The Truth Is You Are Not The Only Person Concerned About Pregnancy Workout

What to Expect When You Begin Pregnant Workouts

Pregnancygym - The first month of pregnancy is a very busy time for your body. It’s also the time when many women start to work out, with the goal of getting fit before baby arrives. 

It’s important to remember that during this stage, your body needs special care to ensure its health and safety. You may be eager to jump right into an intense workout routine, but it’s best if you take it easy at first and build up slowly as your pregnancy progresses. 

If you are just starting out, here are some things to keep in mind:

-Light stretching and breathing exercises can help you prepare for more strenuous workouts.

-Try different types of exercise—walking, swimming, cycling or even dancing—to see which ones feel right for you. Different activities will work different muscles in your body and provide different benefits.

-If you are pregnant, it’s especially important to drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise. 

-Remember that your heart rate increases during pregnancy. When exercising, don't exceed 140 beats per minute (bpm) on average for a period of time longer than 10 minutes; this is especially important if you have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure.

-For your safety and the health of your baby, avoid exercise with a history of miscarriage or premature birth. 

-If you have any questions about exercising during pregnancy, talk to your doctor or midwife before starting any new exercise program.

 Dynamic Pregnancy Workout Routine

• Start slow. If you’re new to exercise, ease into it with a walking program or at least 15 minutes of aerobic activity three times per week. 

• Stay flexible. As your pregnancy progresses, your body will change in ways that make certain exercises more difficult or uncomfortable. For example, you may have trouble getting up from the floor after doing push-ups or sit-ups because of weight gain around your middle, so modify those exercises accordingly by lowering your hands and feet closer to the ground as needed.

• Don’t overdo it. It’s better to do just a few minutes of cardiovascular activity several times per day than an hour once or twice per week. Make sure that you get enough rest between workouts so your body has time to recover and repair itself. 

• Eat well. Your body needs good nutrition to help it recover from exercise, especially if you’re pregnant with twins or more (and particularly if you’re carrying multiple babies).

Pregnancy Exercises for Every Trimester

Abdominal Transverse Breathing (TA Breathing)

Transverse Abdominal Breathing (or TA breathing) is by far the most effective core strengthening exercise I offer to ALL ladies. However, TA breathing is especially critical for pregnant and/or postpartum women.

Your transverse abdominal muscles are your deep abdominal muscles – the layer beneath your six-pack muscles. The six-pack ab muscles, also known as your rectus abdominus, might separate during pregnancy, resulting in diastasis recti.

You can avoid diastasis recti (or minimize the separation) during pregnancy by strengthening the deep transverse abdominal muscles.

Weight Training and Strength Training

'During pregnancy, I recommend that pregnant women focus on strength training rather than high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions, especially in the second and third trimesters.'

HIIT training ceased to be beneficial to the body considerably sooner.

Maintaining muscular mass and strength is a useful rule of thumb to follow during pregnancy.

Maintaining your pre-pregnancy weights and gradually decreasing weights as your pregnancy advances and your body gains weight.

Favorite pregnant strength training workouts include:

• Squat + Curl + Press – an excellent total-body workout.
• Squats Sumo

Work-Life Balance

Balance work is a great approach to safely activate the core muscles (or transverse abdominal muscles) during pregnancy.

This may go counter to everything you read and see online about pregnant fitness. As your developing bump throws off your center of gravity, some sites advise reducing balancing work. 

Combined with a rise in relaxin, a hormone released during pregnancy that causes your joints and ligaments to be looser, causing you to lose your equilibrium.

Pregnancy workouts requiring balance work include:

• Deadlift with One Leg
• Lateral Lunge and Press Exercises 
• Barre Exercises

Low-Intensity Cardio Exercises

My favorite type of exercise is combining strength training with HIIT, especially for at-home exercises.

As a result, previous to pregnancy, plyometrics or leaping were a regular part of my fitness program, and I continued to perform it well into my second trimester of pregnancy until it no longer felt good for me.

I began to reduce high-impact workouts and switch to low-impact exercises about 25-30 weeks pregnant.

Of course, every body and pregnancy is unique; you are the expert on your own body, so do what is best for you.

However, low impact exercise does not imply low intensity. Low impact workouts can be equally difficult as high impact activities. Try this 10-Minute Low Impact HIIT Cardio Workout, for example.

Low impact pregnant workouts include: 

• Kettlebell Swings – if you don't have a kettlebell, you may simply use one heavy dumbbell.
• Cardio Kickboxing or Kickboxing Moves

Hip Stretches + Hip Opening Exercises

Hip stretching and opening exercises are an excellent approach to prepare your body for labor and delivery.

I attempt to include these stretches into my pregnant fitness program in the second trimester, but I really focus on hip opening movements in the third.

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Stretching and extending the hips can also help relieve lower back discomfort, which is a typical complaint during pregnancy.

Some of my favorite hip-stretching pregnant exercises include: 

• Yogi Squat or Supported Yogi Squat on a Yoga Block 
• Low Runners Lunge 
• Frog Pose

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