Shay Mitchell recently fit in a full-body workout with her trainer Kira Stokes, making light of some of the unique challenges of working out while pregnant along the way. "This is extra weight, Kira," says Mitchell of her baby bump in one of Stokes' recent Instagram Stories.
Their session, which is saved to Stokes’ Story highlights, marked the first in-person workout for the duo since the start of Mitchell’s second pregnancy, though Mitchell has been taking classes on Stokes’ app, as the pair reveals in one of the clips. For their IRL reunion, Stokes takes Mitchell through resistance band squats, which can target and activate the glutes to a greater extent than a bodyweight squat. Mitchell rounds out the warm-up with resistance band pull-aparts, with Stokes noting that the move can help improve posture, a key focus if you’re pregnant and thus carrying extra weight on the front of your body. “This doesn’t feel like a warm-up,” jokes Mitchell while finishing up with the second exercise.
The workout continues with a cable machine squat to row, a move that targets the glutes, quads, and back muscles. Next, Mitchell then performs monster walks with a large loop resistance band, another exercise that can fire up the glutes. Stokes cues Mitchell to “keep the tension in the band,” throughout the move.
In between reps, Mitchell takes a bit of breather and a dance break before putting her game face back on for ball slams. The exercise requires you to generate downward explosive power from your core and strengthens your legs, as Sean Piazza, fitness manager at Rancho Valencia Resort and Spa in San Diego previously told Shape. Last but not least, Mitchell finishes with Romanian deadlifts, which hit the glutes, lower back, hamstrings, and core. “Hinge, flatback, neutral spine, take your time,” coaches Stokes as Mitchell completes her workout.
If you haven’t noticed, Mitchell is no stranger to prioritizing strength in her fitness routine. “Shay is quite an athlete,” Stokes previously told Shape. “She loves really dynamic moves, things that make her feel powerful, strong, and sweaty.” Last year, when sharing her intentions for the new year in an Instagram Story, Mitchell wrote that she was aiming to “workout to get stronger.” While 2021 is in the rearview, judging by Mitchell’s latest workout with Stokes, she hopes to continue crushing her goal during her pregnancy.
