Can I Do Squats While Pregnant?

If you are used to exercising all the time and now you are pregnant, one of the questions that may pop up on your mind right now is: can I do squats while pregnant?

The physical form during pregnancy greatly affects the way a pregnancy evolves. If you are a sedentary person, you`ll probably have a low tonus. If you are a type of energetic woman, you may have a good tonus and a lot of energy.

A lot of pregnant women decide to practice physical exercises to release this energy, but also to stay fit for the postnatal period, also known as postpartum period. But, often when you are expecting a baby, you are afraid to make moves that you don`t normally do, so you don`t accidentally make a move that may harm your pregnancy or baby. And you choose walking as the main form of movement because you are sure it`s a safe exercises. However, during the winter, walking isn`t an exercise very easy to perform – the risk of slipping is too high and it can get cold to fast.

Can I Do Squats While Pregnant?

You are allowed to do squats as they are an essential type of exercise while pregnant and an extraordinary resistance exercise when you want to maintain a range of motion and strength in your hips, core or pelvic muscles. If they are performed properly, they aid improve posture offer many advantages for both pregnancy and birth. However, in time you`ll notice that it becomes impossible to do squats correctly due to the enlarged belly, which will make things harder and harder for this type of exercising.

You don`t have to perform these exercises with weight to make them beneficial for your body. If your pregnancy is healthy, you can just perform them throughout without too much hassle. As always, you should talk to your doctor first before deciding to start practicing squatting.

Can Squats Help You Go into Labor?

According to the American Pregnancy Association, squats are able to open the pelvic outlet by 10%. When you choose this type of physical exercise, it creates more space for your baby to move through the birth canal. The latest studies show that squats during the third trimester of pregnancy can aid in strengthening the leg muscles, which are mandatory when talking about labor and those final pushes when giving birth.

Benefits of Squats

But what type of exercise can you do in the comfort of your home? Some believe squats to be one of the best.

They Help You Stay in Shape

Squats help the muscles of your body stay in shape and, at the same time, it removes the discomfort you may feel due to a lack of movement.

Squats are Recommended for Back and Pelvic Pain

These are exercises recommended if you experience back pain, because they help decrease it, often completely. Also, because these exercises will strengthen your glute muscles, they`ll also help you decrease pelvic pain.

They Are a Type of Exercise That Help You Control your Body

While your pregnancy evolves, the body`s center of gravity changes. This will make you unsafe and you may lose your balance easily. But squats can put you in control again fast.

Relieving Constipation

They help in relieving constipation, one of the common problems that many pregnant women are facing.

They Decrease the Pressure in the Pelvis

The pressure in the pelvis area is very high, especially in the third trimester. When doing squats, this pressure decreases.

Squats Can Help You at Birth

Squats can help you for labor and childbirth. They strengthen the pelvis muscles, which is a great advantage during childbirth. The position for squats is one of the best positions for birth: this is the position in which the birth canal grows, the perineal muscles relax and the baby gets more oxygen.

Squats Create a Great Looking Butt

Maybe this doesn`t matter too much during pregnancy, but it will again matter after birth, especially if you were used to visit the gym every day before getting pregnant. Squats are a type of exercise that “designs” your butt in such a way that it will turn every heard around on the street.

How to Properly Do Squats during Pregnancy?

Your legs must be distanced and the knees shouldn`t exceed your toes. The weight should come on your heels as much as possible. If you feel you cannot keep your balance too well, you can also use a chair – either to hold your hands, or to put it back so you can touch it slightly with your ass when you drop down.

A variation of doing squats is to use a fitness ball and a wall, like you see in the video below. You should put the ball between you and the wall and lean on it, making sure it won`t fall Keep your legs slightly apart and bend the knees by leaning forward until they`ll form an angle of 90 degrees between thighs and ankles, but making sure not to drop the ball. Then, return to the original position and repeat the movement 10 times.