Exercising during pregnancy is safe…IF you follow a specific routine that doesn’t put unnecessary strain on your body. You’re not sure that you believe it? What if we told you that exercising will benefit you and your baby throughout your three trimesters? Take a look:
Your first trimester
Are none of the treatments for morning sickness and fatigue working? There’s one sure-fire cure: exercise!
At this stage, you’re feeling excited about starting your journey to motherhood, but you’ll face some physical and emotional challenges, such as:
- Morning sickness
- Fatigue
- Stress
- Hormonal changes
When you’re feeling this way, it’s time to exercise! Physical activity has been proven to reduce these symptoms. It will help you through this first phase of your pregnancy.
So, what exercises should I focus on?
Start off with a simple work out plan. It’s all about you and a pace that you find comfortable, and you’ll be able to add to this basic plan in time – there’s no rush.
Important rule: Always warm up before any exercise. Start off with a brisk walk to raise your heart rate.
From here, depending on your preference, you can start with some cardio to boost endurance or light weight training to increase your strength. The aim of exercise during your first trimester is to give you a basic platform.
Please remember to keep yourself hydrated and not to overdo any exercises.
Please Don’t: engage in any physical activity where there is the possibility of falling down. A bad fall can have devastating consequences to you and the baby!
Your second trimester
Wow, you’re in your second trimester already! We trust you’ve been exercising regularly, but not pushing yourself too much. Now, you can start adding a variety of exercises to your routine.
At this point, you should be feeling much more energetic and so let’s take advantage of this!
Recommended Exercises: These exercises are aimed at tackling your whole body through various stretches and light resistance training.
Give your lower body some attention to help prepare for when you go into labour. It will also help with post-delivery recovery.
- Riding on a stationary bike
- Walking
- Kegels
Kegel exercises help to tone and strengthen your pelvic floor, which will prepare them for delivery of your baby
- Side Raises
This is an effective exercise to help you strengthen the upper and lower part of your legs and allow you to stabilise yourself when you are giving birth.
It’s very simple: Lie on your side and lift the upside leg up and down. 10 reps X 3 sets. Turnover and repeat. This can also be used in your third trimester
Please don’t: use kettlebells during workouts. The specific movements whether side-to-side, up and down, combined with the weight of the kettlebell could cause abdominal trauma.
Your third trimester
You’re in your final trimester and your delivery date is getting closer! We know at this point your body may not want to cooperate with you, but let’s go for the final push! You’re nearly there.
In the final weeks, you want to strengthen your legs and pelvis as much as possible. This will help you during the delivery of your baby.
- Butterfly Stretch
This exercise also focuses on strengthening the inner thighs and pelvis: Sit down and bend your knees out to the side. Pull your feet in and let your heels touch each other. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat.
Please don’t: use heavy weights during your work outs because the weight can added stress on ligaments, tendons, which can also cause possible abdominal complications.
Throughout your pregnancy be careful of the following:
Don’t strain your back: rather stay away from floor exercises. Lactation expert, Sonali Shivlani says that “if you’re lying on your back for a long period of time, the weight of your belly is going to press down on the main blood vessel that brings blood back to your heart from your lower limbs.” This can reduce blood supply to your baby.
Make sure you don’t do any sit-ups! You don’t want to put any pressure on your abdomen because it will interfere with blood supply and could also drop your blood pressure.
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All our tips have been written by doctors, giving you accurate information you can trust!