Is it Safe to Do Exercise When You Are Pregnant and What Type of Exercises Can I Do?

Is it safe to do exercise when pregnant? Well if you were the type of person who never did exercise before you were pregnant, then it is best to be careful. Even if you were not pregnant and you suddenly started a serious exercise regime, your body would really feel it. You would most likely be physically tired and stiff. Now that you are pregnant, energy is being used to nourish this new life inside of you, so your body is already under a certain amount of strain.

If you are fit and were doing regular exercise before falling pregnant, then it is fine to continue with those same exercises. I know of women who have kept training for marathons up to their second to last month of giving birth. There is no problem with that because their body was already used to that type of exercise. It is not safe for a person who was never a runner to suddenly start running. So don't do that if you are not used to it.

The safest type of exercise would be swimming. The water supports your body weight and takes the strain off your joints. If you can't get to a pool and don't like swimming then walking is the next best option. Both walking and swimming give your heart exercise, get your blood circulating and help to burn a decent amount of calories. If you can't swim, then try pool walking in the shallow end of a pool.

Yoga and Pilates exercises are great and highly recommended too. Yoga can teach you all about deep breathing techniques while working your core muscles. This means that you will be strengthening muscles from the inside out. These muscles are the ones that support your back and if they are strong, they can help to relieve back pain that a lot of women get in the last few months of pregnancy. Yoga and Pilates also teach you about stretching. Getting flexible at a young age will help to prevent a myriad of problems in your old age.

Basically a combination of both cardiovascular exercises like walking, pool walking or swimming and core muscle training like Yoga and Pilates are the best types of exercise you can do and they are relatively safe. If you are really concerned then it's best that you get advice from your doctor first, and then join an exercise class or pay for a personal trainer who can really monitor your condition.

Kirsten is a trained physical therapist who specialized in pre and post natal health. She has had three children of her own. Doing exercise while pregnant is usually safe but she recommends that you check with a doctor before launching into a serious exercise regime. In her experience, keeping fit during the pregnancy really helps with the recovery process after giving birth. You will return to your original body weight far quicker than someone who does little or no exercise at all. Get going today. You will be amazed at how good you will feel.