Prenatal Exercise.

2008-07-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

I want to start out by letting everyone know a little about me, and where I'm coming from. I recently graduated from Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in Kinesiology (the study of movement as it pertains to exercise). I have been active in sports since I was about 10 yrs old, and have been personal training and working in the fitness environment since 2001. I'm currently 29 weeks pregnant, and still keeping up with a regular fitness program.

Before becoming pregnant I participated in 3-4 spinning classes, as well as 3 weight lifting workouts a week. Anyone who has ever had a baby knows just how exhausting these 38-40 weeks can be! As well as (during the 2nd trimester) the most lively and best energy you've ever experienced! The workouts in the 2nd trimester seem to be some of the easiest to make it to, and the easiest to push myself through in my entire workout history. It was the 1st and the 3rd trimesters that make it hard to self motivate.

The 1st trimester is very fatiguing and can make you pretty nauseous. I'm here to encourage you to stick to whatever exercise you can! IT WILL GET BETTER!! I continued to make it to spin class at least once a week through the whole first 17 weeks. For me the feeling of accomplishment, and that me and my new baby were one spin class healthier kept me going. So stick with it. It's not all about the weight you DON'T want to gain, for me that came and went and came again. Some days I was terrified about the weight gain and other days I didn't mind, I just wanted my baby to be healthy. Knowing that staying active everyday was keeping my baby and I safe and healthy kept me going to the gym everyday.

I read a lot of questions asking if it is safe to continue their regular exercise programs of; running, biking, weight lifting, elliptical training. I believe and have discussed with my doctor that as long as you were doing it prior to your pregnancy you can continue at whatever intensity you are comfortable with. Balance may become an issue so, if you are an outside biker you may want to start exercising on a stationary bike to eliminate the chance of falling. Also when lifting weights try to stabilize yourself by sitting, I found that I would become light headed more quickly, and you don't want to pass out or fall down.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions, and encourages you to stay exercising for the health of you and your unborn baby.

Lets get in SHAPE!

Prenatal Exercise.