Being pregnant does not necessarily mean getting fat. Of course, it does not have to mean being tired all the time. The way you look and the way you feel during pregnancy period depend on the great extent on actions you take within this period of time regarding exercise and diet. Not mentioning to a wide range of wholesome foods you take on a regular basis, by exercising properly, you could maintain or even enhance your own fitness as well as health during this time. This article on Vkool.com focuses on describing effective and safe guidelines on how to exercise during pregnancy at most fitness levels. Nevertheless, before starting on any exercise program, you should refer some benefits of exercising during pregnancy to make use of exercises appropriately.
I. How To Exercise During Pregnancy – Benefits Of Exercising During Pregnancy
1. Feel Better
Exercise is not only good for yourself but also your baby if complications do not limit your ability to do exercise throughout your pregnancy. When you exercise, you will enhance the sense of control and increase your energy level dramatically. It makes you feel better via releasing the happy chemical called endorphins. Generally, exercise could relieve backaches, correct and develop your posture by toning and strengthening the core muscles in your back, thighs, and butts.
Moreover, it can help you relieve constipation by motivating the movement in your intestines. Furthermore, by lubricating the fluid in your joints via exercising, you can prevent tear on those joints that become loosened due to pregnancy.
In addition, it brings a good night’s sleep by reducing anxiety and stress that may make you feel restless every night.
2. Look Better
Exercise brings a dynamic look to you no matter you are pregnant or not. Exercise can increase the blood flow to your own skin, giving you a healthy glow.
3. Prepare Your Body For Giving Birth
Exercise helps you have strong muscles and a fit heart. These benefits could ease labor and delivery. Besides, while exercising, you also learn how to take control of your breath that means you will be able to manage pain. And, enhanced endurance could be an actual help.
Read more: tips for pregnancy
3. Get In Shape After Giving Birth
During pregnancy, you might gain fat weight. So, if you exercise, you will gain less excess fat. However, do not try to lose weight be exercising whilst you are pregnant. With most ladies, their goal is to often maintain the fitness level throughout pregnancy.
Nevertheless, you should be careful that you are prone to suffer from injuries during this period. After all, exercise might even reduce the risk of complication of a woman, including gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.
II. How To Exercise During Pregnancy – Guidelines For Safe Exercise
1. Walking
Walking keeps you fit without jarring your ankles and knees, and gives your lovely heart a workout. Keep in mind that it is safe throughout pregnancy, and could be built into your daily routine. Just walk for at least 30 minutes per day and about 5 times per a week. Instead of driving to the shops, you can walk. Rather than sitting on your car all long way, you can take the bus on part of the way, or do brisk laps of the park or pavements in your lunch hour.
2. Swimming
This is a safe and ideal form of exercise during pregnancy. When swimming, you exercise the arms and legs, and working the lungs and hearts. In case you love group activity, just take part in an aquanatal aerobics class. In case you feel difficult to exercise on the ground, then exercising while standing in water can be great for your joints and still support your bump. Moreover, it could help you ease your back pain and relieve swelling in your legs during late pregnancy.
3. Running
While running is one of the fastest and most effective ways to work your whole body, in general, and your heart, in particular, you could vary the distance if your energy level allows.
Nevertheless, if you are new to running, pregnancy might be not the time to begin. Instead, it is the best for you to go for a more gentle exercise, like walking or swimming.
4. Pilates
When it comes to steps to exercise during pregnancy, pilates exercises could not be overlooked. This type of exercises could strengthen your tummy as well as pelvic floor muscles, which are a part of your own body known as your stable core.
When exercising, your pilates teacher will instruct you on your own posture, thereby making you aware of how to hold your body properly. Also, you will experience a series of positions plus with movements that can strengthen your core muscles. Besides, you will learn how to regulate your breathing with this type of exercise and how to appropriately relax as well.
During your pregnancy, some muscles may be weakened. Thus, by exercising pilates, you can strengthen these muscles in a manner that supports, instead of straining them. Take part in an antenatal pilates course if possible.
5. Yoga
Practicing yoga during pregnancy can help you maintain flexibility and muscle tone, and develop your current posture. Especially, it is great for your joints than other types of exercise. Yet, you should not forget to do some aerobic activity like brisk walking several times per week to work your heart.
Another way to work you whole body is stretching.Fact is, stretching can keep you supple. However, do not overdo this. Just gently open and extend your own body, rather than push yourself. Your yoga instructor will teach your how to relax your mind and body while stretching.
Bear in mind that your yoga teacher acknowledges that you are pregnant and he or she is teaching a pregnant woman. It is a great idea if you join in a pregnancy yoga class, rather than do it yourself with a DVD. The exercises you learn might help you with breathing or relaxation in labor, too.
Read more: effective yoga exercises
6. Weight Training
Do not stop weight training just because you are pregnant if this exercise has been already part of your exercise program. However, you should be careful and use light weights, so you can strengthen and tone your muscles while still being safe during pregnancy. Do not overdo it as you might overheat. Gradually wind down the regime towards the later stage of your pregnancy. You love a baby boy or baby girl? Check out these tips to plan your baby’s gender here.
7. Aerobics
Practicing aerobics in a regular basis is a good choice for you if you are looking for a good way on how to exercise during pregnancy. If you keep the exercise at low impact, it will protect your joints. When you join in an antenatal class, you could feel secured that each movement is safe for both you and your baby.
8. Dance
Keep learning your dance class, if it is a part of your daily activities before you were pregnant. Or, if you do not want to go out, then you can get your heart pumping with dancing right in your comfort zone.
Make sure that you will not leap, jump, twirl, or change the direction suddenly, because you might lose your balance. In other words, if you decide to join in an antenatal dance course, you could loosen yourself in music, whilst keeping fit under the guidelines of a good teacher, who could adapt the moves to your own current stage of pregnancy.
9. Stretching Exercises
Doing stretching exercise will make your muscle warm and limber that could be particularly useful as you are pregnant. Some stretches you could perform before or after doing exercise can be neck rotation, should rotation, swim, thing shift, leg shake, and ankle rotation.
10. Kegel Exercises
Kegel exercises can strengthen your muscles that will support the uterus, bladder, and bowels. By strengthening those muscles during your pregnancy, you could relax and control your muscles in preparation for labor as well as birth. Kegel exercises are also recommended during postpartum stage to enhance the healing of perineal tissues, promote the strength of those pelvic floor muscles, allow these muscles to return their healthy state, and develop your urinary control.
The experts advise that pregnant women should do 5 sets of Kegel exercises each day. Every time you contract the muscles of the pelvic floor, keep holding for a count of 5 before relaxing. After that, repeat this about 10 times for each set of Kegels.
11. Tailor Exercises
Tailor exercises could strengthen the hip, pelvic, and thigh muscles. Also, these could relieve the symptoms of low back pain.
- Tailor sit: sit on the floor with the knees bent and ankles crossed. Just lean forward slightly, and keep the back straight yet relaxed. Take advantage of this position regularly throughout the day if possible.
- Tailor press: sit on the ground with the knees bent and the bottoms of the feet together. Then, grasp the ankles and pull the feet gently toward the body. After that, place the hands under the knees. Start inhaling. Whilst pressing the knees down against the hands, try pressing the hands up against the knees. Hold the position for about 5 seconds.
If you have any idea to contribute to this “How To Exercise During Pregnancy” article or other pregnancy and childbirth tips introduced in VKool, simply leave your words below to let us know your thoughts.
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