Pregnancy Exercise Guidelines
Pregnancy Guidelines for Exercise
All of these guidelines are based on the American Gynecology and Obstetrics (ACOG) recommendations and guidelines for you to have a safe and healthy relationship with exercise during your pregnancy
Is it safe to exercise when pregnant?
As long as you are a healthy individual and have a normal pregnancy, exercise is safe to continue with pregnancy. This is a great discussion to have with your OB to go over any specific restrictions you may have related to your pregnancy
Why should I exercise when pregnant?
Exercise is not only a great stress outlet, but also has lasting healthy effects for you and your baby like:
Improves your overall general fitness and strengthens your heart and blood vessels
Reduces back pain
May decrease your risk of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia
Helps with constipation
Makes you feel happy and improves your mood!!
How Much Should I exercise?
Per the ACOG, ideally, pregnant women should get at least 150 minutes (broken up into sessions) of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week. What is moderate intensity? This can differ from woman to woman, but it is enough to have an increase in heart rate and start to sweat. We like to say that you can talk to us in small sentences, but can’t carry on a conversation. Moderate intensity means you are moving enough to raise your heart rate and start sweating.
What aerobic exercises can I do?
Some good choices include:
brisk walking on level surfaces or uphill
Biking
Gym equipment you are comfortable on
What if I didn’t really exercise before I got pregnant ?
That’s OK!! If you are new to exercise, start out slowly and gradually increase your activity. Start with as little as 5 minutes a day. Try adding up to 5 minutes or slightly more each day to work up to a 30 minute session.
I was lifting heavy weights before I got pregnant, can I still do that?
As long as you have permission from your OB to workout and continue your routine, you can continue to lift weights as long as there are no symptoms related to pelvic floor dysfunction, overuse , dehydration and anything that potentially can cause harm to your body. At points, you will have to decrease these weights to maintain safe lifting mechanics and we can guide you through this.
Our goal at FitPartum ™ is to help you understand your body and recognize when you need to adjust your workouts, especially with weights. Abnormal pressure, bearing down to hold your breath with lifting weights, extreme fatigue, and compensation of other muscles and joints are signs it is time to change up some things in your program.
Also, be mindful of your weight as well; you may need to add calories if you are losing weight.
What are signs that I should stop or change my exercise?
Dehydration symptoms of dizziness, significant increase in heart rate, dark yellow urine.
Feeling of heaviness or pain in your pelvic region
Pain in other joints such as low back pain, hip pain etc.
Extreme Nausea (morning sickness is a tough one!)
STOP exercising immediately if you have:
Bleeding
chest pain
Headache
calf pain or excessive swelling in your legs
Painful and regular contractions
These symptoms should be followed up with a call to your OB.
Are there any exercises I should avoid?
Always check with your OB, but there are some things at FitPartum™ we try to educate our women to avoid if possible. Contact sports put you at risk for collision and contact which can put your baby in harms way. Sports that also “fall” into the category are fall risk sports such as skiing, waterskiing, horseback riding, skating etc.
While we love yoga, hot yoga and its extreme temperatures can create an unsafe environment with overheating.
Can I run while I am pregnant?
We get this question a lot and our answer is Yes--if you were already running before you got pregnant. Pregnancy isn’t a time to start a new activity that requires a lot of strength and stability. Running seems simple, but it’s actually a pretty complex form of exercise with weight bearing, load acceptance and core activation with breathing.
How do I learn more about FitPartum™?
Shoot us an email at info@fitpartum.com for all your pregnancy and/or postpartum needs!!