Exercising when pregnant

[Jedt]

Hi Laura,

Can you give some tips about exercising when pregnant (not for me!!) but just in general. I heard someone on the radio talking about taking it easy when pregnant and not doing anything strenuous but I exercised all through my pregnancies and enjoyed it and was wondering, what kind of guidelines should pregnant women follow?

Thanks.

[Taylor5]

me too… i know if you were doing it before the pregnancy then its safe to do during…. im sure there are some sports that they wouldnt recommend
Didnt sonia o sullivan train everyday up the the birth of her child

[Maria30]

I asked my doctor about this on last pregnancy and he said it was ok once you are sensible and I think Laura was doing her classes up until the day before she had her baby!

[Jedt]

knowing Laura she probably did them the day before and day after 😀

I liked exercising when I was pregnant and it made the recovery from birth easier for me….some mums to be seem to think its dangerous but as long as you’re sensible, its a good thing to do

be good to get some tips for mums-to-be!

[Taylor5]

Sabbi if i remember correctly, i think i heard Laura saying one day that she did a Zumba class the day she went into Labour 😆 😆 😆

[laura]

umm…loving this topic!!

About 4 years ago i did my ante/post natal fitness instructor qualification as i knew at some point i would have a baby..and to date it is the best fitness course i have done.

So this is the way it works with exercise and pregnancy.

– if you are planning a baby, train like mad for the 12 months before conceiving. This will get you in top shape, meaning that you will probably put on less weight during pregnancy and also will allow you to keep up your training for as long as you feel comfortable.

– the general rule is IF YOU NEVER DID PILATES BEFORE YOU GOT PREGNANT, PREGNANCY IS NOT THE TIME TO START. The same applies to all other sports. From the minute you conceive relaxin affects all your joints and you are very prone to spraining them. If you start a new sport/activity, your muscles and joints are not used to being worked in that manner, so injury is very possible.

– during pregnancy you want to MAINTAIN your fitness, and not IMPROVE IT.

– I taught 15 classes before i got pregnant, from aerobics, to step, pilates, yoga, you name it! and i taught all the same classes thorough my whole pregnancy. In fact i went into labour after a class, and yes i went back to class 2 weeks later (for sanity!)

Currently i have about 6 ladies, all in different stages of their pregnancy, training. I will never take a client that has never trained with me before, as i need to know their fitness levels before they got pregnant so i will be able to see if they are pushing themselves too much or too little. Unfortunately many people that have never exercised, decide to start once they find out the good news… but in my opinion, walking and swimming would be the best options (due to the low impact) for those people. The down side is that walking and swimming burn very little calories, so they will be more prone to put on non-necessary weight.

For me exercise during pregnancy was a gift…endorphins made me have the best pregnancy ever, even my husband said i had a new found sense of humour!!

any questions on the topic, please ask!! im here to help

[Margo1]

what a fantastic thread….what classes would you recommend for someone who has done yoga, step and jogging/walking before pg.

[Margo1]

hello,

I am about to go into my second trimester and want to start exercising once again as soon as I don’t feel so sick and tired all the time.

I used to jog, walk and swim (not too much but i was fairly healthy) but my breasts are tender now and I dno’t think I can do the jogging anymore – what would you suggest for me? i want to keep fit but be safe.

thanks.

[laura]

hi Margo

congratulations!!

the main thing we exercise in pregnancy is NOT TO DO ANYTHING YOU’VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. You want to maintain your fitness levels and not improve them… if jogging is uncomfortable, opt for fast walking.

weight training (if you ‘ve done it before) it is brilliant for maintaing muscles tone…. we teach a class called pump and lift and most of my clients when pregnant keep it up til the day they deliver.

keep up the swimming, but stay away from breast stroke….when exercising while pregnant think that you are wearing a very tight mini skirt that doesnt allow you to separate thighs too much… as many women due to relaxin in the system tend to over stretch this area and do pelvic and hip damage after birth.

please feel free to ask me any other queries you may have

laura 🙂

[vdol]

hi there

just found out am pregnant – super excited!

i did 2-3 spinning classes a week beforehand, is that something that would be okay to continue??

cheers
V 😀

[Bodyrightphysio]

Hi Girls

Congrats great to have lots of expectant mums-to-be out there gives everybody a positive lift 😀

I agree some what with the point Laura is making about not trying anything new in Pregnancy but it really depends on the exercise programme you intend to partake in.

Research has showen that certain exercise programmes are designed to benefit durning pregnancy regardless of previous experience or level of fitness it is really taken on an individual bases.

I would recommend visiting a health care professional for a full assessment.

Good luck with it.

Sarah

[Author]

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