What kinds of activities are safe during pregnancy?
If you’re healthy and you exercised before you got pregnant, it’s usually safe to continue your activities during pregnancy. Check with your provider to make sure. For example, if you’re a runner or a tennis player or you do other kinds of intense exercise, you may be able to keep doing your workouts when you’re pregnant. As your belly gets bigger later in pregnancy, you may need to change some activities or ease up on your workouts.
If your provider says it’s OK for you to exercise, pick activities you enjoy. If you didn’t exercise before you were pregnant, now’s a great time to start. Talk to your provider about safe activities and start slowly. Try to build up your fitness little by little. For example, start with 5 minutes of activity each day, and work your way up to 30 minutes each day.
These activities usually are safe during pregnancy:
Pregnancy walk:
Walking. Taking a brisk walk is a great workout that doesn’t strain your joints and muscles. If you’re new to exercise, this is a great activity to start with.
Walking is one of the best exercises and is recommended by most health professionals. Though it is a low impact exercise, considering its impact on the joints and heart, it helps the body fight against all sorts of chronic diseases. A 30-45 minute walk can help in reducing weight, decreasing chances of cardiovascular disorders, improving blood circulation, strengthening bones and muscles, and also boosting the body’s immune system. During pregnancy, walking has many benefits and helps the mother stay fit and healthy
Pregnancy swimming:
Swimming and water workouts. The water supports the weight of your growing baby, and moving against it helps keep your heart rate up. It’s also easy on your joints and muscles. If you have low back pain when you do other activities, try swimming.
Yes. Swimming is considered to be safe in pregnancy. If you have a healthy pregnancy, you should aim to do regular exercise and swimming is a great choice. Just be sure to check with your doctor, physiotherapist or midwife before you start if swimming is new to you.
Swimming helps to keep you fit, which will make it easier to adapt to pregnancy. It may also help you to feel better about your changing body.
Swimming is a particularly good exercise in pregnancy, as the water helps to support your extra weight. This can be a huge relief, especially in the third trimester. And unlike some other forms of aerobic exercise, swimming helps you to feel cool.
Riding a stationary bike. This is safer than riding a regular bicycle during pregnancy. You’re less likely to fall off a stationary bike than a regular bike, even as your belly grows.
Yoga and Pilates classes:
Yoga in pregnancy is a great way to stay active and is healthy for you and your baby. Yoga classes in pregnancy use relaxation and breathing techniques with postures that are adapted for pregnancy.
Tell your yoga or Pilates teacher that you’re pregnant. She can help you modify or avoid poses that may be unsafe for pregnant women, like lying on your belly or flat on your back (after the first trimester). Some gyms and community centers offer prenatal yoga and Pilates classes just for pregnant women.
Yoga has been shown to reduce anxiety and to help women stay calm in pregnancy and labour. It can also improve your sleep. Many of the breathing techniques you use in yoga can help you get ready for giving birth.
If you use them during your labour they will help you stay calm and breathe steadily through your contractions. Doing yoga during pregnancy may even mean you need less pain relief during your baby’s birth.
A study looking at the effect of yoga on pregnancies with high-risk complications has indicated that yoga can have a positive effect on the pregnancy and on the health of the baby
Low-impact aerobics classes:
Low-impact aerobics don’t put as much strain on your body that high-impact aerobics do. In low-impact aerobics, you always have one foot on the ground or equipment. Examples include walking, riding a stationary bike and using an elliptical machine. In high-impact aerobics, both feet leave the ground at the same time. Examples include running, jumping rope and doing jumping jacks. Tell your teacher that you’re pregnant so that she can help you modify your workout, if needed.
Strength training. Strength training can help you build muscle and make your bones strong. It’s safe to work out with weights as long as they’re not too heavy. Ask your provider about how much you can lift.
You don’t need to belong to a gym or own special equipment to be active. You can walk in a safe area or do exercise videos at home. Or find ways to be active in your everyday life, like doing yard work or taking the stairs instead of the elevator
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