1. Place your feet slightly wider than hip width apart with your toes very slightly pointed out. Note: Depending on the stage of pregnancy, you may need to have your legs wider to accommodate your belly as you descend.

2. With your elbows at your sides, clasp your hands together at your chest. Here you can hold a dumbbell or no weight.

3. To begin the squat, engage your core and slowly press your knees out as if you are spreading the floor with your feet and begin to sit back into your hips. Note: You can place a chair behind you to help you gauge your movement.

4. Once you reach the bottom, exhale and stand.

5. If using a dumbbell, hold the dumbbell in front of your chest.

6. Repeat this movement until reps are completed.

What to avoid

• Allowing your knees to cave in toward each other.

Not moving slow and controlled and dropping too fast.

Tucking your tailbone or hyperextending you low back. Focus on keeping a neutral spine.

1. Begin with by performing a squat while holding a dumbbell at chest height.

2. As you stand, lift your right knee while brining your right elbow and knee together to perform a side crunch.

3. Return to your squat position and repeat on the left side.

4. Continue alternating to complete reps

1. Start on you back with your hands on the floor by your side, your knees up and feet comfortably placed on the floor. Place the loop band around your knees.

2. Exhale and engage you core and pelvic floor. Slightly press your knees against the loop band as you press through your heels to contract your glutes.

3. Lift you hips off the ground until your reach a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.

4. With your core and glutes firmly engaged, hold this postion at the top and begin opening and closing your knees against the loop band.

5. At the end of the reps, slowly reverse the motion as you inhale on the way down.

6. You can also do this as a simple glute bridge by omitting the pulses at the top of the exercise.

What to avoid

Overarching your lower back by lifting your hips too high
Lifting or flairing your rib cage.
Allowing your knees to collapse in toward eachother
Not keeping your shoulders relaxed and straining your neck.

1. Begin on your back with heels on top of a chair or any sturdy surface. Your feet should be about hip width apart. I like to place a loop band around my knees for extra glute engagement.

2. Exhale and engage your core by lifting up your pelvic floor.

3. Press down through your heels as you squeeze your glutes to lift your hips off the floor toward the ceiling.

4. Hold this position for a few seconds without over-arching your low back.

5. Inhale as you lower back to the floor.

6. Repeat until reps are completed.

What to avoid

• Allowing one side of your pelvis to drop. Core and glute engagement will help keep your pelvis straight.
• Arching your lower back. Keep your core engaged.
• Straining your neck muscles. Keep your shoulders relaxed.

1. Begin with your feet about shoulder width apart.

2. Keeping your core engaged and pelvis squared, step one foot forward while keeping it in line with your hip bone.

3. Step far enough so that both knees create a 90 degree angle as you lower into a lunge.

4. Push through your front heel as you stand and bring your back leg to meet your front leg.

5. Step the opposite leg forward and repeat.

6. Continue alternating legs in a forward motion for reps.

7. You can also do this exercise while holding a pair of dumbbells at your side.

What to avoid

Setting your feet too far apart or too narrow. Later in pregnancy, this exercise may bother your pubic bone. If so, I suggest trying reverse lunges or skip all together.

Shifting your hips. Keeping your core engaged will help prevent your hips from dropping as your step forward.

Arching your back.

Allowing your knee to move too far past your toes. A litte movement past your toes is okay but excessive movement can cause knee pain.

1. Begin by standing about 1.5-2 feet in front of a bench with your back to the bench.

2. Carefully place one foot behind you onto the bench. Your toes can be either curled under or the top of you foot flat on the bench.

3. Place your hands on your hips or hold a pair of dumbbells at your side.

4. Inhale as you bend your front knee and lower into a single leg squat, keeping your weight centered over the foot on the floor.

5. As you exhale, focus on pushing through your heel and contracting your glutes to return to standing.

6. Repeat until reps are completed then switch legs.

• What to avoid

  Rounding your shoulders forward.

• Not keeping your core engaged and hyperextending your lower back.
• Allowing your front knee to collapse inward or outward.
• Pushing through the toes to stand instead of the heal

1. Start with your feet hip width apart and in line with your hip bones.

2. Engage your core and while keeping your pelvis squared, step one foot backward keeping your foot inline with your hip.

3. Step far enough back so that both knees create a 90 degree angle as you drop down into a lunge.

4. Press through your front foot to bring your back leg to the starting position.

5. Repeat until all reps are completed on one side then switch sides.

6. You can also do this exercise with dumbbells.

What to avoid

• Stepping too far back or not far enough.
• Allowing your hips to shift when you step back.
• Arching your lower back.
• Moving your front knee too far forward.

1. Start by standing in front of a box, bench or chair. You can also hold dumbbells at your sides.

2. Step onto the flat surface with your entire foot and push through your foot to engage your glutes and quads to lift your body into standing position.

3. Focus on keeping your knee stable as you stand.

4. Keep the same foot on the surface and lower your free leg back to the starting position.

5. Complete all reps before moving to the next leg.

What to avoid

Dropping your hip on the way down. Focus on keeping the glutes engaged to prevent this from happening

Using your bottom foot to propel yourself up

Flairing your rib cage

1. Start by placing a loop band around your knees and lean your back against a wall. Place you feet about 2 feet from the wall.

2. Engage your core and slowly slide down the wall as if you are going to sit in an imaginary chair. Do not decend lower than your hips. Your thighs should be about parallel to the ground.

3. Hold a slight pelvic tilt as you press your lower back into the wall.

4. Once you are in proper position, begin slowly opening and closing your legs.

5. Continue in the wall squat position until reps or interval is complete.

What to avoid

• Sinking too low in the wall squat. Make sure your hips do not drop below your knees.
• Arching your lower back. Maintain a pelvic tilt and keep your lower back pressed against the wall
• Holding your breath

1. Begin with your hands directly under your shoulders on a bench or sturdy chair in a plank position. Try to align the edge of the bench with your nipple line.

2. Make sure your core is firmly engaged to avoid any bulging or pressure in your abdominal wall or pelvic floor.

3. Keeping your shoulders down away from your ears, inhale and slowly lower toward the bench keeping your elbows slightly tucked into your sides.

4. Once your chest reaches the bench, exhale and press through your hands to return to the starting position.

5. Focus on keeping your core and pelvic floor engaged and move your body as an entire unit, not just your arms.

6. Repeat this movement until reps are completed

• What to avoid

  Saggine or allowing your belly to droop toward the floor causing an arch in your lower back.
  Allowing your elbows to flare to far out.
  Moving your hips and upper body seperatly.
  Dropping your head forward.

1. Place one arm and one leg on a bench and carefully pick up a dumbbell with you opposite hand. Support yourself with one hand on the bench and one knee on the bench OR both feet flat on the floor.

2. Your back should be parallel to the floor and core firmly engaged. Imagine liftining your belly so that it doesn't hit the bench.

3. To initiate the movement, draw your shoulder blade back and down as you contract your upper back (behind the shoulder blade) to lift the weight into a row position.

4. Lift the weight up and slightly back toward your hips until your elbow is inline with your shoulder.

5. Hold this position for a moment, the slowly reverse the motion.

6. Repeat until all reps or interval is completed on one side, then switch sides.

What To Avoid

• Arching your rounding your back. Keep a neutral spine.
• Shrugging your shoulders up toward your ears.
• Twisting your torso as you lift the weight.

1. Begin by standing with feet about hip width apart and a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing in toward your hips.

2. Keeping your core engaged to prevent arching in your back and elbows close to your sides, slowly bring the dumbbells up toward your shoulders. You can alternate one at a time or both together.

3. Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position.

• 4. Repeat until you have competed all reps.

  What to avoid

  Using momentum and swing the weights.
  Flaring your elbows and not keeping them at your sides.
  Rounding your upper back or arching (hyperextending) your lower back.

1. Begin by sitting on a stable chair or bench with your hands about shoulder width apart on the surface.

2. Slowly slide your butt off the front of the chair or bench while slightly extending your legs out in front of you.

3. Engage your core and straighten your arms while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows to keep tension in the triceps and pressure off your joints.

4. Keeping your elbows close to your body, slowly bend and lower your body toward the floor until your elbows are about 90 degrees.

5. Make sure you keep your back close to the chair or bench.

6. Once you are at the bottom, press through your palms on the bench to straighten you elbows, returning to the starting position.

7. Continue to complete reps or interval.

What to avoid

• Scrunching your shoulders up toward your ears.
  Allowing your back to move too far out from the bench.
• Letting your elbows flair out away from your body.

1. This exercise can be done seated or standing. Find a position that is most comfortable for you in your stage of pregnancy. (pictured above, 4 weeks postpartum)

2. Holding a pair of dumbbells with your palms facing in toward your thighs, slowly lift your arms out to your sides while maintaining a slight bend in the elbow.

3. Do not lift above your head. Arms should be inline with your shoulders.

4. Hold for a moment at the top then slowly lower back to the starting position.

5. Continue to complete reps or interval.

What to avoid

• Arching your back. Keep your core engaged.
• Scrunching your shoulders.
• Swinging the weights and using momentum.