You recently found out that you are about to have a child and your joy is endless. You are already starting to make lots of plans, you are dreaming with your eyes open and there are a lot of changes that announce in your life, but one thing should remain the same: the concern for yourself.
If until recently it was believed that movement while pregnant can put the life of the mother and baby in danger, studies proven the opposite: proper movement ease the pregnancy and birth. Movement is important for the pregnant woman, physical exercises having the main role of offering comfort, preventing gestational diabetes and relieving osteomuscular pain, like back pain.
Maintain a good mental and physical tone in both pregnancy and birth. This opinion has been imposed at the expense of the one according to which the pregnant woman needed to rest a lot, sleep and eat for 2.
Fitness helps women in keeping their beauty during pregnancy as well. Proper physical exercise improves the physical aspect and muscle tone. When associated with massage, fitness prevents varicose veins, stretch marks and edema. Physical exercises aims for correcting the posture and protecting the spine, which is in high demand during pregnancy.
Aerobic and breathing exercises prepare the pregnant woman for childbirth, being acquiring the coordination technique of the breathing rhythm. The physical effort is made especially on expiration, unlike physical fitnesshttps://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-fitness when the effort is made on inspiration. Actually, it`s a preparation of the pregnant woman to get involved in a active manner in the process of birth, to keep the self-control in those moments.
Thus, labor will be less painful and shorter, because the expecting mother learns to contract the muscles involved in the birth process. Also, the risk of rupture of the perineum or the occurrence of hemorrhoids decreases.
You will most definitely be able to find a lot of coaches who are professionals in terms of pregnancy fitness. If you used to be very active before conceiving your child, or you just want to keep your health in normal limits, then it`s advisable to search for professional assistance.
Table of Contents
Appropriate Movement Depending on Gestational Age
Aerobic and breathing exercises prepare the pregnant woman for childbirth, being acquiring the coordination technique of the breathing rhythm. The physical effort is made especially on expiration, unlike physical fitness when the effort is made on inspiration. Actually, it`s a preparation of the pregnant woman to get involved in a active manner in the process of birth, to keep the self-control in those moments.
Thus, labor will be less painful and shorter, because the expecting mother learns to contract the muscles involved in the birth process. Also, the risk of rupture of the perineum or the occurrence of hemorrhoids decreases.
You will most definitely be able to find a lot of coaches who are professionals in terms of pregnancy fitness. If you used to be very active before conceiving your child, or you just want to keep your health in normal limits, then it`s advisable to search for professional assistance.
Benefits of Fitness during Pregnancy
Fitness is especially important for mothers who are expecting a child. While pregnant, back pain may occur due to the high demand of the spine, but if some specific exercises are performed along with professional help, improvement can be achieved.
As already mentioned, fitness during pregnancy prevents the occurrence of hemorrhoids, stretch marks and varicose veins. Because during movement, the metabolism of glucose is well controlled, the future mothers who choose to perform fitness during pregnancy are well protected against the risk of gestational diabetes.
The improvement of mobility is essential for the changes of the basin that occur during pregnancy, and are crucial to allow a natural birth. The pregnant woman learns through these exercises to control her breathing and gain an increased tone for her abdominal muscles, an area intensively demanded during pregnancy.
Through fitness, the excess of weight that can put the life of the pregnant woman in danger is avoided. Also, the risk of rupture of the perineal muscles decreases, which then may lead to urinary inconsistency.
It`s crucial to know that fitness is recommended to all pregnant women. The future mothers who experience anemia, risk of miscarriage or placenta praevia should avoid fitness. The professional coaches who are specialized in working with pregnant women will always need to approval of the doctor.
The recovery after birth will also include a movement program. Mothers who gave birth naturally can return to the gym in 1 – 1 year and a half, and those who gave birth through Caesarean can return after 6 months.
Consider This before Starting a Fitness Program!
As a general rule, it`s recommended to perform 30 minutes of physical exercises per day, 3 times per week. More often doesn`t necessarily mean it`s better: 5 times per week might lead to a low weight of the baby at birth.
A fitness program while pregnant involves starting sports session of 5 minutes of warming up and stretching exercises. Then, these exercises are followed by the cardio exercises in sessions of of 15 minute, with a careful monitoring of the heart rate. The intensity will be reduced, performing light exercises of 5 to 10 minutes, and then 5 minutes of stretching in the end.
Take the following into account before practicing any kind of sports while pregnant:
- Wear light clothing items, including a special bra for pregnant women.
- Choose to wear sports shows especially designed for the type of activity that you are performing.
- Use a plane surface to perform your physical exercises.
- Consume enough calories to be able to handle your growing belly and exercises that you are performing (300 calories more than before you were pregnant).
- Don`t eat anything 1 hour before training. – Read this!
- Drink water before, during and after your sports session.
- After performing the exercises on the ground, lift yourself slowly to avoid vertigo and dizziness.
- Don`t exhaust yourself! If you cannot talk normally while performing these exercises, this means you are overwhelmed! Slow it down a little!
When it comes to aerobics, you should avoid those classes that are crowded, where the other girls may lose their balance and hit you. When you feel that is too warm, leave the group. Drink a bit of water every 10 minutes! You shouldn`t force yourself do to all the exercises completely and correctly; find your own rhythm! Even simple movement may help, but you should avoid kickboxing and step aerobics, just as you should avoid any kind of jumping. During the second trimester of pregnancy, you should avoid staying on your tummy; instead, choose to stay on each of your body`s sides, instead of staying on your back. Use a large towel that it`s only yours during your aerobic session and wash your hands properly to prevent infections. – Check this link!
Fitness-Related Physical Exercises
If you choose to practice jogging, you should run in the colder moments of the day (early in the morning or towards the evening). Wear layers of clothes that can be removed while you are getting hotter and hotter. Don`t forget the bottle of water and don`t get very far away (not more than 15 minutes of where you live). Try not to be alone on the jogging alley. Avoid climbs or sprints! If you can run on grass, this would be perfect: the grass makes the impact with your joints smoother. The last 10 minutes from your jogging session you`ll walk them, to change the pace to normal walking.
When it comes to swimming, you should avoid crowd places and children, who can hit you unintentionally. You should prefer colder waters and keep your bottle of water on the edge of the pool until the end of the swimming session. At the end of your session, stay in the pool for a little while or on the edge of the pool to rest for 5 minutes; you`ll avoid headaches and dizziness. Don`t turn too suddenly and don`t do acrobatics in the pool.
No Responses Yet