How to Follow a Pregnancy Workout

Incorporating fitness throughout your pregnancy can benefit you and your baby in many ways. Being fit helps you stay healthy during pregnancy, can reduce the potential for complications during labor and can actually make labor shorter. Even better, it makes losing weight after you have the baby easier.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Work physical activity into your daily routine during pregnancy. Take the stairs rather than the elevator, park further away in store parking lots, and walk around the house during television commercials.
2. Don't forgo your trips to the gym if you're used to being active. Discuss with your physician which activities are safe to do at the gym at each point along your pregnancy.
3. Try to get in a 30-minute walk each day at a pace that feels comfortable to you. If the weather is nice, stroll outdoors. If you need to be inside, try walking on a treadmill, indoor track or even doing laps around a mall or large department store.
4. Give a prenatal yoga class a try. Positions are shaped around pregnant bodies, providing a safe and relaxing activity that is great for your physical and mental health.
5. Swim. Not only is swimming excellent for your cardiovascular health, it can also relieve many of the aches and pains experienced later in pregnancy.
6. Watch your center of gravity. Your growing belly offsets your center of gravity. This can make balance more difficult.
7. Know your limits. As with all exercise, only do what you're comfortable with, and stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort. Realize that you may not be able to be active to the level that you're used to outside of pregnancy.

Tips & Warnings

• Discuss all exercise plans and activities with your physician.
• Be careful. Extensive exercise can be dangerous if you have a medical history of heart problems, asthma or chronic lung problems, high blood pressure, extreme weight problems, muscle or joint problems, history of premature labor, history of several miscarriages, multiple pregnancy, history of incompetent cervix or persistent bleeding and placental problems.