Pregnancy Fitness Tips: Dos and Don'ts

Whilst some women view pregnancy as a time to lie back and eat snacks, others are rightly reluctant to give up their fitness. Prenatal exercise can help you to snap back to your figure after you give birth and staying fit while pregnant may even make labour easier! If you are looking for pregnancy fitness tips, look no further. This article contains a comprehensive list of pregnancy safe exercises and those exercises you should avoid while pregnant.

Pregnancy Safe Exercises

Pilates

Pilates is a low intensity workout method that targets specific muscles throughout the body and improves balance. Pilates is a great pregnancy safe exercise because it can improve back pain and relax your muscles whilst allowing you to keep up your strength.

Swimming

A common pregnancy fitness tip is to take up swimming or try aquanatal classes and this is great advice! Not only can swimming keep you cool and fit, but it has also been shown to relieve morning sickness. Maintaining muscle tone through swimming can improve your labour too.

Running

Some people are surprised that running is a pregnancy safe exercise, but, if you were a runner pre-pregnancy, it’s totally fine to keep running while pregnant. Running while pregnant is a really effective way to maintain cardiovascular health. Just make sure to take it slow and to pay attention to protecting your joints as the added weight from the baby may put extra strain on them. You might also find that you have to stop running in your third trimester; it’s just important to pay attention to your body.

Exercises To Avoid During Pregnancy

When it comes to exercises that you should avoid during pregnancy, there are 7 main things to skip:

• Exercises that involve jumping or sudden movements
• Anything (including cycling, skiing or surfing) that increases the chance of you falling.
• Ab focused movements.
• In Yoga/Pilates, you should skip any moves that involve contorting your body. You should also avoid yoga poses that involve lying on your back for more than 2 minutes.
• Contact sports.
• Weight-lifting. You can lift light weights (below 10lbs) but should avoid anything heavier.
• Whilst you can complete many traditional workout classes and circuits, you should avoid doing squats and lunges as these can strain the pelvis.

Pregnancy Fitness Tips

Pregnancy is a new and exciting time, but not all elements of your usual routine have to change! We hope that you enjoy trying out some of these workouts, safe in the knowledge that both you and your baby will be better for them.