Planning Your Pregnancy Workout

Stay healthy while you're pregnant with a workout designed for expectant moms.

    Pregnancy can make you feel exhausted, achy, and just plain uncomfortable. Exercise can help you naturally feel better and improve your health, which benefits your baby's health as well. But being pregnant will probably mean adjusting your regular fitness routine, especially as you reach the later months. That’s why a pregnancy workout can be your best bet.

Prenatal Workout: Exercise During Pregnancy 

   For the pregnant woman without health conditions, a prenatal workout is not only safe but beneficial for her health. It doesn't matter if a woman has been a life-long exerciser or had a more sedentary lifestyle.

    "A pregnant female should consider just resuming the same exercise activities they were doing prior to pregnancy, assuming there's no reason why they can't," says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. As long as your obstetrician says you're healthy and clear to exercise, do it. But keep in mind, says Dr. Gotlin, that “you may want to modify what and how you do things as you begin to gain weight.”

    If exercise is new to you, you should be able to begin working out as long as you don't have a health condition, such as a back problem, that can make exercise difficult or dangerous. "As for someone who has not been exercising, it's a good idea to start getting exercise," says Gotlin. "Pregnant females should start to exercise or continue to exercise while they're pregnant."

Prenatal Workout: How Fitness Helps 

    Exercise provides particular benefits during pregnancy, when your body and mind may not feel as good as usual. A pregnancy workout can help you feel better both physically and mentally, keep your energy level up, and help relieve many minor symptoms of pregnancy. Prenatal workouts can also help to:

• Prevent excess weight gain. Prenatal workouts can help keep you from gaining too much weight and even help your body get in shape for delivery. After the baby comes, you will have less fat to lose to get back into your pre-pregnancy shape.
• Keep muscles toned. "Exercise can help maintain some body tone and muscle tone. Exercise increases blood flow — keeping it circulating, keeping it fresh," says Gotlin. Increased muscle tone can also lead to an easier labor and delivery. Another benefit may be less aching of back muscles as your pregnancy progresses and your weight increases.
• Keep your body in good aerobic condition. Aerobic exercise is good for the heart and for general fitness. Getting the body moving, even with moderate walking, can maintain the regularity of bowel movements and prevent constipation.
• Improve your mood. If pregnancy has you feeling exhausted and zaps your energy, exercise can help. Find an activity you enjoy, and do it as often as you can. Exercise helps release endorphins that boost your energy and make you feel better, and can lead to more restful sleep at night.

Prenatal Workout: Exercise Tips 

    During a pregnancy workout, don't push yourself too hard. You want to keep your body in shape, but this isn't the time for overexertion or a big physical challenge. Your body is already working overtime carrying the baby, and your heart rate will be elevated from that extra exertion.

• Keep intensity moderate. If you're out of breath, you're doing too much. If your body starts showing signs that you're exercising too hard, take a break, and stick to less strenuous activities. For the safety of your developing baby, your body temperature should not get above 102.6 degrees, so avoid working out in very hot weather.
• Stay balanced. Remember that you're not working out with the same body you had pre-pregnancy; a number of things are different, and that may make exercise more difficult. For one thing, your center of balance has changed a lot. Be extra careful, because all of that extra weight centered on the front of your body may make you feel unbalanced and make you more likely to fall.
• Stay hydrated. Always make sure you're drinking plenty of water when you're working out.
• Check with your doctor to see which exercises are safe and recommended for your health and your pregnancy. In general, aerobic exercise offers the best benefits for pregnant women. Avoid contact sports during pregnancy, as well as skiing, horseback riding, and other sports that might result in a fall.
• Keep blood flowing. "The best exercises are those that keep muscle toned and blood flowing. Aerobic exercises are good — elliptical, walking, a treadmill,” says Gotlin. “As far as weight training, even light weights are okay as long as you're not exerting yourself too much," But during the second and third trimesters, it is best to avoid exercises that involve lying on your back.
• Listen to your body. Be realistic as you due date nears. Throughout the first 24 weeks of your pregnancy, exercise should be relatively easy and good for your prenatal health. But during the last three months, as your stomach gets larger and your body works harder, exercise may be difficult. It's normal for these simple activities to be challenging: Just listen to your body, and don't push yourself as the due date approaches.

    The bottom line on the best prenatal workout? The one that your doctor says is safe. Always check with your doctor to make sure there's no reason why you shouldn't be exercising, or doing certain exercises. If you have high blood pressure, early contractions, or any bleeding from the vagina, you should not exercise, and of course, you should see your doctor.

Once your doctor has given the go-ahead, figure out a prenatal workout that makes you feel good and that you like doing. Stick with it and you'll be more likely to enjoy a fit and healthy pregnancy.