Engaging in regular exercise throughout your pregnancy can work its wondrous ways on both you and your baby. Exercising regularly will help improve your posture and stretch your body, easing the pains and discomfort that sometimes come with pregnancy, you’ll notice your unbearable backaches and sore feet start to vanish. It’ll also ready you for when your baby makes the grand entrance into this world, exercising and keeping yourself in tip-top shape will build the stamina needed for labour and delivery. Being a natural stress-reliever, it causes the release of endorphins when you exercise and endorphins are so-called happy hormones that increases your mood while making you feel better. Pregnancy can be an emotional rollercoaster and incorporating regular exercise in the mix will have you in control of your mind and emotional health, cancelling out some of the symptoms that pregnancy drags around. So let’s get physical! With safe and non-strenuous exercises for you and your little one in your tum-tum to get into.

Safety and Injury Prevention Tips

• Wear shoes even when working out indoors to absorb the impact from workouts
• Avoid workouts that are vigorous and ones that involve jumping such as burpees and high knees  
• Take breaks when you feel out of breath 
• If you feel a muscle pull or an unlikely pain, stop the workout and take time from working out until the pain heals
• Stretch before workouts 
• Do not push your body more than it can take, stop if you need to (be it 5 or 20 minutes); everyone’s body limits are different and it may have fluctuated during pregnancy, and it is important to know yours and keep to a safe pace
• If you already happen to be enduring knee or back pains, avoid workouts that add tension to these parts. Most of the workouts mentioned are low impact and non-strenuous 
• Keep hydrated with lots of water 

Swimming

Now, not all of us have easy access to a pool but if you happen to have one then grasp that advantage tightly. Swimming will have you burning calories without adding any strain on your body, especially your back and joints. The buoyancy will help offer some relief from the extra bodyweight that progresses throughout your pregnancy, it’ll have you feeling a lot more agile and lighter in the water. If you’re still in the early trimesters, then just about all strokes work well with you and your baby but as your baby grows, you’ll have to stick to strokes that are more pregnancy-safe. Both the breaststroke and front crawl or freestyle stroke are suitable for pregnant women it does not strain the body however, it is recommended to keep away from the butterfly stroke as it adds pressure on the spine which will, in turn, add to the already unbearable backaches of pregnancy. Opt for water aerobics or Aquanatal classes if they’re available in your area.

Safety Tips 

• Refrain from jumping or diving into the pool 
• Always use the railing when getting into the water to avoid slipping 
• Take a few days off from swimming if you feel faintish, dizzy or fatigued from your last session

Brisk Walking or Just Walking 

Throw on a pair of sports shoes and get on walking, there’s really no easier exercise to fit into just about any busy schedule, even tedious pregnancy ones. Walking is a great cardiovascular exercise that gets the heart pumping with little impact on the knees and ankles. You can take up and notch by brisk walking, sway those hips as you walk on to the rhythm of your favourite song blasting in your ears!

Safety Tips 

• Walk on smooth surfaces
• Stay away from challenging routes 
• Wear supportive footwear 

Yoga

Enrol yourself in a yoga class that is tailored for pregnant women or sign up for prenatal yoga. Yoga is an ideal workout for pregnancy, keeping the mind at peace while stretching out all of those achy parts. Yoga helps with flexibility, deep breathing and blood circulation; prenatal yoga, in particular, will help in techniques that’ll keep you calm during labour and delivery. Instead of enrolling in a class, you can begin your prenatal yoga experience at home even but be sure to start with basic poses and stay away from those that are too strenuous or complicated.

Safety Tips 

• Skip out on poses that involve you lying on your abdomen 
• Stay away from poses that involve you spending a lot of time flat on your back – The baby bump can weigh on arteries and veins, reducing the blood flow to the heart and leading to faint spells. 
• Avoid headstands or handstands

Pilates 

Pilates focuses on stretching your muscles and strengthening your core with little to no impact. By getting into a pilates routine, it’ll help improve your flexibility and posture while easing backaches. You can either sign up for a pilates class solely for pregnant women or you can always just get into it at home. 

Safety Tips 

• Skip out on moves that may overstretch your body or that seem incompatible with pregnancy

Tai Chi

An ancient form of martial arts that involves slow and gentle movements which is perfect for pregnant women. Tai Chi promotes great posture and increased flexibility while helping you with balance. Just like yoga, Tai Chi teaches breathing techniques that will keep you calm and ready when its time for labour and delivery.

Zumba

 

Zumba is a dance-based exercise routine that will have your heart rate going without you even realizing it, Zumba helps promote flexibility, fitness and it’s a whole lot of fun! You can always join any Zumba class but just make sure that it’s one of low-impact intensity or dance away to Zumba videos that are made specifically for pregnant women right in your living room. Zumba will have you learning a bunch of new dance moves so go on and get down on it!

Safety Tips 

• Avoid moves that are too vigorous or those that involve a lot of jumping 
• Keep a slow pace even when the instructor and the class are going at a faster pace