34 FITNESS
EXERCISE FOR TWO Apart from the sticky area of nutrition, nowhere is there more confusion than the topic of exercise in pregnancy. What is the difference between enough and too much? Should you stop altogether just to be safe? Baby Body Fit founder STEPH SINNOTT, who is pregnant with her second baby, sorts the facts from the myths.
C
ongratulations on your pregnancy! Depending on how many weeks you are, you could be feeling exhausted and fit for bed, or full of energy and delightfully happy. Either way, you may be thinking of what, if any, exercise that you can do during these 40 weeks. Firstly, let’s see what the experts say. According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, “In the absence of either medical or obstetric complications, pregnant women can adopt the current American College of Sports Medicine recommendation of 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise on most, if not all, days of the week”. Pregnant women are realising more and more how important physical exercise is to not only their health, but the health of their unborn baby. Many women want to keep up some sort of exercise routine, and even women who have never done much exercise before feel the need to start something during their pregnancy.
Body benefits The benefits of exercise during pregnancy speak for themselves. Provided your midwife or GP has given you the go-ahead to continue, there is no reason why you can’t keep up a light level of fitness throughout your pregnancy. Some of the many benefits of exercise during pregnancy include increased energy levels, better quality of sleep, and that great feeling you get after a workout. Building muscle and keeping up a level of cardio fitness will help you avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy as the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism becomes. In turn, this also helps to avoid gestational diabetes. Exercise also helps prepare you for the later stages of pregnancy and you may not feel as tired towards the end. It can alleviate back pain by strengthening your
MI June-Jul 2014_Fitness in Pregnancy.indd 34
legs to help you carry the extra weight of the baby and amniotic sac, instead of your lower back doing all the work. It will also help strengthen you for all the other baby paraphernalia you’ll have to carry after the birth! A strong body and strong mind can help prepare you for labour, and endorphins produced during exercise are proven to lower stress. Exercise keeps your spirits up, improves your self-image and will help you regain your body after childbirth faster. Building up a high metabolism, eating healthy and looking after yourself all help you to get back into those pre-pregnancy jeans quicker and easier.
Safety first Once you are past the 12-week stage, you can now look at beginning an exercise routine. This should be a light exercise regime – now is not the time to get super-fit and lose weight! Having said that, it is better to exercise regularly. Two to three times per week is good, as opposed to sporadically. Your body is better accustomed to exercise if it is used to it often. Make sure you have cleared with your doctor or midwife that you are okay to exercise, and always listen to your body. If you feel weak, light-headed, dizzy or unwell, stop straightaway and take a rest. Make sure you warm up for at least five minutes beforehand and, if you feel you are overheating, slow down. Don’t lie on your back for longer than 30 seconds, as a growing baby can lie on your vena cava and slow blood flow to the heart, causing dizziness. Get up from the floor slowly, rolling onto your side first. Getting up too fast can put strain on your stomach muscles. Don’t stretch your arms above your heart or have your arms overhead for too long as this can cause dizziness. You must be careful not to overstretch, too. Re-
22/05/2014 20:02:22