Prenatal exercise can help you maintain your pre-pregnancy level of fitness, manage weight gain, increase energy levels and prepare you for the physical challenge of childbirth. Women who exercise throughout pregnancy generally experience a faster postpartum recovery than those who don’t. Staying active also reduces your risk of pregnancy-induced conditions, such as gestational diabetes. Check with your obstetrician or midwife before beginning or continuing an exercise program.
Walking
Walking is a low-impact aerobic exercise that doesn’t require a gym membership or special equipment, aside from a supportive pair of walking shoes. You can do it, weather permitting, almost any time and anywhere. Because it’s gentle on your body, a daily walk isn’t likely to adversely affect your knees and ankles, even as your belly grows and you’re carrying more weight. As long as your pregnancy progresses in a healthy way, it’s safe to walk in every trimester. If you were previously sedentary, your health care provider may suggest walking as a way to safely begin a prenatal exercise program. Walking is an ideal activity to do alone or with your partner, a friend or another mom-to-be.
Prenatal Yoga
Prenatal yoga is an ideal way to maintain muscular strength, endurance and flexibility throughout pregnancy. Instructors of group classes leave contraindicated poses out of their class design and can modify other poses to accommodate your changing body. While prenatal yoga offers a number of ways to gently stretch your body and alleviate common pregnancy-related aches and pains, it can also be a workout—trained instructors understand that being pregnant doesn’t mean you’re weak or unfit. You can also take part in gentle, mainstream yoga classes, such as hatha yoga, as long as your instructor knows you’re pregnant and can help you modify poses when necessary.
Prenatal Exercise
Group prenatal exercise classes usually mix strength-training exercises with cardio components, followed by stretching and relaxation. If you didn’t strength train prior to becoming pregnant, a group class designed for pregnant women is the ideal way to begin, with your doctor’s consent. If you’ve been strength training for years, a prenatal exercise instructor can tell you what’s safe to continue doing, and what you should avoid. For example, squats—which are considered one of the best prenatal exercises—are a regular component of such classes, while lunges—which can strain your lower abdominal muscles—are usually omitted. Classes typically incorporate resistance bands, dumbbells and stability balls.
Water Aerobics
Water aerobics is a non-impact, muscle-toning aerobic workout. Because there are very few exercises in a water aerobics class that you should avoid while pregnant, you can generally participate in any type of water aerobics class, as long as your instructor knows you’re pregnant. Spending time in the pool, whether you do aerobics, swim laps or jog in the shallow end, can relieve many of pregnancy's discomforts, including lower back pain and the discomfort associated with weight gain and increased blood volume. In the final weeks of your third trimester, regularly experiencing buoyancy can provide much needed relief and help alleviate stress.
References
- “Healthy Moms Perinatal Fitness Instructor Training Manual”; Sheila Watkins; 2007
- MayoClinic.com: Prenatal yoga: What you need to know
- MayoClinic.com: Pregnancy and exercise: Baby, let’s move!
- BabyCenter: The best kinds of exercise for pregnancy
