Exercising While Pregnant
I’ve been asked this question frequently: Should I or Can I Exercise While I’m Pregnant?
The answer is a big HECK YEAH!
I’m currently working with a client who’s main motivation is to get in the best shape she can before she gets pregnant. I find that very admirable. And she doesn’t plan to stop exercising after she gets that positive pregnancy test. She’s committed to getting and staying fit! Being the fitness geek I am, that makes me all giddy!
While there are some exceptions, you can basically do pretty much everything in the terms of exercise that you were doing before you got pregnant. But, of course, you’ll need the green light from your physician.
I remember reading a story about an Olympic Skeleton racer who rode her bike to the hospital…to deliver her baby. Now, I’m not saying you’ve got to be that hard core (you won’t find me riding my bike to the hospital to deliver my baby!), but it’s still a motivating story about staying physically active during pregnancy.
Staying in shape when you’re pregnant has so many benefits:
- you’ll feel better and have more energy
- strong muscles and a great cardio capacity can make for a easier delivery, and
- because you’re off-setting those calories, exercising will make it easier to get back to that post-baby body.
In regards to nutrition, women only need about 300 calories more a day than they were consuming pre-baby. A healthy pregnancy weight gain is around 30 pounds. Being pregnant is NOT a license to eat…if you gain 50 pounds during pregnancy, don’t think for a minute that you’re going to be bringing home a 50 pound baby! The more weight that’s put on, the more weight you’ll have to bring off.
Here are two links with more information:
Mayo Clinic has a wealth of information available on its website.
The Pregnant Woman’s Guide to the Gym as published in Fit Pregnancy
And when you continue to exercise post-baby, not only will it help keep you sane and fit, but you’ll also be setting a good example for your children.
Make your life healthy,
Janet
