Congratulations! If this is your first pregnancy, you no doubt have heard plenty of moms share their unsolicited advice on ways to reduce discomfort throughout your pregnancy. If you're a pro at this pregnancy thing you know the aches and pain that lie ahead. Thankfully it's not all doom and gloom, there is a unique joy, happiness and love that pregnancy brings.
In this article I'm going to share how to effectively reduce normal aches and pains that come along with pregnancy through safe and effective exercise.
If we've never met, I'm a certified personal trainer and have worked with hundreds of clients and dozens of moms. I've had the opportunity to help several pregnant moms including my wife with exercise and nutrition, most of which involved lots of walks and lots of Arby's, but hey, you got to keep it real. So, without further a due let's dive in.
Strength training, is it safe?
Have you scrolled through social media, to see a pregnant mom doing exercises like squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, push-ups and other crazy hard exercises and wonder "is that safe"?
If you've wondered that, you're not alone. For years pregnant women were encouraged to "rest", "relax" and "take it easy" but is that even safe? Should I stop exercising despite gaining 20-40+ pounds in 9 months? Stop exercising when you're carrying an oversized watermelon around your waist? Is that safe? Is that smart?
Truth is exercising throughout your pregnancy is incredibly safe and helpful. It helps to reduce gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension (preeclampsia), aches and pains, sleep discomfort, energy crashes and more. It improves a healthy delivery, post-delivery recovery and reduces likelihood of post-partum depression. With all these benefits you'd think exercise would be written as a prescription from you OBGYN. And it should in almost every case!
How do I start?
In order to know where to start with exercise it's important to know your current level of fitness. If you haven't been exercising it's important to start light. I've made a helpful chart for you to reference below.
Beginner (I've never worked out before or it's been awhile) | Start with light cardio such as walking, swimming or elliptical 2-3x/wk for 30-minute sessions | Start with 2 days of light bodyweight exercise for 30-minute sessions | Monday: Cardio Tuesday: BW Workout Wednesday: Cardio Thursday BW Workout Friday Cardio Saturday: Light exercise Sunday: Light exercise |
Intermediate (I've been working out for 6-12 months) | Engage in moderate-intensity activity for 30-45 minutes 3x/week (spin class, zumba, barre, etc., | Use resistance based exercise (free weights/machines (2-3x/resistance-based) for 45-60 minutes per session | Monday: Cardio Tuesday: resistance Wednesday: cardio Thursday: Resistance Friday: Cardio Saturday: Resistance Sunday: Light exercise |
Advanced (I've consistently exercised for a year plus) | Moderate-high intensity 2-3x/week (CrossFit, group training, weight-lifting) | Resistance based exercise 3-5x/week for 45-60 minutes per session | Monday: Cardio (moderate-intense) Tuesday: resistance training with large muscle groups Wednesday: Cardio (moderate-intense) Thursday: resistance training with large muscle groups Friday: Cardio (Moderate-intense or large muscle group resistance training) Saturday: Resistance training |
You might be looking at this chart, wondering "what exercises do I choose"? "What does light mean compared to moderate"? "What if I can't follow the weekly schedule"?
Don't stress. The above chart is simply a recommendation based on your current fitness level. It doesn't tell you exactly what to do or how to do it because that should be based on you as the individual, your preferences, your likes, your schedule, how you feel, your comfort level and so much more.
This is where having a personal coach can become invaluable. A coach that is experienced in working with pregnant clients and knows how to adjust your routine based on how you're feeling, the stages of pregnancy and your aches and pains.
How to exercise around pain/discomfort
As baby grows, the aches and pains will become more and more prevalent. Here's how to adjust your workout to reap all the benefits of exercise without adding more pain.
First, it's important to know how much is too much. When you're pregnant it's safer to err on the side of caution than to work too hard and regret it later. You don't want to get so sore that you don't want to get out of bed, or go up a flight of stairs, or not carry your other children around. That's too much. You should feel a slight soreness after some of your workouts. Soreness is a decent measure of appropriate intensity during your workouts. It also let's our bodies know that our muscles are getting stronger, as long as we recover properly.
As you move into your second trimester (around 20 weeks) it becomes important to not lay in the supine position during exercise or engage in the Valsalva maneuver. Supine is lying flat on your back, like in a bench press type motion. Doing so reduces blood flow to the fetus and can cause low blood pressure in mom. The Valsalva maneuver is a breathing technique commonly used by lifters to help increase core stiffness during exercise which keeps your spine safe. This however can lead to high blood pressure while holding your breath and then low blood pressure when exhaling.
It's also important to note that your stamina will decrease fairly significantly as baby will be requiring more blood and oxygen. Your resting heart rate will increase about 10% which will lead to being tired and out of breath. Thus, intensity of exercise should go down later in the pregnancy, not to exceed 60-80% age predicted max heart rate. This is calculated by using 220 - (your age) and then multiplying that number by 0.6 - 0.8. For example, If I'm 25 years old it'd be 220-25 (195) x .6 - .8 = 117-156bpm. So, my heart rate should not exceed 156 if I'm 25 years old.
Another modification that should be noted for more advanced lifters are spinal loading such as back squats, carries, deadlifts and other exercises that load the spine should be light during the second and third trimesters. This is due to the natural increase in curvature of the lower spine, also known as lordosis. During this natural increase in curvature compression of the spine becomes an increased risk and can lead to nerve issues such as sciatica. Being diligent with core exercise in the first trimester can pay off in the second and third trimester.
Finally, it's key to move regularly and not stand too much. Try walking for 5-10 minutes every hour to help increase blood flow to the legs and feet, this is more important later in pregnancy around weeks 32-40. Drink plenty of fluids, despite needing to pee all the time your joints still need water!
So, what now?
I hope that now you feel more comfortable and confident about exercising throughout your pregnancy! If you're interested in having a personal plan developed for you that adapts with you as you grow, send me a message at danny@dg-fit.com I'd love to help you and you baby have a happy and healthy pregnancy. If you're local to Owensboro or would like virtual personal training reach out to me via email as well.
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