Pregnancy Modified Squat Exercise

Commonly Used For: Pregnancy-Related Pain.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do a Modified Squat Exercise, which is a good way to do squats during pregnancy if doing the regular squats that I've demonstrated in my previous exercise videos are too difficult for you. So, what you're going to need is an exercise ball [here's a Swiss Ball via Amazon.com.], that you can get at any sporting goods store or online. You're going to put it up against the wall, turn around, put it so it fills in the small of your back there, lean into it a little bit. You want to make sure your feet are about hip distance apart and your toes are pointing straight forward. And then, you're just going to slowly squat down and come back up. You want your bottom to kind of follow the curve of the ball as you go down and up, just leaning back into the ball, letting it give you support, making this exercise a little bit easier during pregnancy. Down and up. If at any point you feel pain, cramping, contractions during this exercise, then you need to stop and contact your doctor. So, this is your Modified Squat Exercise.

Pregnancy Swiss Ball Pelvic Tilts

Commonly Used For: Pregnancy-Related Pain.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do some Swiss Ball pelvic tilting, or exercise pelvic tilting, which is a good way to just very gently engage your lower abdominals during pregnancy, and help stretch out the lower back as well. [Here's a Swiss Ball via Amazon.com.] If you're having some low back pain, this can be a pain relieving exercise for you. So what you want to do is you're going to sit down on your exercise ball. I'll turn sideways so you can see better. And then what you're going to do is just very gently use your lower abdominals to help push the ball forward, and tuck your pelvis under. So you're going to tuck, and then back to your starting position, tuck, back to your starting position. So your upper body should not move anywhere, it should be staying still, and just your lower body is tucking under, and pushing the ball forward. You can do ten tucks or so, and then if you are having low back pain and that's why you're doing this exercise, just gentle bouncing can also help relieve some of that low back pain. So I like to do ten tucks, forward, and then just do 30 seconds or so of gentle bouncing. Again, if at any time you feel any pain, cramping, contractions, then immediately stop and get a hold of your doctor. So that's your Swiss Ball pelvic tilting exercise.

Leg Exercise - Hamstring Curls with Swiss Ball

Commonly Used For: Knee pain and post-surgical recovery.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do hamstring curls with an exercise ball now [here's a Swiss Ball via Amazon.com]. It's a great way to strengthen the muscles in the back of your thigh here as well as turning on your core muscles as they'll be needed to stabilize you on the ball. So, you're going to get down on the floor, put your feet up on the ball, lay down flat. You're going to tighten your stomach muscles first in order to help prevent any sort of low back pain. You're going to bridge up, and then, maintaining that bridge with your hips nice and level, your going to curl the ball in towards your bottom and back out, maintaining your hips the same level the whole time. The tendency is to let your hips drop as you curl the ball in, so make sure you stay up nice and high, maintaining that bridge while you curl the ball in and out. You should feel a nice burn going on in your hamstrings. So, that's your hamstring curls with the exercise ball.

Leg Exercise - Bridge Exercise with Swiss Ball

Commonly Used For: Knee pain, hip pain, back pain and core strengthening.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do bridges with an exercise ball [here's one from Amazon.com], which is a good way to strengthen both your glutes and your hamstrings as well as your core, as you'll be needing to stabilize the exercise ball. So, what you're going to do is you're going to get on the floor. You're going to put your feet up on the ball, lay down flat. You can do this with either your knees bent or straight. So, you're going to keep your knees straight, you're going to have your feet up on the ball and just lift straight up, squeezing your glutes as you lift up off the floor and slowly lowering yourself back down. So, where your core strengthening comes in is you need to keep it stable. Don't let it wiggle around. You're just nice and tight, and back down. If you're going to do it with your knees bent, bring the ball in a little bit more, dig your heels down into the ball, and bridge up nice and slow. This one, you're going to feel it a little bit more in those hamstrings as well as in the glutes. You should feel no low back pain with this. If you do, you might be either bridging up too high and arching your low back, or you need to tighten your stomach muscles more before you lift up off the ground. So that's how you do your Swiss Ball bridges.