Exercise And Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant, you can usually maintain the benefits of regular exercise without placing your unborn child at risk. Use the following tips before continuing your exercise routine during pregnancy.
Always consult with your physician regarding exercise and your pregnancy before taking any other step. Your physician can best discuss the concerns that he or she has regarding your particular pregnancy.
Use common sense at all times regardless of what any professional tells you regarding a specific exercise. If you are worried about high impact exercises such as jogging then replace jogging with walking during your pregnancy. You can lengthen your exercise time or add another 30 minutes of exercise a day for walking if you desperately miss your jogging.
Do not overdo weights and other resistance training when you’re pregnant. Maintaining body tone should replace strength-building goals that frequently increase the amount of weight you’re using during your exercise regimen.
If you’re including strength-building exercises that include performing reps, there are recent studies that indicate that using light weights to failure is as good as adding to the weight you use in training. You should not exercise to failure if you’re pregnant to compensate for using lighter weights in order to prevent injury and exhaustion. Exercising to failure occurs when during reps you have to stop or take a break before continuing doing reps. Stop before you achieve failure.
If you experience dangerous symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pains, much like everyone else who exercises you should stop exercising immediately and consult with a health professional.
If you find yourself going to the bathroom more frequently during pregnancy, pay attention to how much water you drink since you may unintentionally reduce your fluids because you’re annoyed by having to go to the bathroom frequently. It’s important to stay hydrated before, during and after exercise.
Consider moving your exercise routine indoors during your pregnancy. In addition to providing you with closer access to bathrooms, working out indoors can protect you from injury from working out in weather that is too hot or too cold or from stumbles on uneven outdoor surfaces as your figure changes which can affect your balance and stride.
Make certain that your exercise footwear continues to fit in order to prevent injury or discomfort while you exercise. Many women’s feet swell during pregnancy which will require new footwear during pregnancy.
Try to achieve at least 30 minutes of exercise a day when you’re pregnant. Currently the CDC recommends the same 30 minutes of exercise a day for both pregnant and non-pregnant people. If you do not feel well you should always stop exercise and consult with a physician.
Depending on your trimester of pregnancy, you should consult exercise experts in connection with exercises that you should discontinue during later stages of pregnancy. You can continue to ask your physician’s advice throughout your pregnancy.
Your pregnancy should not be an occasion to stop exercising. Use the tips above to maintain your ability to exercise during your pregnancy.
