Exercise during pregnancy is a highly recommended activity once you have passed the first weeks of discomfort and when you have a little more time than usual. An exercise regimen for pregnant women with a mild or moderate intensity designed for pregnant women has positive effects on the baby, in addition to being very beneficial for the future mother since it avoids falling into a sedentary lifestyle.
Athletes can start their pregnancy exercise routine with about 15 or 20 minutes of physical activity three days a week, with a rest day in between exercise sessions. These exercises are not aimed at maintaining or losing weight, nor is it necessary to end up exhausted or in pain. If you are pregnant, remember: if you cannot speak normally while exercising, it is not intended for you.
If you are thinking of incorporating sport into your weekly routine, we recommend a series of activities that you can practice while pregnant. These exercises for pregnant women will help you stay active during pregnancy without risking hurting the future baby or hurting yourself.
Choose to walk if you led a sedentary life
Walking is a very beneficial physical exercise for pregnant women that can be practiced even during the third trimester of gestation as long as there are no complications. Walking is one of the best exercises for pregnant women because it is a safe activity, easy to practice and provides cardiovascular benefits to women.
Walking is one of the exercises for pregnant women that helps to relax and let go of stress. Walking regularly tones most muscles and helps the nervous system, improving blood circulation during pregnancy. Among other positive effects, these exercises for pregnant women are attributed to an improvement in uteroplacental circulation, which has an impact on an improvement in the amount of oxygen and food transmitted to the fetus.
Even if you have not practiced sports before staying in state you can go out four times a week to do different walks on easy or moderate trails. Remember that you should not exceed the time, dedicating an hour if you practiced exercise previously or starting with half an hour if you led a sedentary lifestyle. If you were a practitioner of ‘running’ or another type of running you can resume your sport always under the advice of your doctor.
Exercises for pregnant women: swimming, the most recommended sport
Swimming during pregnancy is allowed and is even considered one of the best exercises for pregnant women because it puts very little pressure on the joints and does not require too much effort to carry out the exercises. In the water the future mother acquires lightness and can relax the tension of the gut and back; temporarily relieving the discomfort of the change in the woman’s body. Also, the resistance exerted by water prevents sudden movements, making it difficult to injure or harm the fetus.
The swimming styles that are allowed during pregnancy are crawl, backstroke, and breaststroke; Totally discouraging butterflying. However, over the course of weeks it is necessary to change body positions and different styles to suit the size of the belly; in addition to making stops during the series. However, the back is the most suitable modality to practice during pregnancy since it can be done until the third trimester.
Among the benefits reported to moms to practice swimming include the improvement of muscle tone, especially in legs, buttocks and pelvis. The horizontal position adopted by the body stimulates blood circulation and thus varicose veins, swelling and cramps are reduced. Water activities are one of the few exercises for pregnant women that improve lung endurance without fatigue.
Merging Pilates and yoga in exercises for pregnant women
The practice of yoga during pregnancy helps eliminate the feeling of fatigue and nervous tension caused by pregnancy. Within the different yoga postures, exercises for pregnant women help improve the general physical shape and flexibility of women, being able to improve body posture and thus preventing back pain associated with this stage. In addition, it is associated with a strengthening of the bond between mother and baby during pregnancy.
Instead, Pilates helps strengthen the muscles of the abdominal wall and pelvis, which are weakened during pregnancy. Another advantage that future moms notice is that it helps the baby adopt a better posture at birth. On the other hand, Pilates exercises can put too much stress on the joints. It is advisable for the most active moms to choose to combine yoga exercises for pregnant women – to a lesser extent and under medical approval – with Pilates exercises.