Maybe you’ve been told by your OB, midwife, doula, best friend or mother-in-law that there are benefits of being active throughout your pregnancy. It can feel overwhelming and scary to know what’s safe and where to begin. We have some easy-to-follow guidelines to help you find the right activity that makes you and baby feel great!
The first thing is really listen to your body, if something doesn’t feel good, Don’t Do It! Find an alternative or check in with your primary care provider about any concerns you might have. If you haven’t been told otherwise, we recommend all pregnant people to try to hit these targets:
- 150 minutes per week of cumulative moderate intensity physical activity.
- Be active 3+ days per week
- Do a combination of strength, flexibility and cardio
If you need some ideas on what those activities can help you hit those targets here are our favorite ideas!
1. Swimming!
The water will help you feel lighter and can feel like it’s de-weighting your belly. You can swim breaststroke, front crawl, backstroke or join into the aqua fit classes (which are super fun!) or do some water walking or jogging.
2. Hiking or power walking
Hiking or power walking is a great way to get both some strength and cardio in. We recommend using poles to help you keep your balance and ease some of the load on your joints.
3. Zumba or dance class
Don’t worry about not having any rhythm, you automatically get a pass because you’re pregnant and realistically everyone else is focusing on learning the moves themselves and having fun this is such a good way to shake off the stresses of life.
4. Kick boxing
We love this option for pregnant people! We think using bags and a partner who will let you work on your punches and combinations will not only let you feel strong, powerful, and capable but also allow you to get out any frustration! Make sure you aren’t sparring or getting hit in the stomach (kind of obvious but we need to say it) but often this is a great way to work on using your breath as well.
5. Yoga and Pilates
These are two ways to get strength and flexibility into your routine. They allow you to really connect with your changing body and work on the smaller postural muscles which are so important but often forgotten in other forms of exercise. Using the power of breathing and engaging the abdominal muscles is also extremely beneficial not just for pregnancy for but labour, birth and postpartum.
Using a product like tummytape can help relieve abdominal heaviness, pelvic and lower back discomfort and give you more support and increased control / connection through your abdominal muscles. It can be worn during any of the above activities and is self-applied directly to your skin to provide you a relief and help keep you active. To learn more, check out this blog. Or get started by exploring our top collections.
It's important that you always disclose to your fitness instructor that you are pregnant as they may have some suggestions on modifications for specific exercises. If you notice any new bleeding, pain or discomfort, chest pain or irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, lower leg swelling, or abdominal pain stop exercising and visit your primary care provider for guidance before continuing.