4 Easy Tips for Safe Pregnancy Workouts
Anyone who has been pregnant can tell you how much conflicting advice she got about what she can and can’t do during pregnancy. In reality, for most women who have a healthy pregnancy, there is a short list of general things to avoid doing. For now I’ll set various cultural traditions or pregnancy complications aside, and give you 4 easy tips to ensure you are keeping you and your baby healthy, happy, and safe for your first 40 weeks together.
Tip #1
Make sure you have the go ahead from your doctor to continue to exercise or begin a new exercise program. Also, ask your doctor if you have any contraindications to exercise - any specific aspect of your pregnancy that would prevent you from certain exercises or exercise all together. Some of these things are respiratory disease, uncontrolled Type 1 diabetes, and severe preeclampsia.
Doctor approval is #1
Tip #2
Imagine a scale of 1-10, where 1 is lounging on the couch, and 10 is maximal activity where you can hardly breathe at all, and you cannot speak. The studies we have recommend that you cap your effort at a maximum of 8.5 out of 10 for the duration of your pregnancy. That doesn’t mean all your workouts need to meet 8.5, just that you shouldn’t do anything that requires you to push past 8.5. Some types of exercise that this rules out is breaking PR’s / doing a ‘1RM’ (one rep max), or engaging in cardio that pushes you to a point where you cannot breathe. Think about ‘keeping some gas in the tank’ vs. using up every last drop during your workout. Now is not the time to leave it all on the field, ladies!
Always ‘leave some gas in the tank’
Tip #3
There are so many types of exercise to enjoy during pregnancy! Walking, lifting weights, yoga, pilates, swimming, and dance are just a few. Due to having a growing belly with a sensitive creature inside, there are some types of activity to avoid completely for now. These are:
Contact sports or activity where the belly will be contacted (ex. boxing, soccer, Olympic weight lifting)
Activities with a high risk of falling (ex. skating, snowboarding, gymnastics)
Scuba diving
Activities done in hot temperatures (ex. heated yoga, outdoor workouts in the summer)
Activities in high altitude when you are accustomed to lower altitude
Activities that require the Valsalva maneuver - if you don’t know what this is, then don’t worry about it! I doubt you’ll want to learn it during pregnancy. It is basically a breathing technique that requires holding your breath to increase your ability to generate force during maximal lifting or exercise.
Yoga is excellent during pregnancy - but stay out of the heated classes!
Tip #4
There are some general sensations to be aware of that can occur during pregnancy. If they come up, you want to either modify the activity to see if it stops, or if it doesn’t then you should stop the activity for now. These are:
Excessive downward pressure or heaviness in the pelvic floor - like something is bulging, dragging, or falling out. This can indicate the pelvic floor muscles aren’t handling well whatever it is that you’re doing.
Seeing or feeling doming in the center of your abdomen. We want to avoid excess stress along the connective tissue (linea alba) that runs up and down the center of your belly.
(In later trimesters) dizziness/tingling while lying down flat on your back. The extra weight of your belly can cause some nerve compression for some women.
(In later trimester) Exercises where you are flat on your belly like superheroes become uncomfortable and less aligned due to a growing belly. This position can also be uncomfortable if breasts are swollen.
Dizziness, lightheadedness, breathlessness
Vaginal bleeding
Feeling overheated
Don’t keep exercising if you’re THIS dizzy!
I could go on for hours about this topic! I am so passionate about helping women exercise during pregnancy and in the recovery period afterwards. For now, keep these 4 tips in mind while you are exercising during pregnancy. If you have any questions or would like to talk more about the specifics or ‘why’ behind these tips, just shoot me an email or DM! I also offer in-person training in Austin, Texas as well as virtual training for women all over the country. If you like training in a group, sign up for my 45 minute virtual group class on Fridays at 12:00pm CST.
