4th November 2020

Exercising During Pregnancy

First of all, the team at 24/7 Fitness would like to say congratulations! And secondly, we want to help you stay safe and healthy during this exciting period.

This post covers why it’s important to continue exercising throughout pregnancy. Your regime will differ and change as the months go on, but we are here with you every step of the way.

Benefits of exercise during pregnancy

We understand that there will be concerns over hitting the gym in your new condition. However, there are multiple benefits of continuing to do so, including:

Helping your body adapt not just to weight gain as your baby grows, but also to the changing shape of your body
Assisting gravity to get your baby in the right position ready for labour
Some evidence suggests that women who are active are less likely to have problems in later pregnancy

Strengthens you to better cope during labour

What kinds of exercises are safe during pregnancy?

The NHS specifies that exercising is not dangerous to your baby during pregnancy. It’s safe to continue:

Running Sports
Dancing
Yoga
Walking

As long as it is comfortable. You should be capable of maintaining a conversation throughout your session. As soon as you start to feel breathless while you talk, you should slow down. Don't exhaust yourself.

As you move from trimester to trimester, you will most likely feel like you need to slow down.

We recommend that you consult your maternity team often and update them on the types of exercises you are doing and how regularly. If at some point they advise you to stop, you must do so.

Additionally, if you weren't particularly active before you got the good news, don't jump in the deep end. As with anyone else starting to exercise regularly, slow and steady will win the race. Don't do more than 15 minutes of constant exercises at a time, and only workout three times each week. You can increase the length of the session over time but we don't recommend going over 30 minutes at a time.

Finally, remember to drink plenty of water.

Exercises to avoid during pregnancy

Our biggest priority is the health, wellbeing and safety of you and your baby. There are a few things you should avoid, including:

Contact sports, particularly if there is a risk of impact
Exercising at altitudes higher at 2,500m above sea level
Lying down (with your back flat on the ground) for long periods. This is especially important after 16 weeks)

Pregnancy exercises (solo workouts)

When exercising at home, keep in mind the 30-minute rule and stop if you start to feel overly hot. Here are a few exercises you can opt for to help relieve any adverse consequences of pregnancy such as backache:

Cat/cow exercises
Pelvic tilt exercises
Pelvic floor exercises

If you would like to talk to a personal trainer to put together specific pregnancy exercises throughout all three trimesters, we would be more than happy to arrange that with you. Check out our post on post-pregnancy exercise once your bundle of joy has arrived.

More About 24/7 Fitness Locations

Working out has never been this easy with our ever expanding footprint of gyms and fitness centres around the country.

Looking for a gym near you? Here is a list of our locations

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