How Should I Exercise While Pregnant?

It’s certainly beneficial to exercise during your pregnancy. Not only will you have better energy management, stress management, strength and less aches and pains, but more likely better recovery post birth. Some even say a better labour and birth. 

By doing the appropriate exercises you will also improve your pelvic floor strength (which will aid in your recovery aswell), and may reduce your likelihood of pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure) and gestational diabetes by reducing insulin resistance.

There are modifications you need to make when exercising during pregnancy. Everyone is different going into pregnancy so you need to know your body and if you are a beginner, moderate or advanced exerciser first up.

Some women who are more advanced exercise goers will maintain a fairly high level of exercise if they feel ok to do so. You may see women doing kickboxing, weights, running and higher impact forms of exercise. Everything is ok if you implement modifications as you move through each trimester, and as long as you know what is right for you with your individual conditions and how you feel.

I do not do high impact or heavy-loaded exercise generally, so I simply modified the Pilates and bodyweight training I normally do. I’ve also had strong back pain and pubic symphysis pain through both pregnancies so I really needed to be aware of the exact movements triggering this and made further adjustments.

Remember, it’s a time to nurture your body! Not lose weight, build muscle or fitness. You can focus on that later when you make a full recovery. (Stay connected with me on social for a full post-natal recovery exercise guide!)

THE GENERAL RULES

The first rule in any case is to get the approval from your doctor about exercising during pregnancy. They can also determine if you need to exclude anything specifically for your condition. 

For example, I had a client who was determined to be high risk due to previous miscarriages so the doctor recommended she only do low impact, very basic strength movements with a theraband and swimming. They even recommended she not do weights. Each case is different. If you are pregnant and have not done exercise for a long time prior to pregnancy, then you are best to do very gentle walking and strength work based on your body weight. 

Many women have come to me once falling pregnant wanting to ‘start’ exercise. This is a great intention but it is best not to start certain things your body has not been used to. 

For example, as I primarily teach Pilates this is known as an effective form of movement and recommended by health professionals to do during pregnancy. However, if you have never done it and are not familiar with the movements, core activation and style you must ensure you are working with a qualified prenatal instructor or following videos with an instructor of the same level of qualification.

I do not believe it is the time to start something completely unfamiliar, though. Like a full-blown gym program, yoga, Pilates etc if it is not specific to pregnancy. The feeling that your body has is different to someone else starting a program as your pregnancy hormones are already changing your muscles and ligaments, your core work and pelvic positioning needs to be modified from early on and your energy and fatigue will be vastly different. (These are just the tip of the iceberg too!)

Once again, anything in person must be taught by a trainer who has vast knowledge and understanding of the physiological changes you undergo during pregnancy. And to follow this rule, any video you follow on the internet must also be taught by a trainer with these qualifications. I cannot emphasise this enough. I know of many great trainers both face to face and online who are fantastic with the general population, but I’ve seen the movements they do for pregnant women and it is not correct in some cases and way off the mark in others.

The recommended amount of exercise during pregnancy is three to five times per week for around 15 to 45 minutes at a time. This will vary depending on your energy, nausea and any recommendations by your doctor. Even a five minute gentle stretch or a few squats is great on days where the longer duration may not be possible. And of course do not worry if you have days or weeks where you do not exercise. Just do the best you can!

THE DO’S AND DONT’S 

Throughout pregnancy it’s safest if you follow these guidelines:

*Do not allow your heart rate to go above 140 beats per minute – it is important you do not overexert yourself or overheat the body. There are varying medical opinions on this, but I would suggest to stay in line with this guide for you and your baby’s safety. Remember it’s not the time for building fitness per say.

*Eat at least 60-80 minutes prior to your exercise – you may experience drops in blood sugar (I had to literally lay down while teaching clients or attempting to exercise on some occasions in the first trimester due to low blood sugar drops if I did not eat precisely every two hours!)

*Avoid spas and saunas  – sometimes this is used for muscle recovery but is not suitable during pregnancy

*Consume water or a hydrating drink (perhaps part hydralyte or similar) 500ml for every 30 minutes of exercise – this will aid in your energy and stamina and help prevent sudden blood pressure drops

*Avoid exercise on hot and humid days

 

FIRST TRIMESTER 

First trimester body changes:

-fatigue

-nausea

-low blood pressure

-breasts begin to change

-possible reflux

-relaxin hormone starts to be released

Exercise modifications:

-no plyometrics (jumping or short bursts of explosive movements)

-pull back to 70 % of stretch capacity and range of movement so you do not overstretch from relaxin hormone

-best to note intensity as still being able to speak a little. If you can’t talk at all, pull back on intensity

-avoid exercising if experiencing nausea 

-lessen your time in the sessions especially if you feel muscles are not recovering as normal

-stop crunches, situps and oblique twists / similar towards end of first trimester 

SECOND TRIMESTER 

Second trimester body changes:

-upper back pain

-lower back pain

-sacroiliac pain

-possible front pelvic pain (pubic symphysis disorder)

-possibly better energy and less fatigue than first and third trimester

Exercise modifications:

-avoid standing rotational work

-avoid heavy loading and weights

-stop abdominal work including crunches, leg lowers, 100’s (and other rectus abdominis Pilates and fitness moves), situps, planks, etc. Planks and similar may cause abdominal pressure pushing your body downwards. This also includes pushups or any of the horizontal movements. Pushups can be done against a wall, chair or with knees in closer 

-you may work on Transverse Abdominal activation and Pelvic Floor work (see my Preggy Strong Prenatal Program for guidance on this)

-avoid laying on your back – the vena cava will have reduced blood flow back to heart

-avoid laying on tummy doing back extension work

THIRD TRIMESTER

Third  trimester body changes:

-shortness of breath

-fluid retention

-additional relaxin hormone

-possible varicose veins

-increased frontal load

-fatigue

-possible dizziness

-change to centre of gravity

Exercise modifications:

-continue to follow same rules as second trimester PLUS:

-avoid overhead arm movements if you get dizzy or have low blood pressure

-avoid overstretching especially in pelvic area

-if you experience low back pain or pubic symphysis disorder keep any leg or glute work (like squats) more narrow

-avoid split stance exercises like lunges, wide squats, Pilates side lying leg raises and splits

-focus more on upper body strength isolation exercises like using a Theraband (I have heaps on my Youtube channel for this)

-focus on leg strength and maintaining good posture

-avoid running and high impact movements (this advice is for women who have been continuing this in first and second trimester)

-avoid too much inner thigh strengthening at this point

If you need any help with this do contact me via email: info@vanessabhealth.com or on social! (Links below).

Check out my Preggy Strong Wellbeing Program at www.vanessabhealth.com NOW and exercise safely throughout your pregnancy.

The next phase is postnatal recovery and knowing what to do safely post birth. You should not exercise until you get your doctor’s ok approximately 6 weeks after a natural birth, and 12 weeks after C-section.

This is super important especially if you have Abdominal Separation (Rectus Diastasis), weakened pelvic floor, or back injuries. (I had the works after my first birth, so I know what it’s like to totally rehab post birth!)

Best wishes during your pregnancy journey. Stay well and reach out if you have questions at any point!