7 Pregnancy Exercise Mistakes You MUST Avoid!
We all know that exercise is one of the essential ingredients to a healthy body and healthy mind and the same goes for pregnancy.
Pregnancy fitness is really important to condition your body to carry the extra pregnancy weight, avoid postural problems like pregnancy back pain and manage your pregnancy weight gain.
After all, you only want to put on "good pregnancy fat", i.
e.
the fat necessary to support your pregnancy and not excess fat that will slow down your body and the development of your baby.
However, that said, not ALL exercise during pregnancy is good.
In fact, if you don't know what you are doing you can make some very risky mistakes.
So here are the 7 things you MUST be aware of before starting any pregnancy exercise programme: 1.
Don't Forget To Warm Up! The warm-up is an essential part of any exercise programme but particularly in pregnancy.
Your warm-up will increase your heart-rate and circulation sending essential oxygen to the muscles that you're going to be working.
It also signals your body that more strenuous activity is coming and prevents injury by releasing muscle tension.
Your warm-up should be enough to raise your heart rate a little and start to make you sweat, but gentle enough that you should be able to breathe easily.
2.
Never Forget Your Water! You know the scenario, you just arrived at the park or the gym and you unpack your bag only to find you've forgotten your bottle of water.
But you're all ready to go and you don't have time to go get another one so you think you'll make do with the water fountain - or worse you'll grab some water on the way home...
DON'T DO IT - EVER! Your pregnant body is already more susceptible to overheating and dehydration as it is and exercising without water can be extremely dangerous for both you and your baby.
Just 2% dehydration can seriously affect your body's ability to function.
3.
Avoid Exercising in Hot or Humid Conditions Overheating in pregnancy is not good for you or your baby.
Hot or humid conditions will reduce your ability to workout properly and make you feel dizzy, nauseous and faint.
But there are more serious implications for your baby - especially in the first trimester.
Temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius or more could cause problems for your growing baby and may lead to birth defects.
So to ensure your safety, avoid exercising outside during the hottest part of the day (10-3pm) and opt instead for an air-conditioned environment.
4.
DON'T Do Traditional Abdominal Work! Traditional abdominal exercises use the "six-pack" muscles that run vertically down your belly.
These muscles insert into a midline called the linea alba.
In pregnancy these muscles become extremely stretchy to allow your belly to grow with your baby, and become very prone to "abdominal splitting".
This is where the muscles literally split apart down that midline and separate.
This can be rectified after birth but it takes a LOT of time and effort and it's best to avoid the scenario in the first place.
Any traditional abdominal exercises, such as crunches, or oblique work will put enormous pressure on the already weakened muscle.
This is not to say that you shouldn't be working your deep abdominals, but you need to refer to specific pregnancy core exercises rather than crunches.
5.
Never Forget Your Back! Your back is going to take a lot of stress as your body shape changes and your pregnancy grows.
One area that women commonly neglect is the mid-back area.
Training this area encourages good posture and will pull your shoulders back and lift your chest up and support the extra weight in your breasts.
Try exercises like rows, scapula squeezes and reverse flys to strengthen and tone in this area.
6.
Don't Overdo It Exercise with caution and remember you should never exercise so hard that you struggle to catch your breath.
At the peak of your workout you should feel that you are exercising "somewhat hard" and you should always be able to hold a conversation.
7.
Avoid Jerky Movements Now that you are pregnant your body is producing a lot of hormones which relax the ligaments in your joints, making them very unstable and much more susceptible to injury.
Games like Squash which require sudden changes in direction at high speed can easily result in a severely sprained ankle or twisted knee.
Not to mention that as you get heavier your centre of gravity will shift, affecting your balance and making falls more likely.
It is ALWAYS adviseable to seek professional help once you have found out that you are pregnant.
Pregnancy fitness is a very specialised area and you want to be certain that you are getting the best care possible to ensure a healthy pregnancy for both you and your little one.
Pregnancy fitness is really important to condition your body to carry the extra pregnancy weight, avoid postural problems like pregnancy back pain and manage your pregnancy weight gain.
After all, you only want to put on "good pregnancy fat", i.
e.
the fat necessary to support your pregnancy and not excess fat that will slow down your body and the development of your baby.
However, that said, not ALL exercise during pregnancy is good.
In fact, if you don't know what you are doing you can make some very risky mistakes.
So here are the 7 things you MUST be aware of before starting any pregnancy exercise programme: 1.
Don't Forget To Warm Up! The warm-up is an essential part of any exercise programme but particularly in pregnancy.
Your warm-up will increase your heart-rate and circulation sending essential oxygen to the muscles that you're going to be working.
It also signals your body that more strenuous activity is coming and prevents injury by releasing muscle tension.
Your warm-up should be enough to raise your heart rate a little and start to make you sweat, but gentle enough that you should be able to breathe easily.
2.
Never Forget Your Water! You know the scenario, you just arrived at the park or the gym and you unpack your bag only to find you've forgotten your bottle of water.
But you're all ready to go and you don't have time to go get another one so you think you'll make do with the water fountain - or worse you'll grab some water on the way home...
DON'T DO IT - EVER! Your pregnant body is already more susceptible to overheating and dehydration as it is and exercising without water can be extremely dangerous for both you and your baby.
Just 2% dehydration can seriously affect your body's ability to function.
3.
Avoid Exercising in Hot or Humid Conditions Overheating in pregnancy is not good for you or your baby.
Hot or humid conditions will reduce your ability to workout properly and make you feel dizzy, nauseous and faint.
But there are more serious implications for your baby - especially in the first trimester.
Temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius or more could cause problems for your growing baby and may lead to birth defects.
So to ensure your safety, avoid exercising outside during the hottest part of the day (10-3pm) and opt instead for an air-conditioned environment.
4.
DON'T Do Traditional Abdominal Work! Traditional abdominal exercises use the "six-pack" muscles that run vertically down your belly.
These muscles insert into a midline called the linea alba.
In pregnancy these muscles become extremely stretchy to allow your belly to grow with your baby, and become very prone to "abdominal splitting".
This is where the muscles literally split apart down that midline and separate.
This can be rectified after birth but it takes a LOT of time and effort and it's best to avoid the scenario in the first place.
Any traditional abdominal exercises, such as crunches, or oblique work will put enormous pressure on the already weakened muscle.
This is not to say that you shouldn't be working your deep abdominals, but you need to refer to specific pregnancy core exercises rather than crunches.
5.
Never Forget Your Back! Your back is going to take a lot of stress as your body shape changes and your pregnancy grows.
One area that women commonly neglect is the mid-back area.
Training this area encourages good posture and will pull your shoulders back and lift your chest up and support the extra weight in your breasts.
Try exercises like rows, scapula squeezes and reverse flys to strengthen and tone in this area.
6.
Don't Overdo It Exercise with caution and remember you should never exercise so hard that you struggle to catch your breath.
At the peak of your workout you should feel that you are exercising "somewhat hard" and you should always be able to hold a conversation.
7.
Avoid Jerky Movements Now that you are pregnant your body is producing a lot of hormones which relax the ligaments in your joints, making them very unstable and much more susceptible to injury.
Games like Squash which require sudden changes in direction at high speed can easily result in a severely sprained ankle or twisted knee.
Not to mention that as you get heavier your centre of gravity will shift, affecting your balance and making falls more likely.
It is ALWAYS adviseable to seek professional help once you have found out that you are pregnant.
Pregnancy fitness is a very specialised area and you want to be certain that you are getting the best care possible to ensure a healthy pregnancy for both you and your little one.
