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Pregnant women often find themselves experiencing backaches, swollen ankles, disturbed sleep, bloating, and being constipated. To help aid all these health conditions in your trimester the medical advice is to follow a strength training routine, that is, to exercise during pregnancy. Strange? Turns out, these workouts do help find relief and are the most effective cure for the aches and pains of the expecting set.
Exercises for Pregnant Women does offer benefits to a pregnant woman as well as to the baby. These benefits are a boost in mood, a decrease in the pregnancy symptoms, and a quick recovery postpartum On the other hand, the baby enjoys a fitter heart, lower BMI, and good brain health. As you may have understood, exercise is perfectly safe to practice, but you must make sure to get it approved by the obstetricians and gynecologists.
How much exercises for Pregnant Women is good?
According to the health information of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), pregnancy fitness should be followed at least 30 minutes or more per day in most of the week.
You may follow three 10-minute walks, brisk walking, or a beneficial 30 minutes walk on the treadmill or the bike at the gym. As far as the non-exercise activity is concerned, 15 minutes of vacuuming and 15 minutes of light yard work helps cover your daily goal too.
Do pregnancy workouts risk women(s) health?
It is perhaps true that learning a sport now, be it water ski or horse-jumping is off-limits along with most workouts that are off-limits during pregnancy, like mountain biking or downhill skiing, there is a list of strength training that help you as a starting position and aren’t off-limits. So, consult your doctor and go ahead with your exercise program during pregnancy. Not only do these pregnancy workouts help you gain strength in the days of the week, but they also help you rule out other conditions like severe anemia, placenta previa, incompetent cervix, and ruptured membranes.
Here are the best cardio exercises as well as the strength and flexibility workouts you can practice while you’re pregnant;
Best cardio exercises you can do when pregnant
Cardiovascular exercises help pregnant women in increasing their blood circulation, muscle tone, and endurance, as long as they are approved by your practitioner. Here are a few cardio exercises you could follow:
1) Swimming
These are considered to be perfect as a part of the pregnancy workout as when in the water you weigh less compared to when on land. It also helps relieve nausea, sciatic pain, and puffy ankles, along with loosening the joints and ligaments.
A word of caution, be careful while walking on slippery pool sides, step or choose to slide into the water and not dive, as the baby isn’t equipped to handle the bubbles forming in the body with the quick changing altitudes under the pressure of the water. This also means scuba diving is off-limits as your center of gravity impacts the diving’s potential risk.
2) Walking
This is the easiest form of exercise to follow in your pregnancy that is safe to continue up until the delivery date. So, no grabbing of special equipment or membership of the gym, just get some sneaker and goof to go.
3) Running
This is perhaps a piece of good news for a runner, as getting off the track isn’t needed even when pregnant, only remember to get the doctor’s approval and you’re good to go. However, remember to no overdo the runs as the loose ligaments and joints could make the jogging harder on the knees and also is prone to injury.
4) Ellipticals and stair climbing
This pregnancy workout is comparatively a sweet spot with you needing to only adjust the speed, incline while putting the required comfortable tension. However, as the pregnancy progresses, you might experience a harder time with the resistance, so pay attention to it and avoid stumbles.
5) Group dance or aerobics classes
Yes! Use the dance classes and low-impact aerobics to kick and step up the pregnancy. These classes would help you increase your heart rate, resulting in the flow of endorphins. But make sure to avoid any exercise that requires a careful balance as your abdomen expands, or even jumps to the point of exhaustion.
6) Indoor cycling
This exercise is great as it lets you pedal at your own pace with no risk of falling and no pressure on the joints of your ankle and knees.
Make sure to sit out when you feel overheated or exhausted, adjust the handlebars upright, and not leaning forward. This helps avoid the pressure been put on the lower back that could be too intense for the moms-to-be.
7) High-intensity interval training workouts (HIIT)
For sure, high-intensity interval training isn’t for all the expecting moms as they involve hardcore moves that get your heart rate up which could be too intense, to begin with. However, make sure you get approval from the practitioner, so the classes could be modified avoiding jumps, jarring movements, and quick direction changes.
5 Best Strength and flexibility exercises you can follow when pregnant
These pregnancy workouts help maintain the muscles to get more flexible, helping you get past the weight gain throughout your pregnancy, protecting the joints from injuries relaxing the ligaments. Once you get a thumbs up from the doctor, follow these best strengthening exercises:
1) Weight training
This helps you exercise your muscle tone with more reps and by using lower weight. However, try skipping the isometric movements as it could lead you to easily become lightheaded. Don’t forget to move and stretch when done!
Remember to consult your practitioner for any modifications in your TRX routine or if you are to skip the CrossFit unless you have practiced it for years.
2) Pilates
A pilates routine helps focus on the core strength, lengthening the muscles that help ease the backaches while improving your posture and flexibility. Look for classes specially tailored for pregnant women to avoid overstretches that aren’t compatible with pregnancy.
3) Barre
Barre is a class that is missed with pilates, yoga, and ballet, involving the lower body and the core without jumps. It features balance involving hands and knees that also help stabilize the baby bump. Ensure that the instructor knows of the pregnancy so they can modify workouts with the extra strain on your abdomen.
4) Yoga
Prenatal yoga is known to be the ideal workout for expecting moms as it helps encourage relaxation, flexibility, focus, and deep breathing. Only let the instructor know of the pregnancy so they may prepare a class that is specifically tailored for pregnant women with modified poses that are safe. Avoid deep backbends, Bikram (hot) yoga, etc as you need to avoid workouts that may overheat you.
5) Tai Chi
Tai chi is an ancient form of meditation that involves slow movements, allowing the least flexibility and strengthen the body without the risk of injury. Again, look for pregnancy-specific classes or be cautious with sticking to exercises that need balance.
Tips or profile menu for pregnant women to follow while working out
As mentioned earlier, exercise during pregnancy is mostly very safe for expecting mothers with of course certain measures to keep in mind. Being precautions in your exercise program is a must, which is why here are a few tips for you to follow:
Start slow: If you are new to workouts, you must know that the starting position for you is to be slow. Exercising otherwise could lead to sore muscles, sagging, and even injury. Allow yourself to start with 20 minutes that includes warm-up and cool-down too with slowly building onto 30 minutes.
- Do not overboard the workout routine
If you have already been hitting the gym regularly, this is a good time to maintain the fitness level, but not increase it.
- Maintain the body temperature
Avoid saunas, steam rooms, and hot tubs as they could raise the temperature of the mother to more than 1.5 degrees F, which is to be avoided. If you have a prolonged workout session, stay inside the air-conditioned environment.
- Make sure to warm up and cool down
This ensures the heart and circulation to not be suddenly taxed, reducing the chance of an injury. As if otherwise, it traps the blood in the muscles, also reducing the blood supply to other parts of your body.
- Know what your body indicates
Listen to your body and not exercise when exhausted, have pain or strain, or are drenched in sweat.
- Avoid routines that involve the back
As the weight of the uterus expands, it could compress the blood vessels that restrict the circulation of the blood in the body.
- Stay hydrated and eat enough
You must drink every half hour of your workout or sip in plenty while you are working out. Munching on a light protein-carb snack before or after the workouts is equally important as these high-intensity workouts could lead to low blood sugar.
- Be motivated
While you are in your trimester, it is important for you to know that enjoying doing it is also a key to be considered. Perhaps, you may choose the pregnancy exercise routine that works best for you or switch between them.
That’s all about the moderate exercise that has an impact on the belly sag and the little one. These pregnancy routines are taken up by the content measurement audience insights and media websites that work on the best routines that are medically reviewed. However, if you have concerns with your backaches and are looking for something to aid it, try our best pick of the top best maternity belts. Click, explore, and follow us for more!
To Conclude: exercises for Pregnant Women
Pregnancy routines are primarily ways to keep the expecting mom in good health, but it doesn’t always mean that every pregnant woman must drive-in when not comfortable. While we focus on the importance of exercises, it is also necessary for you to know that there are plenty of ways to be fit during pregnancy other than lifting. However, if you are opting for these exercises, make sure you contact your specialist and get the approval along with taking the help of the constructor to manage and set your routine as per your comfortability.
FAQs: The Top Best Exercises for Pregnant Women
1. What kinds of exercises are safe for a pregnant woman?
2. Is it ok to do squats while pregnant?
3) In what month should one start to exercise after childbirth?
Reviewed By:
Esha Chainani - Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
Dr Esha Chainani is an Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon practicing in Mumbai. She aims to break the stigma around women’s health by advocating an inclusive and open practice of obstetrics and gynaecology. Esha is the author of several internationally published research papers and health articles in the media like the Swaddle. She founded Premaa, a non profit to reduce maternal morbidity and eventual maternal mortality by providing lower income pregnant women living in urban areas cell phone access through an app, to medically correct information proven to influence the outcomes of both mother and child. Her app Premaa pregnancy also has an entire section about contraception as well for a whole gamut of reproductive health. She has been on the panel for multiple health sessions including with the UN, USAID, BMC, gender at work and multiple non profit organisations. She’s also on the advisory panel of the South Indian medical students association. She is also an editor at the MAR Journal of Gynaecology. She advocates for accessible healthcare through her instagram account as well posting about reproductive health, mental health and sexual health.
