Posts Tagged ‘Fitness’

By far the biggest worry for us pregnant mums is the safety of our little ones. Most of our energy during pregnancy is focussed on providing a safe and nurturing environment for our babies to thrive and develop and the biggest fear in our hearts is doing anything to harm or disrupt our baby’s development in the womb.

But pregnancy can be a confusing time. There is an absolute minefield of pregnancy health and fitness information out there and unfortunately a lot of it is conflicting, inaccurate, misleading and sometimes even potentially harmful to your pregnancy health and the development of your baby. So it’s no wonder that the forums are full of confused pregnant women with pregnancy information overload; looking for a straight and definitive answer to their truckload of pregnancy questions…

“Is it safe to exercise during pregnancy?”

“My midwife said I should only do gentle cardio exercise, but X said it’s fine to do spin/body combat/pump class during pregnancy?”

“What do I do if I can’t eat because I’m so sick? I’m scared that the baby is starving? Someone suggested I use protein shakes…are they safe?”

So here are the Top 3 Rules to Safe and Effective Pregnancy Fitness:

1) Any exercise is not good exercise

Exercise during pregnancy needs to targeted, specific and relative to both your fitness level and the week of your pregnancy. What works for you in weeks 5-9 will not work for you in weeks 20-24 or 36-40.

Your pregnancy fitness program should be based on results, not doing exercise for the sake of doing exercise, (otherwise what’s the point, right?).

A good pregnancy fitness plan will focus on short pregnancy workouts which target the pregnancy and labour muscles and expose your baby to controlled amounts of physical stress to increase her tolerance to labour.

It will also focus on metabolism boosting pregnancy exercises that will keep you burning calories for at least 24 hours after your pregnancy workout and keep excess fat OFF of your body.

2) Sleep is highly underrated

Too many women these days squash pregnancy into their already hectic lives; ask any pregnant woman if she naps daily in the day and the answer is more than likely, “no” or “sometimes”.

Sleep is the only way our bodies can recover, regenerate and repair from physical and mental stress and daily wear and tear and a daily deficit in sleep adds up and eventually wears down the critical processes you need to maintain your pregnancy health.

Sleep is also the only time that we get to balance hormones. Now hormones are not talked about enough when it comes to pregnancy health as they are VITAL to the physical, mental and psychosocial development of your baby. They are also a major factor in controlling pregnancy symptoms, food cravings and pregnancy weight gain.

Aim for 8 hours every night and a daily nap of 30 minutes to keep you alert, energised and in balanced pregnancy health

3) Your BABY is what you EAT!

You may think that pregnancy is a time when you should be able to relax and enjoy the sweeter things in life, but think about this. Every mouthful of food that passes your lips determines the development and future health of your baby.

That may seem extreme but it is absolutely true. Put junk in, guess what you get out?

A pregnancy diet which includes a lot of sugar, refined carbohydrate and processed food is deficient in nutrients, which means that your baby does not have the tools she needs to grow strong healthy cells.

Base your diet on clean, nutrient dense fresh and organic foods with allowances for the odd treat and both you and your baby will thrive.

• 2 Collectible Original Vintage VHS Releases
• Rare 1986, 22-Year-Old Collectible
• Special, One-of-a-Kind Gift
• Spectacular Collectibles For Home Library
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Product Description
**OWN THIS RARE 22-YEAR-OLD FITNESS VIDEO! Historic And Collectible: ‘The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists: Balanced Fitness Workout’ (c1986, Feeling Fine Programs, Inc). Two Workouts: Aerobic And Muscle Toning Workouts, Includes Instructional Booklet. A Home Exercise Program With The Emphasis On Safety. There Are Benefits To Regular Exercise And Risks If The Routines Are Performed Improperly. This Video Offers A Home Exercise Program That Is Not … More >>

**2-PACK: RARE VHS and BOOKLET: The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists: Balanced Fitness Workout **PLUS: Redbook Pregnancy Workout *SHIPS SAME DAY*

Product Description
The Pregnancy Exercise BookA safe, specially devised exercise program that will help you to achieve a comfortable pregnancy, promote emotional serenity, provide the strength and endurance to manage delivery, and aid a fast recovery following birth.Stand The Pregnancy Exercise Book at eye level or on the floor in your exercise area
Turn to the beginning of the workout and follow the colorful step-by-step photographs with clearly captioned text to complete each exe… More >>

Pregnancy Exercise Book, The: A Step-By-Step Program for Achieving Optimal Fitness Throughout the Trimesters

I’m a second time mommy-to-be who still runs and regularly does yoga and other prenatal workouts – I thought this workout would be easy but I was pleasantly suprised! The leg work (inner thigh and derriere) is especially good, and I find my muscles are still sore (in a good way) the following day. There is not nearly as much arm work as Karyne Steben’s “Perfect Pregnancy Workout,” so I alternate them. True, the electronic version of “Frere Jacques” that plays during the menu is grating, but the music during the workout is barely noticeable. I love the length of the pregnancy exercise dvd, too – it’s 40 minutes broken up into warmup, dynamic movement, floor work, and stretch and relaxation sections.

Other reviewers don’t like the “homemade” feel of the pregnancy exercise dvd, but I do – Erin O’Brien is down to earth (no makeup, incorporates time for water and bathroom breaks), not overly peppy, but still encouraging and upbeat. She’s also challenging – I find a lot of these prenatal workouts too coddling, I like being pushed. I found myself in a great mood after finishing this.

I have mentioned this in other reviews of pre- and postnatal workouts, but I have had two very easy pregnancies (so far) and a very easy first delivery and recovery. Two doctors attributed that to my exercise pre-, during, and postpregnancy. I am determined to exercise as much as I can for this pregnancy, too (my little guy seems to like it, too). Mommies to be – get out there and exercise! You will be so grateful you did! This is a great pregnancy exercise dvd to get you going

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?