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Pregnancy and Exercise – Things to Look For

Exercise during pregnancy is well known as being both safe and beneficial practice for mother and the growing baby. So while all women should be encouraged to do physical activity no research have yet recognized “how much is too much” which makes it essential to be careful and speak with your doctor about your specific conditions.

Exercises that can be done during pregnancy

Proper physical activities to engage while pregnant are quite logical. Any physical activity that has a low risk of falling and causing possible injury should be chosen.  This means choosing activities that don’t need quick changes and balancing.

• Warming up

All the physical activities should start with warming up and cooling down period. The hormones generated while pregnancy makes women flexible in preparation for delivery but extreme stretching can lead to injury that is why it is advisable to do stretching very lightly and specially after the first trimester

• Walking

Walking is considered as the most common type of exercise for pregnant women, as it is safe for everyone as it has low risks of falling and easy to control exertion levels. Walking also has low impact on joints and muscles along with total body workout and develops cardiovascular fitness

• Swimming

Some kind of water sports like swimming and water walking are safe and fun to do. Swimming works on all the body muscles without the risk of overheating.  Swimming also reduces the risk of falling and the water supports the body which reduces the risk of straining any muscle. Swimming also benefits women who complain about back pain and swelling of legs during pregnancy.

• Stationary cycling

This is another good exercise for women which will help them to strengthen their leg muscles, as balancing would be a problem for pregnant women, stationary cycling is a good and safe option

• Weight training

There are no adverse effects of moderate weight training on pregnant women, however it is advised that women who have not being doing weight training before conceiving should restrain after conceiving

• Running

Running is safe when done moderately, but women who have not been running before getting pregnant should stay away from starting to run after getting pregnant. Depending on the situation of the individual the running activity needs to lessen in intensity and frequency

Exercises to avoid during pregnancy

While frequent moderate intensity exercise is safe and recommended for pregnant women there are some exercises that will raise the chances of injury, stress and other complications.

• Heavy weight training

Weight lifting can stress the muscles as well as put a lot of stress on the cardiovascular system so it is not a good idea to indulge into such exercises

• Holding your Breath

Holding your breath during complicated poses while doing yoga or while heavy weight lifting. If in any exercise you are not breathing normally it is a clear indication that you need to stop immediately

• Exercises lying on your back

After the first trimester of pregnancy you should avoid such kind of exercise that reduces the risk of affecting blood flow to the foetus and compression of the uterus;

• Exercises which involve lying on the stomach;

These kinds of exercises will be very uncomfortable due to development of abdominal separation, as this occurs as the result of growing uterus

• Standing still for long periods of time is not recommended;

Contact sports and high-impact sports such as hockey, football and basketball can risk abdominal shock, extreme joint stress and risk of falling down.

With a bit of modifications, that reduces the risk of falling and injuring yourself, you may indulge in doing exercises during your pregnancy that is good for you and for your growing baby. Before you head out to the gym or field, speak to your doctor. Then you can start your exercise routine.

Have a great time.

Tags: Exercise during pregnancy, exercise to avoid during pregnancy, Normal Delivery, Pregnancy and Exercise