At one time, when a woman of means found out she was pregnant, she was pampered and often took to the bed. Today, we know that continuing most normal activities is not only safe, but encouraged. Some exercises aren’t recommended for pregnant women, particularly in later months, but there are safe workouts for pregnancy that can keep you fit and help make your delivery easier.
Get rid of that aching back, eliminate bloating and constipation and help with nausea with a swim.
If you’re looking for a great exercise that is probably one of the safest, check out swimming. You’re buoyant in water so you weigh approximately ten percent less than you do on land. Think about how great that makes your back feel and how much stress it can take off joints. You’ll also get a full-body workout. It provides all types of fitness training, too. There are also special group water aerobic workouts for pregnant women that can make it even more fun.
If you’re not near a gym or a pool and don’t have any equipment, the easiest thing to do is walk.
You need comfortable shoes and a safe place to walk and you have a great pregnancy workout. If there’s no place to walk in your neighborhood, an indoor mall could be ideal. Many malls already have mapped out and measured routes, so you can get an accurate measure of the distance. If you haven’t exercised before, start out walking slowly and build up speed and time walking as you go. You can measure your progress by measuring how far you walk in a 20 to 30 minute period. Remember, you’ll get just as much benefit from three ten minute walks as you do from a full 30 minute one, so if you have to break it down, it’s not a problem.
You’ll need strength to carry the new baby.
You might not think that strength training or working with weights is appropriate if you’re pregnant, but it’s an excellent workout. It builds your strength, while also boosting your endurance. You’ll need that as you add more weight as the baby grows. Keep the weights lower and do more repetitions. You’ll be ready to carry a baby for a longer time without feeling like your arms are ready to drop.
- Consider taking a yoga class designed specifically for mothers-to-be. You’ll not only build strong muscles, endurance and flexibility, but also learn helpful relaxation techniques you can use during delivery.
- Ride a stationary bike for a good workout that won’t put you in danger. It takes the pressure off your joints, while giving you a good workout.
- If you’ve been running before pregnancy, continue running. Just stick with level terrain so you don’t run the risk of falling.
- If you love dancing, group dancing or even a group aerobics class to music, can be a great workout for an expectant mother.