A few things to know about exercise and pregnancy
Okay, first things first, I’m a guy. Let me add a little more info, I’m a father with two young kids and someone who makes a living teaching exercise science so me writing or speaking about exercising during pregnancy comes from the point of view of having watched my wife go through it two times and having done the research to teach others how pregnancy changes a woman’s response to exercise.
Here’s the thing: we know that a woman’s body changes during pregnancy and that the physiology will function differently but there is a scarcity of specific research on how hard or how long to exercise during pregnancy because: 1) no researcher wants to risk injuring a pregnant woman and 2) it’s only a limited time frame to collect data. This means that we have ideas about how a woman’s body adjusts to exercise during pregnancy but no definitive standards for how hard, how long or what type of exercise.
If you’re female, enjoy working out and planning on getting pregnant here are a few things you should know about the benefits of exercise during pregnancy along with a few things to pay attention to as your pregnancy progresses.
This information comes from the current scientific literature, my 18 years of experience of working with pregnant woman as private clients and in group classes, going through it two times with my wife and from my conversation with Aimee Nicotera, a fitness professional who continued to teach, train and compete during her pregnancy. In my All About Fitness podcast we discuss Aimee’s pregnancy and how she has adjusted her workouts over the development of her baby. Two important things to note: Aimee is a little older than many new mothers but that didn’t affect her and she went into labor and gave birth within hours of taping the podcast so I was lucky to catch her at the exact end of her pregnancy; so it’s worth a listen if you’re looking for some good, practical advice from a fitness expert with a master’s in health education.
here is some more information about exercise during pregnancy
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines on exercise during pregnancy
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Comment on exercise during pregnancy
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