Healthy Pregnancy Workout

When your body becomes a cocoon for a new little person, its even more important to keep it healthy and strong. That is why you shouldn’t quit your regular workout routine just because you get pregnant but there are some new rules to follow to keep yourself and your baby safe.

Rules for workouts while pregnant:

• Make sure you get your doctor’s ok before starting a workout routine. Every pregnancy is different and you want to make sure your is safe for strenuous and not so strenuous exercise.
• Avoid workouts that come with a high risk of falls. Your balance will be different now since you have a new bump to factor in. You don’t want to risk injury because you miscalculated your balance.
• No contact sports. This should be an obvious one. You don’t want to do anything that would risk your baby to undergo unnecessary trauma.
• Avoid high or low altitudes. No hiking mountains above 6000 feet or diving under water.
• Modify your workouts throughout your trimesters to fit your growing belly.
• No exercise on your back after the first trimester.
• Focus on maintenance, not improvement. This isn’t the time to challenge yourself and set new limits. Just try to stay active and healthy so that you have a strong body for delivery and recovery will be much easier.

Easy Pregnancy Workout

Here is a safe and easy workout that you can do at any trimester. Follow through these moves three times and make sure you do a quick warm up and cool down.

• Squat, Curl and Press- Start with light weights no heavier than 5-8 lbs in each hand. Stand tall with your feet shoulder width apart facing forward. Squat down holding the dumbbells at your side and then as you start standing back up, curl the weights bending at the elbow. Once you’ve reached standing position, twist your wrists to face your palms away from you and push the dumbbells overhead. Lower them back down again and repeat that sequence 20 times.

• Lying leg lifts- Next you will want to lie on your left side with that knee on the ground bent 90 degrees. Prop your torso on your shoulder and extend the right leg out. Keeping your torso from tilting, lift your leg up towards the sky. Keep your toes pointed and don’t lean back towards the ground. Do 20 on one side then flip over and do the other side.

• Forward and side raise- Get down on the ground on all fours with a dumbbell or two by your hands. You can use one dumbbell and alternate between hands or just have one for each. Either way will work. Keeping your back from dipping, grab a light dumbbell with one hand and lift it straight out in front of you. Lower it and then lift it to the side. Keep your palms facing the ground through the whole move. Do 10 repetitions and then repeat with the other arm.

• Bird Dog- For this workout, you stay in the same position as the last move. This time you need no dumbbells. You will want to lift your left leg straight out and up as you raise the right arm straight out and up. Return both limbs to the floor and raise the opposite sides. Do this move 20 times total.

Repeat these four moves three times through for a quick and easy pregnancy workout. Don’t forget to cool down and practice your breathing techniques. If you have a little time, throw in some Kegels for a strong pelvic floor.