Exercise and Pregnancy

Morning all,

My wife is currently pregnant with our second child and we were discussing the other night about a possible fitness routine to help her get back into shape. She only has three weeks left to go and so far so good. A big thanks to Amy aka Mutha Fitness too for helping me write this article!

Exercising while pregnant may be the last thing on your mind if you find just getting out of bed on a morning a challenge. The one thing I would recommend though is to just stay active. If you didn’t go in the gym before you fell pregnant then you shouldn’t really consider going in now but everybody walks and so should you. A walk every day will be so beneficial to you and your baby and I’ll explain why in a minute. The most important thing is this though, safety. Safety for you and your bump so I’ve got a few exercise tips for you in this article.

Benefits

Everyone knows that when you exercise it helps you stay fit and healthy so staying active before, during and after your pregnancy can only be a good thing. Here’s a short list:

• It will help you prepare for when you are carrying the baby around with you. I can remember putting on a front baby carrier for the first time and saying to my wife, it was really heavy. She replied, that’s what I’ve been carrying around with me for the last few months!
• It will help you prepare for the physical elements during labour
• It gives you an energy boost
• It can reduce the risk of you getting some illnesses
• Constipation and back ache are a common problem with pregnancy and exercise will help keep these at bay
• It will help you sleep better. I’m currently writing another article about sleep and exercise so make sure you check it out
• It will also help you get back into shape quicker after giving birth

Safety

This is the number one priority and I can’t stress this enough. Plus, I don’t want to be writing anything that may put you and your baby in danger as I’m no Doctor. It’s common sense to not try anything that could make you slip or fall, so you shouldn’t be considering things like running! If you feel great throughout your pregnancy, then you should consider staying active by trying the following:

• Walking
• Yoga
• Swimming
• Pilates

Other tips include, making sure you’re wearing a comfortable maternity bra. This goes without saying but you should always make sure you warm-up correctly too. Take care with awkward positions, so things like sit-ups shouldn’t really be considered. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water, you should be doing this anyway! The last tip is making sure you cool down, this will give your heart a chance to return to its normal rate gradually.

If you experience dizziness, short of breath, difficulty walking or any other type of joint pain then you should stop exercising immediately.

So there you go and I really hope this helps. I’m hoping to be back soon with some exercise tips once you’ve given birth so stay tuned. If Amy agrees, we may even use her as a case study but I’ll need to twist her arm to get some photos!

Stay fit, heathy and happy folks. One last thing, being a parent is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done but without doubt the most rewarding.