Why You Should and Shouldn’t Work Out While Pregnant

Exercise is so important when it comes to any person of any age, but there are situations when you’re going to want to extra careful to make sure you’re safe, and you’re not doing more harm than good when working out. Some situations include being old, suffering from a physical injury or condition, and when you’re pregnant.

Today, we’re going to explore the pros and cons of working out while you’re pregnant, giving you a clear idea of what you need to look out for and how you keep you and your baby safe and free from injury.

Benefits to Exercising While Pregnant

Of course, there’s no denying that exercising is right for you, especially when you’re pregnant. Depending on what exercises you do, there are a ton of physical benefits that can be enjoyed, such as increasing your energy and improving your overall fitness, as well as things like reducing back pain, improving the circulation of your blood, and improving your overall posture.

There is also a wealth of emotional wellbeing benefits, the most common of which include increased enjoyment in life, less stress, less anxiety, less depression, and even aspects like improved levels of sleep and insomnia management. These are all to be considered when thinking about working out.

Common Exercise Problems When Working Out

Relating to pregnancy only, while working out there are several things you’re going to want to consider and be mindful of to ensure you’re not hurting yourself or putting yourself, and therefore your baby, at risk.

For example, when you exercise, there are chemicals released in your body, such as Relaxin that can loosen ligaments. However, since you’re pregnant, this can increase your risk of joint injuries and sprains, so it’s important to be mindful of this, especially when doing joint exercises.

Other common problems include things like watching your weight to ensure it doesn’t go too far in either direction of the scale and even things like thinking about the change in your centre of gravity. When carrying out balance exercises, there’s very much a risk of falling over if you’re not careful.

Watching Your Blood Pressure

While exercise is renowned for improving circulation and blood flow, it’s also important to make sure you keep an eye on your heart rate and your overall blood pressure. For example, your resting rate will increase naturally while you’re pregnant, so it’s important to monitor it while exercising, but understanding the rate will vary compared to normal.

What’s more, it’s common knowledge your blood pressure will decrease naturally during the second trimester. So during this time, it’s essential to ensure you’re not rapidly moving and putting yourself at the risk of being light-headed, disorientated, or even fainting.

How to Exercise While You’re Pregnant

While everybody is different and there’s no hard and fast rule as to why, when, and how you should exercise. There are some basic rules you can follow to ensure you’re not just being safe and looking after yourself, but also getting the maximum benefits from each workout session.

To start with, try and exercise for 30-minute sessions at a moderate intensity. Be mindful of how you’re feeling during this workout because you’ll quickly realise whether you should continue, whether you have the space to make things harder, or whether you should take it a bit easier.

Only exercising for 30 minutes is also enough to be beneficial, but not too excessive that it’s going to cause harm to your body, as long as you’re working at a good intensity. Some of the best exercises you can think about include;

• Swimming
• Cycling
• Walking
• Aquarobics
• Pilates and Yoga
• Specialist pregnancy exercises
• Jogging and light running

It’s also important to remember that you can stay in touch and in contact with your doctor, GP, or other healthcare professionals who will be able to evaluate you and how you’re feeling, as well as making sure you’re doing what’s best for you and your body.