26 weeks and my spare tyre...

Today I am officially 26 weeks. Can't believe how fast that time has gone but I still feel like 3 months to go is still a long time.
Anyway, so today I put on this t-shirt...

Super happy much?

It used to be one of my favourites (well it still is as long as I can still fit it) as it has a picture of a bike on it exactly like the one that I used to own and ride everyday in Italy. It also was my favourite because it was a nice and loose t-shirt that was really comfy. It still is really comfy but not so loose anymore. And the bike tyre sits perfectly where my spare tyre now is.

And speaking of bicycles and spare tyres...

Lately (since I have been expanding so much) I have been finding it a tad difficult to find core/ab exercises I can do that are comfortable and baby-friendly. So as part of my at-home-weight-workout this evening I gave bicycle crunches a go...

Does my bum look big in this exercise??

I am actually crunching although it just looks like I'm relaxing on the floor.

So why do I even need to do these exercises you ask?? Well... Web MD (which my husband has actually banned me from for reasons we won't go into here) says this:

"You need to be physically active during pregnancy. It has terrific benefits that are associated with a better pregnancy outcome and even shorter labours. It's a win-win for baby and for mum." 

"Your abdominals and your entire core, including your pelvic floor, should be strengthened throughout pregnancy, and doing so will help not only during pregnancy, but also aid in labor and delivery -- and recovery." 

I love that, thanks web MD - I am thinking I like the sound of that a lot! Here's a list, from my research and from some input from my PT friend and various pump instructors, of what some good ab/core exercises to do during pregnancy are...

• Planks - Even though I find these an actual killer now and can only hold for less than a minute, they are still fine for you to do. Do them on your forearms on the ground or on your swiss ball, either way is fine and just hold for small amounts of time.
• Bent leg raises - lying on your back with hands next to your butt, or behind your lower back for support, have both knees bent at a 90° angle and lower one leg at a time so it's parallel with the floor, then back to bent. Repeat each side. I used to do both legs at once but this has just recently started to become too difficult. 
• Opposite arm leg reaches (I also call that the superman/woman)
• Gentle standing pelvic tilts, seated belly breathing, or tightening abs, holding, then releasing, are all good ways to keep ab muscles in top condition too.
• Not to mention the numerous core exercises that can be done on the TRX as seen in this post here. 
• This awesome website here  also has some great core exercises for during pregnancy, and not only does it name some, it also has video clips of how to do them, and it tells you why core exercises during pregnancy are important and beneficial. What more could you want? Check it out!

 All those exercises are also great ones to do non-pregnant as well, and you can do them with more intensity and resistance too. They are also excellent getting-your-body-back-after-a-baby exercises too, but we'll get to that part of things a little later down the track in 2013.

What exercises have you, or did you, find to be really effective during or after pregnancy? 

Favourite core/ab workout or most effective or painful one?