Should You Exercise During Pregnancy?
This is a question that many first time mothers may ask themselves. Is it safe for me to exercise while I'm pregnant?
This is not a black and white answer, it depends on many factors.
First of all, is your pregnancy "the norm", or do you have complications? If you do, you need to seek medical advice from your doctor or midwife to find out if it's safe for you.
Also, were you an exerciser before you became pregnant? If you were an avid runner, biker or hiker, there's no reason for you to stop simply because you're pregnant. If you have the all clear from your medical professional, you can continue to enjoy non-contact sports and actitivies that you enjoyeed before. Keep in mind that as you become larger, your center of gravity will shift so balance activities will be a lot more difficult to excel at.
What makes you feel good? As you get closer to your due date, the buoyancy of water may make you feel much better than the pounding of pavement. You may want to switch up your exercise mediums to a lower version as your pregnancy progresses.
What about strength training?
This too is fine, as long as you stay within certain limitations.
Keep yourself away from machines that might move or fall on you without warning, keep your body alignment correct, and give yourself extra room for your belly. You can still lift weights, but the pressure of certain exercises with weights may cause you to feel pressure in other areas of your body that were not supposed to be feeling pressure. Just be careful, and use general caution. Your body will tell you if it doesn't like what you're doing.
Abdominals:
You can still work your abs, but in a different way after the first trimester (no more lying on your back and doing crunches).
You can use a ball to do small range of motion sit ups, get on all fours and do "crunches", as well as ab stabilzation in the plank.
Good luck, and remember to keep moving!
This is not a black and white answer, it depends on many factors.
First of all, is your pregnancy "the norm", or do you have complications? If you do, you need to seek medical advice from your doctor or midwife to find out if it's safe for you.
Also, were you an exerciser before you became pregnant? If you were an avid runner, biker or hiker, there's no reason for you to stop simply because you're pregnant. If you have the all clear from your medical professional, you can continue to enjoy non-contact sports and actitivies that you enjoyeed before. Keep in mind that as you become larger, your center of gravity will shift so balance activities will be a lot more difficult to excel at.
What makes you feel good? As you get closer to your due date, the buoyancy of water may make you feel much better than the pounding of pavement. You may want to switch up your exercise mediums to a lower version as your pregnancy progresses.
What about strength training?
This too is fine, as long as you stay within certain limitations.
Keep yourself away from machines that might move or fall on you without warning, keep your body alignment correct, and give yourself extra room for your belly. You can still lift weights, but the pressure of certain exercises with weights may cause you to feel pressure in other areas of your body that were not supposed to be feeling pressure. Just be careful, and use general caution. Your body will tell you if it doesn't like what you're doing.
Abdominals:
You can still work your abs, but in a different way after the first trimester (no more lying on your back and doing crunches).
You can use a ball to do small range of motion sit ups, get on all fours and do "crunches", as well as ab stabilzation in the plank.
Good luck, and remember to keep moving!
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