Walking
Walking is the best cardiovascular exercise a pregnant women can do it at home or anywhere else.Walking is a great, safe exercise for mums-to-be. It's an ideal way to make sure that you're getting the exercise you need in pregnancy.Brisk walking works your heart and lungs. It's a activity that you can easily incorporate into your daily life.
Start with a short, 15-minute comfortable stroll, three times a week. Once you’ve got into the habit of walking regularly, you can build up to faster, 30-minute walking sessions, four or more times a week. If you have a high fitness level you can walk for longer than that. Just be sure to slow down or stop if you feel overtired, unwell, or feel any pain.
Your body will generally be able to tell you when it’s time to stop.If you're short on time, incorporate walking into your daily routine.
Wear sunscreen and a hat if you're walking on a sunny day, and take a bottle of water with you to help prevent dehydration. Being dehydrated can raise your body temperature, and overheating isn't good for you or your baby.
Swimming
Swimming is considered to be safe in pregnancy. If you have a healthy pregnancy, you should aim to do regular exercise. Just be sure to check with your doctor, physiotherapist or midwife before you start if swimming is new to you. Swimming helps to keep you fit, which will make it easier to adapt to pregnancy. It may also help you to feel better about your changing body. Swimming is a particularly good exercise in pregnancy, as the water helps to support your extra weight. Swimming in a chlorinated pool is not harmful to you or your baby. It's usually safe for you to swim throughout your pregnancy, right up until your baby's birth.
Benefits of Swimming :
- improve circulation
- boost heart and lung function
- increase muscle tone and strength
- build endurance
- reduce swelling and fluid retention
- burn calories, which helps to manage weight gain
- promote good sleep.
Yoga
There are a number of yoga styles to choose from. Talk to a qualified yoga instructor so you can choose a style that's safe and suitable for you. You may be able to choose between pregnancy yoga classes in your area.opt for a beginner's yoga class that uses a gentle form of yoga.
Choose loose, comfortable clothing that's light and made of natural fibres. Dress in layers, so you can peel them off and put them on, as you need to. You may warm up while you’re working on postures, but cool down during the relaxation session at the end of the class. Most yoga studios provide mats. Yoga is easier to do if you’re barefoot, so you don't need any special footwear. You may want to take a pair of socks to put on during the relaxation session. Depending of the size of your bump, take one or two pillows with you, for extra support.
How often should I practise yoga during pregnancy?
Most yoga experts believe that yoga should be practised daily. However, in reality, you’ll probably find that you only have time to go to a yoga class once or twice a week. Try to fit in regular aerobic exercise too, such as brisk walking or swimming. This will complement your yoga practice and help to develop muscle tone, strength and stamina. You can make many postures or techniques part of your daily routine, rather than setting aside special time. You could spend half an hour doing breathing exercises, gentle postures and relaxation.
Pilates
What is pilates?
Pilates trains your body to be strong, flexible and balanced. It involves a series of movements and positions that help to improve your strength and coordination. Deep breathing and relaxation are important in controlling how you do the exercises. The movements focus on your tummy, pelvic floor muscles and back muscles, which are all key to good posture, balance and strength. They also help your back and pelvis to be supported. If you strengthen your muscles, you’ll develop a stable core. Pilates builds on this strength through a series of controlled, increasingly challenging movements that won’t put your body under strain.
How can pilates help me in pregnancy?
Pilates strengthens your tummy, back and pelvic floor muscles without straining other joints, so it's a great exercise to do when you're pregnant. Some research suggests that doing pilates regularly can be as effective as doing pelvic floor exercises.
The main benefit of pilates is that it targets the exact muscles and functions that can be a problem during pregnancy and after birth, in a safe way.
Benefits of pilates :
- Strengthen your tummy muscles,which equips your body better to cope with the strains caused by the weight of your growing baby.
- Reduces back pain, by exercising the deepest tummy muscles that stabilise your back and pelvis. Weak muscles can lead to back or pelvic pain.
- Strengthen your pelvic floor, which will help to support your bowel, bladder and uterus (womb) as your baby grows and moves down.
- Pilates exercises strengthen your core and may make you more stable when you walk as your bump grows.
- Takes the strain off your back and pelvis, by using positions such as going on your hands and knees, which is a great position for pregnancy.
Aerobics
Aerobic exercise gets your heart beating a little faster, and makes you slightly out of breath.
Doing regular, low-impact aerobic exercise in pregnancy will help you to:
- strengthen your heart and lungs tone your muscles ease pregnancy aches and pains get a better night's sleep.
- All of this will help you to stay positive and make you better equipped to cope with the demands of pregnancy and birth.
Is aerobic exercise safe in pregnancy?
If you choose a low-impact aerobics class that focuses on maintaining fitness, rather than improving it, you can carry on doing it while you’re pregnant. Though some women manage to increase their fitness during pregnancy, you shouldn’t aim for peak fitness until a few months after your baby is born. Low-impact exercises don't involve high kicks, jumps or leaps. You keep one foot on the ground at all times, so that your joints don’t come under stress. This type of aerobic exercise also protects your pelvic floor. A lot of jumping up and down and bouncing may weaken your pelvic floor muscles and cause you to leak wee .
Do regular pelvic floor exercises before and during the class. Take things at your own pace, and don’t try to keep up with the other people in your class if you feel over-tired or uncomfortable.