Pregnancy is one of the most wonderful and important journeys in a woman’s life. And maintaining a regular training throughout the whole period of pregnancy can help you stay healthy and feel your best.
Of course, if you haven’t worked out before pregnancy, don’t rush to start now. Since it’s harmless to train only if you have been working out on a regular basis before pregnancy and have the doctor’s permission.
So if you’re not a beginner and you were physically active before the pregnancy, you should continue your exercising in moderation. Don’t train at your former level, just do how you feel and what’s most comfortable for you now.
But if you are a newbie, you can easily start training during pregnancy ONLY after consulting with your doctor. Please, don’t try any new activity that seems too dynamic. By the way, walking is safe enough to initiate when you’re pregnant. I used to walk a lot when I felt that I didn’t have enough strength to exercise during my pregnancy and I’d say it was so good for my well-being.
Who should avoid working out during pregnancy?
Serious medical problems like heart disease or asthma can be a reason not to work out. Training can also do harm to you if you have a pregnancy-related conditions. Among them:
⁃ Threatened miscarriage
⁃ Weak cervix
⁃ Bleeding or spotting
⁃ Low placenta
⁃ Previous premature births
Again, don’t start training if you haven’t got the doctor’s permission because he knows your medical history and can decide whether it’s ok or not ok for you to train.
What kind of exercises should be avoided during pregnancy?
Since the process of pregnancy makes a lot of changes in a woman’s organism, there are certain actions that are rather harmful and should be avoided during pregnancy. Among them:
⁃ Holding your breath for some period of time during the exercises.
⁃ Any exercises where falling is likely.
⁃ Contact sports (for example, any games with a ball) is not the best option to choose.
⁃ Exclude exercises with extensive jumping, bouncing or running.
⁃ Heavy training followed by long periods of rest.
⁃ Outdoor exercising when it’s too hot outside.
What exercises are safe when you’re pregnant?
There is no clear answer to this question but to tell the truth, most exercises are safe if you train with caution and don’t overdo it. Any exercises or activities that do not require too much balance or coordination are good.
Walking mentioned above, swimming, low-impact aerobics and anything like that carry little risk of injury and benefit the whole body.
As I said earlier, you may continue working out as before but the intensity should be much lower (for example, during the second trimester mine was about 10-20% of what it used to be).
Here is my safe prenatal workout.
Pregnant workout program: any tips?
First of all, the main thing about working out during pregnancy as well as before it is warming up in the beginning of each workout and stretching exercises in the end, again, of each workout.
Wear comfortable sportswear (don’t forget about a good support bra) as well as comfortable shoes that don’t glide on the floor and can protect you from falling.
For training choose flat, level surfaces to prevent injuries. Don’t forget about a mat.
Hydration is a must. Drink water before, during, and after your workout.
Do not torture yourself with intensive training. There is nothing good about it. Do any exercise in moderation.
If you do floor exercises, get up slowly to prevent dizziness or avoid such kind of exercising at all.
Consume extra calories to meet the needs of your pregnancy as well as your training program (doctors recommend eating extra 300-350 calories during the second trimester and about 450 calories during the third trimester).
Remember these rules, take care of yourself and the little miracle inside tour tummy, balance everything as well as remember, whatever you do, you do it for yourself!
