Information You Need To Know About Getting Fit While Pregnant

Posted by Rajiv Partap Singh on June 2nd, 2017

Nowadays, many women want to know the truth about getting fit while pregnant. Due to the hormonal changes that take place when one is pregnant, many issues such as unprecedented weight gain, fatigue and other unexpected feelings and changes take place in the body. The only sure way of warding off these unwanted changes is by doing everything that can make you fit. Although you need to be cautious in the exercises and activities that you engage in while pregnant, you can burn fats and also build muscles while pregnant. Here below is what you need to know about this –

Moderate exercises are highly recommended:

Inactivity is the greatest danger to safe pregnancy but intensive exercises are also not recommended as they may harm the mother and the unborn child. If you do not exercise while pregnant, the possible effects are aches and pains, high blood pressure and weigh gain. By not getting in to the right exercises, there is more likelihood of delivery through caesarean section and the risk of developing gestational diabetes also increases. For pregnant mothers, the most recommended moderate exercise is walking for between 30 and 60 minutes every day.

Resistance training is also highly recommended:

Resistance training, also known as strength training is highly recommended during pregnancy. There are some scholars who believe these exercises may cause injury to the joints and this concern is well founded. This is because when pregnant, the body produces higher volumes of relaxin hormone which loosens ligaments as it prepares the body for delivery. However, studies have found that low to moderate intensity strength training exercises are safe for pregnant moms.

The intensive resistance training is not recommended as it may cause injuries to the weak joints of pregnant mothers. For this reason, body weight exercises and free weights such as squats and push-ups are very safe. In order to ensure you learn how to squat and lift properly while pregnant, you need to get professional advice from fitness expert.

High intensity movements while pregnant should be supervised:

While pregnant women are advised not to engage in high intensity movements, if you feel that your body can do it, you may do gut-busting sprints but ensure that there is close supervision when doing this. However, it is important to note that intensive exercises may cause a rise in core body temperature and this may seriously harm the foetus during the first trimester of pregnancy. To avoid this, ensure you remain properly hydrated during these exercises. Also avoid exercising outdoors where you are exposed to direct heat of the sun. Also void puffing and huffing so hard that you cannot talk.

Running is safe and recommended during pregnancy:

Running is recommended as a way of getting fit while pregnant. Some mothers wrongly believe or assume that by running they make shake loose the baby in the womb but this is very wrong. The foetus is protected by amniotic fluid. According to experts, you can keep running unless there are changes in the ligaments and joints. At the last few months of the pregnancy, the bump may grow so huge such that running is a bit uncomfortable. In that case, you may switch to the lower impact activities such as elliptical trainer, water workouts and walking.

Working on abs is also good:

There are some people who allege that you should not work on the abs while pregnant. It is very true that doing crunches and other high impact exercises as a way of getting fit on the abdominals is not good for your health during the first trimester. This is because at this stage of pregnancy, the uterus is growing and it may exert pressure on the vena cava, which refers to the major vessel that returns blood to the heart, and this may restrict the flow of blood causing feeling of nausea and dizziness.

If this happens, you need to find ways of working on the abs in the sitting or standing position. The plank move for example is highly recommended and will even strengthen the core muscles and this is good for mothers as it helps in pushing during delivery.