Exercise during pregnancy | Important Tips

If you are thinking of exercising during your pregnancy to stay fit and healthy here are some tips to get you going.

Do you receive a heap of unsolicited opinions and advise once people learn you are pregnant?  One of the more common sentiment is that women should avoid exercise while pregnant. We know, right? There are a lot of misinformed people out there. 

The truth of the matter is, regular exercise during pregnancy is a mom must have. Furthermore, if you’ve had an active lifestyle before, there’s nothing that should stop you from exercising while pregnant and maintaining an active lifestyle. 

Exercise during pregnancy is known to keep you healthy and to help you avoid issues such as back discomfort and fatigue. Being active helps you maintain proper posture. Besides, it’s important to exercise during pregnancy for normal delivery. 

However, be careful not to push yourself too much. For instance, doing too much exercise during pregnancy to lose weight may be harmful to you and your baby. 

Let’s look at exercise during pregnancy dos and don’ts. Below, we continue to discuss different types of weight-lifting exercise during pregnancy for beginner weightlifters and those that are more advanced. 

If you are thinking of exercising during your pregnancy to stay fit and healthy here are some tips to get you going. #fitpregnancy #parent #fitmom #newmom #firsttimemom #mommyandme

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Weight Lifting

Weight-lifting is a helpful exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Unless your doctor instructs you to avoid exercise during pregnancy, you can go ahead and do some weight-lifting. 

It’ll help you deal with the extra weight you’ll be carrying during and after your pregnancy. Finding out which exercise is best for you during pregnancy will help avoid harmful exercises to you or your unborn baby.

Weight Lifting Exercises for Beginners

Weight lifting exercise during pregnancy is good as it’ll prepare you for the challenges of carrying a baby on one arm and a diaper bag on the other. You should prepare your biceps for the challenge by doing the following exercises during pregnancy.

Bicep Curls

To do a bicep curl, start by choosing lightweights. Start with weights that are 12 pounds or less. Next, you want to stand upright, ensuring that your legs are at shoulder width. Don’t lock your knees. Push your chest up and your elbows in. 

Now, lift the weights towards your shoulders slowly as you breathe. Ensure your forearms and the floor are perpendicular to each other. Slowly lower your arms to the starting position and repeat for a maximum of ten times. 

Remember, take it slow and have breaks in between repetitions. Make sure that you continue breathing even when you start to feel your muscles burning.

Sumo Squats

Doing Sumo squat exercise during pregnancy will ensure that you strengthen your lower body muscles for the extra weight your body has to support. Here’s how to perform them.

Select dumbbells that you’re comfortable working with. Next, stand with your legs and feet wide apart and ensure your toes point outwards as well. Once you have the position right, pick up a dumbbell for each hand, and extend your arms forward. 

Your palms should face you. Ensure that your back is straight and bend your knees. As with all other kinds of exercise during pregnancy, don’t forget to breathe. Do 12-15 reps in sets of 3 as you stop to take a rest. If you don’t need to rest, you can continue to the end.

Standing Row To Reverse Fly

This exercise will help strengthen your shoulders and back as well as prevent pain. 

Here’s how to do the row to reverse fly stand.  Stand with your feet at strides length. Your left foot should be in front. Next, you want to bend the left knee as you bring down your right heel towards the floor. With a dumbbell in each hand, extend your arms and ensure your palms face each other. Then, bend from your hips and move slightly forward. 

Once you’re in position, bring your weights into your lower ribs by bending your elbows behind you. After that, take your arms back into the initial position and raise them to your sides at shoulder height. Go back to the starting position and repeat. 

Weight Training Exercise during Pregnancy for Advanced Lifters

If you’ve been weight-lifting 6 months – 1year before your pregnancy, you’re an advanced lifter. However, to ensure that exercise during pregnancy won’t do you more harm than good, take a rest on consecutive days. For example, lift Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

1. Dumbbell Power and Press 

With your feet at shoulder-width apart, stand upright with your dumbbells at your sides. Next, raise the dumbbells to your shoulders as you bend at the knees. There’s no need to go down to a full squat. Once in a comfortable position, lift your dumbbells over your head and then return to the initial position. This is an excellent exercise during pregnancy for back pain relief.

2. Serious Workout Circuit

This is an intensive exercise during pregnancy that shouldn’t be attempted by beginners. To do this exercise during pregnancy, you have to prepare your body by doing a warm-up. Walk 5-10 minutes on the treadmill then do 5×5 reps squats. Next, you want to select a weight that you’re comfortable working with. You can use barbells if you wish. 

Next, pick up your dumbbells and do one set of 12 reps of arm curls. Once done, go back to the treadmill and do a high-intensity walk for a minute. Pick up your dumbbells again and make 1×12 forward weight lunges. 

Go back to the treadmill and walk again for a minute. Remember that this is a high-intensity exercise during pregnancy, and you should take a breather if you need to. Once rested, pick up your dumbbells again and do 1×12 repetitions of a chest press. Go back to the treadmill for a high-intensity walk of sixty seconds, and you’re done.

Remember to stretch gently as you cool down. Take caution when doing this exercise during pregnancy. Ensure you have the best workout shoes for women for conducting an exercise during pregnancy to avoid any injuries to yourself or harm to your baby.

How Workouts Differ at Each Stage of Pregnancy

It’s vital that as you learn how exercise during pregnancy benefits the baby, you should also know how exercise during pregnancy is different at each trimester. Deciding which exercise is best during pregnancy is closely linked to the different stages you’re in. 

Remember that your body is changing and there are things you may not be able to do as your pregnancy progresses. Also, your heart is working twice as hard so that it can deliver oxygen to your baby as well. If you were doing any training before your pregnancy, then you should be able to continue with the usual intensity during the first trimester. 

You’ll need to do exercise during pregnancy that strengthens your core and helps with your posture. During the second trimester, you can still do strength training exercises during pregnancy and other low-impact routines. Unless you were extremely fit before your pregnancy, you should take the third trimester a bit slower. 

You need to keep the weight off your joints and focus on exercise that strengthens your hips and core. You should do low-intensity workouts and rest as much as you can in between routines.

Conclusion 

Exercise during pregnancy will help you to stay fit and help your body heal faster once you have given birth. With a little advice from your doctor, and some help from a skilled trainer, exercise during pregnancy will help you bounce back faster.

What exercise worked for you while pregnant in the past?

Tell us in the comments below.

Author’s bio:

Rachel Burns has been writing on topics related to fitness and healthy eating for 2 years now. As a mother, she really appreciates the ease of raising children with her advice.

Rachel specializes in plant-based diets. In addition to nutrition, she is also an exercise enthusiast