Archive for November, 2009

When it comes to pregnancy fitness gyms like to play it safe. In fact, it’s likely if you’re in your first trimester, that they won’t even let you train for the first 12 weeks just in case something happens and it’s then down to their insurance and liability.

To be honest who can blame them? After all, unless the staff are specifically trained in pregnancy fitness, the last thing they want to do is risk any harm coming to you or your baby from unsupervised exercise within their facility.

However, when they do finally let you past the reception desk, most gym staff will encourage you to head towards the cardio equipment or the classes with an instructor who can keep an eye on what you’re doing. This is great for them as they can steer you away from the more “dangerous” forms of exercise and keep you happy in aerobic activity, but BAD NEWS for you!

Why? Well if you’re anything like the majority of pregnant women I speak to then there are just a few things you want from your pregnancy exercise plan:

1. To keep you in great shape and not end up covered in wobbly saggy fat

2. To be fit for pregnancy, i.e. avoid things like pregnancy back pain

3. To have an easy labour

4. To get your body back quickly after giving birth

5. To have a healthy happy baby

Well here’s the truth – YOU WON’T GET ANY OF THESE THINGS FROM AEROBIC CLASSES! (and yes that includes body pump – anything that requires you to complete 3000 repetitions over 60 minutes is aerobic – not weights!)

Pregnancy fitness needs resistance training. Here’s why:

1. Lean muscle burns fat. You can only build lean muscle through resistance training. If you want to stay in shape and not hold onto an extra 10kgs of ugly wobbly fat through your pregnancy then you need the muscle machinery to burn it off!

2. Your pregnancy means that you produce a lot of the hormones relaxin and progesterone which relax the ligaments in your body, reducing stability in your joints and leaving you much more prone to injuries and common complaints like pregnancy back pain. Proper pregnancy exercise should focus on strength training in these areas to keep you walking tall and feeling light on your feet!

3. You need to be strong for labour and a proper pregnancy fitness plan should take this into account with specific exercises to target strengthening the labour muscles.

4. Resistance training increases your metabolism. This means you become much more efficient at using up the fuel from your food and you are less likely to struggle with pregnancy pounds and losing your baby fat after giving birth. (It also means your baby is less likely to be fat later on in life)

5. Research shows that resistance training in pregnancy subjects the baby to controlled amounts of stress. This conditions the baby to deal with the stress of labour much better and results in a quicker and easier transition to life outside the womb. Babies born to mothers who train regularly are also much more content, happier and will self-comfort more easily.

Still not convinced?

Consider this – A properly designed pregnancy fitness workout will take you half the time and get you twice the results!

Now do I have your attention?

From Publishers Weekly

Aiming to fill a gap in the market, Jones has collaborated with perinatal nutritionist Hudson to produce a volume that combines both recipes and nutritional advice aimed specifically at the mother-to-be. Delicately balancing optimum and unnecessary weight gain with the required dietary needs for a healthy lifestyle, Jones and Hudson also addresses the requirements of diabetic, vegetarian and vegan diets. After an introduction providing a summary of needs an (more…)

Pregnancy is a gift but it is also accompanied by a lot of discomforts including gaining weight. It is inevitable to gain weight during pregnancy because it is necessary for your own health and the nourishment of the child inside your womb. A woman of healthy weight before pregnancy should gain between 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Unfortunately, most pregnant women gain more than what is required. To be healthy and look good while pregnant it is important to know how to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain.

Gaining too much weight during pregnancy can be dangerous not only to the mother but also to the unborn child. Women who are overweight during pregnancy are at higher risk of having babies with birth defects. Obesity increases your risk of pregnancy complications like hypertension or pre-eclampsia. Avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain if you want a healthy and safe pregnancy.

Here are some tips to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain:

Work with your doctor. It is important to have a regular check up and talk to your doctor about the necessary weight gain to keep you and your unborn child safe and healthy. Base from your current weight, your health care provider can give guidelines on how and when to gain the necessary weight. It is important to work with your doctor and monitor your weight to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain.

Exercise regularly. It is not healthy to be a couch potato during pregnancy. There are physical activities suitable for pregnant women. Exercise is good for you and your baby but you have to know how to properly do it. Before doing any physical activity, talk to your doctor about the exercises that you can do to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain.

Eat healthy. Do not make pregnancy an excuse to eat all you want.  It is important not to overeat. Eat the healthy foods to get all the nutrients you and your baby needs. Avoid junk foods and fast foods which are high in fats, calories and salt. Cut down on sweet foods like cakes and drinks like sodas and coffee because they do not have the nutrients and vitamins you need. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Seek the advice of a nutritionist or ask your doctor about the proper diet for your condition to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain.

Be healthy, look good and feel good while pregnant. Discover more on how to go through pregnancy without the unnecessary weight, visit All About Pregnancy.

To know more about women visit All About Women

Hello I’m sorry if i already asked this question but the last time i wasn’t being specific please take the time to read. Well me and my girlfriend were were cuddling and we got hot, but she was on her period so i didn’t want to have any sexual inter coarse with her so it was getting really intense and she made me cum(sperm) and i was wearing shorts and it went threw the shorts and it made contact with her skin, by her thigh. She was wearing some tight tight Levis jeans basically booty shorts. Is she pregnant? She had a pad and it was her 3rd day and she says that she bleeds a lot but sperm made contact with her skin (thigh) and i heard that i can travel up to the vagina. Shes been telling me that shes been having some really bad headaches and shes been feeling dizzy. She told me that it might be stress and those are the symptoms for stress. It’s been exactly 7 days since this happened. She has no clue that she would think that she would be pregnant. Help. Please write back. Thank You

One of the best way to learn fitness exercises for pregnant woman is by pregnancy fitness videos. It helps you to get an easier birth and shows you the way to stay healthier during pregnancy days. These pregnancy fitness videos are a product by many health professionals.

You can select from various types of pregnancy fitness videos available in the market. These videos are specifically designed keeping pregnancy in mind. Some are based upon yoga and others on pilates.

It is advised that you consult with your healthcare professional before you start following any of the pregnancy fitness videos. Although exercising is advised by most of the people but it might create problem for a specific underlying medical condition. Before doing intense moves you should concentrate on gentle simple exercises to build up your body strength. You should not overstress yourself otherwise you might suffer from stomach pain, backache or feel dizzy.

Consider purchasing pregnancy fitness videos if you want to enhance your stamina and tone up your tummy muscles to make them ready for birth process. Exercise has many benefits. Some of them are reducing the chances of pelvic floor problems, improve your posture and overcome back pain.

You and your other pregnant friends can work together by following pregnancy fitness videos. It would help you to ease tension and you would feel better in your pregnancy. Pregnancy fitness videos
is also used by some of the antenatal exercise classes. It is better to go to these classes as you get professional supervision.

Woman experience various body changes and gain extra weight during pregnancy which results in back pain. Some woman even develop pubic symphesis and sciatica. For every symptom you can find the best pregnancy fitness videos for yourself. Such problems and its symptoms can be alleviated with specific pilates and yoga exercises.

You can refer to the antenatal posture exercises explained in pregnancy fitness videos that would help you to overcome another common problem of bad posture. It would teach you the way to balance that extra weight and would help you to stand in a good posture. A good posture would mean less back pain.

You should purchase aqua pregnancy fitness videos if you are interested in aqua aerobics. All the exercise programmes are explained in detail so that you are not dependent on antenatal aqua class. An excellent way to strengthen your muscles would be to do partaking in your aqua classes. So,if you enjoy swimming then you can get your muscles toned up for childbirth. Trained or midwives run these aqua aerobic classes.

Exercising helps to overcome chances of developing gestational diabetes and lessens the risk of miscarriage during your pregnancy. You would have good circulation and better blood pressure. It would also endeavor you with glowing adn radiant skin. There is no woman on this earth who would not like to have that glowing appearance on her skin.