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Pregnant Women Pump Iron
Strength With Upper Body Work
By Kelly Burgess
Stone calls wall push-ups the perfect pregnancy exercise. They're done standing up and require absolutely no equipment whatsoever. Your pregnant body acts as the weight.
Basic Exercise:
Stand up against a wall, as close as your belly allows. Place your hands on the wall at shoulder height and width. Take two steps back so you're leaning against the wall. Contract your abdominals (think of pulling the baby into your body with your abdominal muscles). Knees should be slightly bent. With your weight on your arms, slowly lower yourself toward the wall, then push slowly away from the wall. Concentrate on using the muscles of the chest and upper back. As you go toward the wall, you're squeezing the muscles of the upper back. As you push away, you're squeezing with your chest. This basic position works the chest and upper back. - Variation One: Turn your fingers in toward each other on the wall. The rest of the body should be in the basic position. Perform the exercise with hands turned in. This position works the triceps.
- Variation Two: Spread your hands farther than shoulder-width apart. The rest of the body is in the basic position. Performing the exercise in this position works the outer part of the front chest, just in front of the armpits.
- Variation Three: Place your hands higher than shoulder-width apart on the wall. The rest of the body is in the basic position. This position targets the upper part of the chest around the collar bone.
Stone says these exercises can be performed daily because there is no significant weight involved. Together, these exercises work the entire chest and upper back and the shoulders, biceps and triceps. Perform two sets of eight of each exercise (you can do more if you're comfortable).
Bands and Bells
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