Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but with it comes aches, pains, and difficulty in many everyday tasks. I should know, my wife is currently pregnant! We’ve found that by giving her safe exercises to do weekly, she’s become stronger and feels better overall. While it’s always safer to workout with a trainer who knows what he/she is doing, I’ve put together an at-home workout that we’ve tested (with a real live pregnant woman) to strengthen your prenatal body and prep you for childbirth.

1. Bird/ Dog
– Position yourself on your hands and knees, making sure your shoulders are directly over your hands, and your hips are directly over your knees.
– Start with one leg stretching straight out behind you and the opposite arm stretching straight out in front of you.
– Hold this position for 30 seconds.
– Repeat on the other side.

2. Cat/Cow
– Position yourself on your hands and knees, making sure your shoulders are directly over your hands, and your hips are directly over your knees.
– Pull in your core and round your back up towards the ceiling, forming the “cat” position.
– Hold for 15 seconds.
– Slowly drop your hips and arch your back forming the “cow position”.
– Hold for 15 seconds.

3. Wall Squat
-Lean against the wall with your feet in front of you.
– Squat down so that your knees are at a 90 degree angle (parallel to the floor).
– Hold for 90 seconds.
– For the last 20 seconds, raise your toes one inch off the floor.

4. Lunge Left
– Get into a lunge position keeping the front knee above the ankle the entire time.
– make sure that the back leg is not too far back. Your shoulder, hip and knee should be lined up.
-Hold for 1:00

5. Lunge Right
– Get into a lunge position keeping the front knee above the ankle the entire time.
– make sure that the back leg is not too far back. Your shoulder, hip and knee should be lined up.
-Hold for 1:00

6. Wall Squat
-Lean against the wall with your feet in front of you.
– Squat down so that your knees are at a 90 degree angle (parallel to the floor).
– Hold for 90 seconds.
– For the last 20 seconds, raise your toes one inch off the floor.

7. Plank
– Position yourself on your forearms and toes. If it’s too hard, or doesn’t feel comfortable, can drop your knees to the floor.
– Make sure that your shoulders remain over your elbows the entire time.
– Keep your core tight with your hips slightly up and flexed.
– Hold for 1 minute

8. Push Ups
– Place your hands under your shoulders, then walk them each two inches away from each other
– Stay on your knees, and keep your core tight to stabilize your lower back.
– Take five seconds to lower your body and five seconds to lift it back up.
– Repeat for 30 seconds.

9. Triceps Extension Wall
– Face the wall and place your hands on the wall at about eye level. Take a step back with your feet.
– Start bending your elbows slowly until they touch the wall.
– As soon as your elbows tap the wall, take five seconds to push yourself out to the starting position.
– Repeat for one minute and 30 seconds.

10. Ab Sit
– Have a seat on the ground with your knees bent at 90 degrees in the air.
– Straighten your arms in front of you and lean back 5 inches.
– Tighten your core and hold for 2 sets of 30 seconds with a 10 second rest in between.

11. Child’s Pose into Cat Position
– Begin on your hands and knees, make sure your shoulders are over your hands and your hips are over your knees.
– Sit back onto your heals. You can spread your knees to have make room for that growing belly!
– From the child’s pose, pull in your core and round your back up towards the ceiling, forming a “cat” position
– Hold for 15 seconds.

Please consult your doctor before doing any sort of workout while pregnant.