeping your spine neutral, straighten your right leg and bend your knee to form a 90-degree angle.
3. Keeping the right leg bent, lower the knee toward the mat to reach the side of the supporting knee, then raise the bent leg to the side until you can go no further without changing the alignment of your hips or spine. .
4. Bring the knee down to hover off the floor, then repeat bringing the knee back into the hamstrings bent position.

Do 8 to 12 reps on each side.

shell lying on its side

1. First, lie on your left side, using your left forearm to keep your torso upright and maintaining lift on your lower hips. The hips need to be stacked.
2. Bend your knees together and bring them forward until your heels are in line with your hips.
3. Pin the center and lift to open the top of the folded leg and create a diamond shape with the legs with the edges of the feet still connected. Make sure your hips stay stacked.
4. Inhale and close your knees, return to the starting position.

Do 8 to 12 reps on each side.