4 Ways to TRAIN your body for pregnancy
Training the body for pregnancy is not yet a common concept. Just recently there has been more and more research on exercising during pregnancy and the benefits it can have for you and baby. See all benefits for you and baby here.
Typically, the advice given by the doc during pregnancy is to kick your feet up and relax, don’t lift over 25lb, and just walk lightly. And, at times, that is totally necessary. I’m not one to say you’re going to be up for working out all the time.
If you have doctor’s orders to be on bedrest or are a high-risk pregnancy, do not take that lightly. However, if you have the green light from your doctor and are a low-risk pregnancy, there are benefits of training your body for the demands of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
Why train your body for pregnancy?
To name a few benefits, training can help lessen the effects of nausea and fatigue, boost your energy and mood, lessen the effects of weight gain, reduce aches and pains, prepare you mentally and physically for labor/delivery, and help you recover faster after birth!
Pretty great, right?
If you’re in your third trimester and haven’t been very active, you shouldn’t feel unprepared for labor and delivery. While these training tips can help, remember that women have been birthing babies long before exercise science was a thing! You’re made for this.
Now, let’s talk about some training strategies you can incorporate and why they specifically help!
4 ways to TRAIN your Body for pregnancy
1.Strength Training
Strength training during pregnancy is helpful for a number of reasons.
For one, strong muscles help stabilize your joints, which are unstable due to the pregnancy hormone relaxin. This is important for decreasing injuries and keeping your body balance.
Strength training also helps to prevent aches/pains that develop from weight gain. As your bump grows, you’ll notice a shift in center of gravity which tends to cause low back pain, pelvic pain, or sciatic pain.
Building strength training into your plan can ensure your body is physically strong and can recover quickly after birth.
2. Pelvic Floor Activations
Your pelvic floor is a band of muscles at the bottom of your pelvis responsible for guiding the baby out during a vaginal delivery. This group of muscles also bears the entire weight of your baby throughout pregnancy so it’s important to get in tune with it. Doing so can help prevent incontinence issues down the road.
Two important parts of training your pelvic floor are:
The activation – lifting the entire pelvic floor
The relaxation – relaxing and lengthening the pelvic floor
To properly learn to activate your pelvic floor, see this post.
3. Cardio Training
Labor and delivery is hard work! You’ll get gross and sweaty and will demand a lot from your body. Naturally, improving your cardiovascular endurance is a great way to train for this task.
There are two ways to do this:
Interval Training – Involves short bursts of high intensity movement followed by rest. This helps you prepare mentally and physically for labor contractions!
Steady State Cardio – Activities like walking, elliptical, or swimming keep a steady heart rate. They help establish an aerobic base that allows you to recover faster between labor contractions.
I recommend incorporating a combination of both!
4. Mobility/Flexibility
While you don’t need to go crazy on stretching during pregnancy (the hormone relaxin already makes your joints more mobile) there are certain areas of tightness that develop.
Hunched shoulders– due to breast growth the chest can become hunched forward and tight.
Tight wrists/carpal tunnels – any swelling/inflammation during pregnancy can increase the odds of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Tight or sore lower back – can become tight due to holding up the weight of the bump.
Try to incorporate some light stretching for those 3 areas when you can!
Take Action
This all may sound like A LOT, I get it. But it can all be structured into one 30-40 minute workout! Say what? Yes, that’s right.
Here’s what a sample workout could look like:
7 minutes: Warm-up + pelvic floor work
20 minutes: Strength Training
5-7 minutes: Interval Training
5 minutes: Cooldown/Stretch
Get Prenatal Fitness Coaching
Mama, how would it feel to have a fitness plan that you know is safe and customized to your needs? Don’t chance it.
Submit a questionnaire to learn more about my online fitness plans and set up a call with me!
Hey there! I’m Nicole, Pre/Postnatal Fitness Coach and founder of Strong Mama Wellness. I take the confusion out of prenatal fitness and help women prepare and strengthen their body for pregnancy, delivery, and recovery. You and your baby deserve to have a thriving, healthy pregnancy!
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