12 Beneficial Core Exercises for Every Trimester

Building a strong, functional core is one of the most valuable things you can do during pregnancy (or as a trainer working with pregnant clients). A strong core can help prevent common pregnancy pains and injuries, support an easier labor, and expedite postpartum recovery.

While there are certainly core exercises to avoid or modify during pregnancy, this article introduces you to a type of core training that is not only safe but highly beneficial throughout pregnancy and postpartum (and any life stage, for that matter). These are the types of exercises that help you build a strong core that can withstand the stresses of pregnancy, birth, early parenthood, and beyond.

Read on to learn:

• Where to start with prenatal core training

• How to build core strength with “anti” core exercises

• The four categories of anti-core exercises

• Three example exercises from each category

• How to incorporate anti-core exercises into your training

Quick Answer: “Anti” core exercises are some of the most beneficial core exercises for pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. These are exercises that challenge your body to resist being pulled out of neutral alignment. There are four categories: anti-flexion, anti-lateral flexion, anti-rotation, and anti-extension. When you resist being pulled in a certain direction, this causes the core muscles to adapt and grow stronger. Before adding these exercises, it’s important to first establish a foundation through neutral alignment and 360° Breathing.

Core Training: Where to Start

Before jumping into any specific exercises, there are two foundational steps that apply to any individual, pregnant or not. Think of these as the prerequisites that make everything else more effective.

Step 1: Establish neutral alignment

It’s difficult to strengthen muscles that are already under unnecessary stress. When your body is out of neutral alignment, your core muscles have to work overtime just to compensate — leaving less capacity to actually get stronger. Getting into neutral alignment alleviates excess tension so your core can function as it’s designed to.

Step 2: Master 360° Breathing

With alignment established, the next step is learning how to activate the deep core muscles. This is accomplished by mastering what we call the #1 most effective core exercise: 360° Breathing. If you or your clients haven’t mastered this yet, we’d recommend starting there before adding any of the exercises below.

How to Build Core Strength with “Anti” Core Exercises

With alignment established and your deep core muscles functioning well, you’re ready to focus on building core strength. The most beneficial way to do this during pregnancy — and at any life stage — is through what are known as “anti” core exercises.

These are movements that attempt to pull your body out of neutral alignment, forcing your core muscles to work hard to resist that pull. Over time, resisting those forces causes the muscles to adapt and grow stronger.

There are four categories of anti-core exercises, named for the direction the body is being challenged to resist:

1. Anti-flexion
2. Anti-lateral flexion
3. Anti-rotation
4. Anti-extension

Let’s talk through each category in detail, with a few examples of each. Watch the videos for important technique tips and cues.

Anti-Flexion Exercises

Anti-flexion exercises are movements during which the body must resist being pulled forward into flexion. These moves target the posterior core muscles because they must work to prevent the body from collapsing forward.

This category is especially important during pregnancy and postpartum because so many daily tasks involve a forward pull, like baby wearing, lifting a car seat, picking things up off the ground, and leaning over a crib. Training anti-flexion moves will help you or your clients build the core strength necessary to move through these everyday demands with less pain and greater ease.

• Goblet Squats: Ensure the weight you are holding is heavy enough that you have to actively resist its forward pull. Holding a lighter weight won’t provide the same anti-flexion benefit.  Inhale on the way down, exhale as you push back up.

• Deadlifts: It’s common to see this movement performed with a rounded spine. Initiate the movement by sending your hips backward and keeping your spine in neutral, with your shoulders down and back. Coaches, a helpful tip is to refer to this move as a “ground pickup” instead of a deadlift to help your clients associate this movement pattern with how they naturally pick things up in their daily lives.

• Crib Reach: This move is similar to a deadlift, but it involves hinging over a barrier. Initiate the movement by sending your hips backward instead of reaching your arms forward with a rounded spine. Inhale as you lower down, exhale as you stand back up.

 

Anti-Lateral Flexion Moves

Anti-lateral flexion exercises are movements during which the body must resist being pulled into a side bend. This category is particularly valuable during pregnancy and postpartum because single-sided loads are a constant reality of life with a baby — from carrying a car seat, to a diaper bag, groceries, a child, or all of the above.😊

Training these movements will help you or your clients build the strength to handle those demands with better control and less strain.

• Carries: Specifically, single-sided (or asymmetrical) carries. You can do a low carry (as shown in the video below), or progress to a racked carry (at your shoulder) or an overhead carry. In any variation, the goal is the same: resist being pulled into a side bend, whether toward the side of the load or away from it as you counterbalance.

• Suitcase squat: This move adds some anti-flexion work into a traditional squat by holding one weight at your side (as if you were holding a heavy suitcase). Work to keep your trunk from tipping toward the weight as you lower down. Inhale on the way down, exhale as you stand back up.

• Side planks: In any variation, the core muscles must work to resist the hips from sinking downward and pulling the spine into lateral flexion. This move is easy to regress as pregnancy progresses by placing the bottom knee on the ground.

Anti-Rotation Moves

These are moves during which the body must resist being pulled into rotation (or a position in which the hips and shoulders are dissociated). Many of these moves require a band or cable and an anchor point (or partner), such as:

• Pallof Press: This movement can be done with a cable at the gym or a simple resistance band and door anchor at home.  With the band or cable anchored at one end, it will pull you into rotation, so you will have to work hard to resist that pull — especially when your arms are extended further away from your body. You can progress this movement by bringing your feet closer together, standing on one foot, or adding an overhead reach.

• Bird-Dog: This is an anti-rotation movement because the core must help you resist tipping toward the side of the extended arm. It also has an anti-extension component, as the lower back must resist sinking into an arch as the arm and leg extend.

• Standing Horizontal Single Arm Press: As the arm pulls back in (after the press), the core must resist rotating toward the side of the working arm. This makes it a deceptively effective anti-rotation exercise that translates well to everyday pushing and carrying movements.

Anti-Extension Moves

Anti-extension exercises are movements during which the body must resist being pulled into extension. The most familiar example is a plank, in which the core must work to prevent the hips from sinking downward and pulling the lumbar spine into extension.

This category targets the anterior (front) core muscles, which means these exercises will need to be regressed as pregnancy progresses and the belly grows. The good news is that there are effective modifications at every stage.

Here are some good options:

• Incline Plank: As pregnancy progresses, raising the incline reduces stress on the abdominal wall while still providing an effective anti-extension challenge. Focus on a lighter inhale and a stronger exhale while holding the position.

• Dead Bugs: Supine core exercises like dead bugs are anti-extension because the abdominal muscles must work hard to prevent the lower back from lifting off the ground into extension. Even though this exercise involves lying flat on your back, it is still safe to perform throughout pregnancy, as long as you (or your client) are comfortable, and there are no signs of coning. For more information on exercise in the supine position, check out our article: Can You Lie On Your Back During Pregnancy?.
  

Incorporating Anti-Core Exercises into Your Training

One of the most practical things about anti-core exercises is how easily they can be layered into an existing program. In many cases, it’s simply a matter of adjusting how a familiar exercise is loaded.

A few examples:

• Swap a bilateral squat (weight in each hand) for a goblet squat, and you’ve added an anti-flexion challenge.
• Hold a weight in one hand during a set of lunges, and you’ve introduced anti-lateral flexion.
• Switch from a two-arm cable pull to a single-arm pull, and you’ve created an anti-rotation exercise.

You can progress the challenge over time by increasing the load or extending the time under tension — the amount of time spent holding or moving through the position.

When prioritizing, anti-flexion and anti-lateral flexion are worth emphasizing most, as these are the directions pregnant and postpartum people are pulled in most frequently throughout their day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What core exercises are safe during every trimester of pregnancy? Exercises that strengthen the deep core muscles and help the body maintain neutral alignment are highly beneficial throughout every trimester (and beyond). “Anti” core exercises — including anti-flexion, anti-lateral flexion, anti-rotation, and anti-extension movements — are great examples. These exercises involve resisting being pulled out of neutral alignment, which strengthens the deep core muscles.

Is core training safe during pregnancy? Yes, core training is not only safe during pregnancy but highly recommended. A strong core can help prevent common pregnancy pains and injuries, support an easier labor, expedite postpartum recovery, and even create a healthier fetal growth environment. The key is to select exercises that strengthen the deep core without creating excessive intra-abdominal pressure, as that could exacerbate issues like diastasis recti. 

What is anti-core training? “Anti” core training refers to exercises that challenge the core to resist being pulled out of neutral alignment, rather than moving through a range of motion. There are four categories: anti-flexion, anti-lateral flexion, anti-rotation, and anti-extension. This approach is considered one of the most effective ways to build functional core strength during pregnancy, postpartum, and at any life stage.

When should I modify core exercises during pregnancy? Core exercises should be modified when they create excessive intra-abdominal pressure (as evidenced by coning in the belly), cause discomfort, or when you can no longer maintain neutral alignment. Of the exercises listed in this article, anti-extension exercises typically require the most modification as pregnancy progresses because they target the anterior (front) core muscles.

Are core exercises safe during postpartum recovery? Yes, these exercises are great for the postpartum period since they prepare you for so many of the real life demands of parenthood (that also pull you in all directions). The best approach is to begin with core recovery exercises first (like 360° Breathing and pelvic floor work), then progress to anti-core exercises.

Become a ProNatal Certified Coach

If you’re a health & fitness professional looking for more than just beneficial exercises, explore our Pre & Postnatal Fitness Specialist Certification to learn how to design comprehensive training programs for pregnant and postpartum clients of all stages and fitness levels. Enroll now and learn how to train clients for the “event of a lifetime” as a ProNatal Certified Coach.