There is no one perfect answer for this– BUT– as a fitness professional this is what I tell people:
I am not a Dr– but if you have been physically active BEFORE you got pregnant and you have no issues with your pregnancy, not high-risk, then you SHOULD be able to continue your workout routine– BUT it is not advisable to increase the intensity or start something more rigorous. Additionally, you need to listen to YOUR body and modify where and when needed AND talk to YOUR Dr about your workout plan!
For me personally I did NOT excercise much at ALL during my first pregnancy– I was told by my dr that I was not have both feet leave the floor EVER during this pregnancy! I had just finished my 1st 10K obstacle race that I had trained for and took this advice to heart and bye-bye gym and welcome “eating for 2”– needless to say I had A LOT of work ahead of me after baby arrived and a LOT of extra lbs that were FAR from “baby fat” they were “ME-FAT”!
After 18 months of learning about clean eating and meeting my favorite workouts I dropped 75lbs– kept it off and then came pregnancy #2!! I decided that I was going to challenge my dr on her beliefs and convinced her that as long as baby was healthy and I was not harming myself or baby I would continue my workouts– modifying when my body told me it was time– she agreed! I had a WONDERFUL pregnancy and then at 36 weeks got HALTED due to me starting to dilate— my dr was worried I would go into labor early and took me off my routine— I made the mistake of not altering my nutrition and the lbs came on– boo! (& my son came 2 days late…)
NOW I’m in pregnancy #3!! I have lived and learned! I am NOT where I was fitness wise before pregnancy #2 due to my hormonal imbalance issues that I JUST got a handle on before this pregnancy– BUT I am able to continue my workouts AND I have truly embraced eating clean for my pregnancy– before with baby #2 I was burning so many calories that I had gotten used to allowing some bad habits to creep in– basically cause it didn’t affect my weight (that was dumb!).
Am I perfect? NO WAY!! BUT I am DETERMINED to make this my healthiest pregnancy EVER! and I know that all the hard work I put in now will only make recovery and any baby weight loss be SOOOO much easier!
If you are expecting I suggest you talk to your dr and be real with them– if you don’t agree with their advise or think it’s too extreme– talk it out! If you are high risk you NEED to embrace your season and rest and REALLY BUCKLE DOWN ON YOUR NUTRITION! If you have been active long before your pregnancy started explain that to your dr if you are not deemed high risk– stay active if your dr approved and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
You might experience discomfort due to round ligament movement– I found a maternity belt did wonders for that! And don’t forget about that good ole’ relaxin hormone– wonderful for child birth– but can cause over active joints some grief– PIVOT YOUR FEET during workouts that cause you to twist and turn a lot (AKA- Turbo Kick!)! Use proper footgear AND become a nazi about your form!!
Abs & core: THIS is another controversial area for pregnant moms– MY personal rule of thumb for ME is no more then 15 minutes of floor on my back work past 20 weeks– AGAIN– I’M NOT A DR!!! But this is my own rule for my OWN body! BUT when do I ever do that– more then 15 minutes and I’d be bored out of my mind! AND WHY ABS NOW? Well, I want to help support my back and have less pain– so I focus on core– with workouts like PiYo to keep me STRONG so I can feel great throughout the pregnancy and not be waddling holding my back. ALSO, I’d like to help my core be ready to snap back into shape for after baby– don’t get me wrong– I don’t have a 6-pack and this is NOT the time to build one– having too much muscle would scare me about muscle separation– again– talk to your dr– advocate for yourself, do your research and do what’s right for YOU!!
I hope you found this helpful! Please follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/fatmomtofitmom for more tips and to follow my pregnancy! If you’re a fellow pregnant mom I’d love to hear from you and how I can help YOU during this amazing time!
GO FIT MAMAS!
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