Exercise is good for the body at any age. We exercise to increase our muscle and bone strength, to achieve cardio fitness and to maintain a healthy body weight.
We also exercise to maintain good mental health. Studies have shown that mental health can be strengthened by daily exercise. Most exercisers will tell you they do it for their minds as well as their bodies.
Being pregnant is no reason to stop exercising. In fact, it's a great reason to start! Most people can maintain their work-out regimes until well into the third trimester though some modifications may be needed.
Exercise can help maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy and make it easier to get back into shape afterward. It can also help with pregnancy-related depression, and ease aches and pains.
Here are some exercise options to think about:
1) Swimming
Swimming is one of the best exercises in pregnancy. It really takes a load off. It’s a very low-impact sports with no pressure on joints or feet. No matter how big we get in pregnancy, we feel nearly weightless in the water.
Most strokes are easy to do although the butterfly could become harder as pregnancy advances. According to swimming.org, “Backstroke is probably not such a good idea in late pregnancy as the baby may cause pressure on the main blood vessels in the abdomen.”
However, the breaststroke is a great all-round stroke to choose, as all the limbs are worked on, as well as the chest and back.
One thing to remember is to stay hydrated. Sometimes we forget we’re thirsty because we’re in the water. But exercise is exercise. Bring a water bottle to the pool.
Water aerobics are an excellent option, and a group dynamic can be very encouraging.
2) Tennis
Yes, tennis is great during the first two trimesters! Social tennis is probably the best, since many players can get hit during competitions. Tennis is great for heart health and is a fun, sociable game when done for fun.
The third trimester may be more difficult since court speed is needed but a friendly set of doubles is doable.
There is no need to give up a sport you love just because of pregnancy. Simply adapt the sport to suit needs and capabilities.
3) Weights
Weights in pregnancy can be controversial. Several women have shown photos of themselves using heavy weights when heavily pregnant to great uproar from viewers.
However, these women were training actively with weight for years before getting pregnant, and felt highly capable of continuing their routines.
For the average Jo, though, heavy weights may not be a good idea. Balance can be lost and backs can be injured if a woman isn’t quite sure of what she’s doing.
EmpowHER writer MC Kelby wrote an article about weight training in pregnancy. From her research she advised:
• Be extremely careful with free weights to prevent them from hitting your abdomen.
• Listen to your body.
• Use lighter weights, more reps.
• Use resistance bands which offer different amounts of resistance and varied ways to do your weight training and pose no risk to your belly.
Don't lift while flat on your back. After the first trimester, lying on your back can put pressure on a major vein called the vena cava and diminish blood flow to your brain and uterus. An easy modification is to tilt the bench to an incline.
4 - Yoga
Yoga is an all-round exercise routine that is highly adaptable. Many people use yoga for strength-training after injury, surgery, or in pregnancy for its adaptability.
Breathing techniques during birth can make all the difference in delivery, and yoga teaches breathing techniques in every pose.
Yoga is also great for back pain and makes the body more flexible — something every pregnant woman needs. Experienced yogis simply need to listen to what their bodies are telling them and know when to modify or stop.
BabyCenter.com has this advice: “Skip positions that stretch the abdominal muscles too much, such as deep forward and back bends and deep twists. You're more apt to tear and strain muscles now because the pregnancy hormones that allow the uterus to expand also loosen other connective tissue.”
Also recommended? Squatting and standing positions that strengthen your joints, muscles and balance.
5) Walking
Good, old-fashioned walking that’s easy, free and available outside your front door is the most obvious exercise for pregnancy — and one of the best. Not only does walking use up calories, it helps with back pain, posture, and offers fresh air and a bit of sunshine.
Good shoes and comfy, seasonal attire are all that’s needed. Pop some music in your ears (watch for traffic — or deer!) and 30-60 minutess of modified walking (depending on your health and stage of pregnancy) can be done right up to labor day.
As stated, most activities are fine in pregnancy as long as they are modified when needed. From planning a pregnancy, through the whole nine months, and once recovered from birth, exercise is a lifetime commitment that you (and your baby) will appreciate.
A fitter mom is a happier mom, and baby can always join in the walks after birth. So don’t stop exercising when you're pregnant, or think it’s something you can’t do.
You can, you should and you’ll love that you did.
Sources:
Swimming.org.Swimming Guidelines For Mums-To-Be. Web. Retrieved March 28th, 2015.
http://www.swimming.org/go/parents/myths-and-guidelines
EmpowHER.com. Relationships and Family. Pregnancy. “Weight Training During Pregnancy? Exercise Caution”. Web. Retrieved March 28th, 2015.
https://www.empowher.com/pregnancy/content/weight-training-during-pregna...
Babycenter.com. Pregnancy Fitness. Great pregnancy exercise: Prenatal yoga. Web. Retrieved March 28th, 2015.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_great-pregnancy-exercise-prenatal-yoga_7862....
Reviewed March 30, 2015
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith