Pregnancy exercise plan

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Design a pregnancy exercise plan that will fit your schedule and your lifestyle.

Being pregnant is both a physical and an emotional change in your body. Feeling good is important to you and so is your health and comfort. These physical changes are important and need to be carefully tended when you decide to start an exercise routine. The foremost important thing to remember when you begin an exercise program is comfort.
Pregnant women want above all else to be comfortable as their bodies are growing and adjusting to their new look. Yes, style is important too, but it is essential to be comfortable while you workout, not being distracted by tight straps, tops that are too small or pants that are too big. While you are pregnant, you can wear workout clothes that are cute and stylish AND comfortable.

Working out and exercising while you are pregnant have loads of benefits and helps your body even after you deliver. If you have been exercising before becoming pregnant, it will be easier to adjust a workout program that fits into your new look.

If this will be your first time exercising, you will experience a pleasant physical change in your body that will respond well to exercise demands. Designing a pregnancy exercise plan will help your body by toning muscles, gain weight the healthy way and set an overall tone for your body to get back into shape after the baby is born.

What to Wear

Make sure that you wear clothes that adequately support your growing frame as it is now and the potential that it will grow to. Clothes that are snug-fitting, but not too tight, are what you should aim for. Clothes that fit snug give you overall support where you need it and loose comfort in other areas. Buy pieces that have a generous allowance of material in the belly area and make sure that the material is flexible for that extra growing room. Finding the right workout gear for your body is important for your focus and concentration, satisfaction and your health.

Develop a Plan

As you begin, start by developing a pregnancy exercise plan by setting attainable and achievable goals. Consult with your doctor on setting comfortable, achievable results while you are in a short-term stage with your physical body. Set incremental goals that coincide with each stage of your pregnancy and after. Together, you can your doctor can determine the best route you can take to achieve the results that you want before and after your pregnancy, when you will then concentrate on losing the baby weight.

For instance, during the first trimester is generally the time when most women experience nauseousness and queasiness. This condition may not work well with certain jolting exercise moves and poses. Therefore it may be better to find something with a lower intensity level to start off with. Yoga, Pilates and stretching exercises are ideal for muscle toning and fat-burning, but are often easy on the abdominal muscles.

Take it Up a Little

A little higher intensity moves can then be incorporated into your pregnancy exercise plan in the second trimester, or months 4-6. This is usually when the queasiness and nauseousness has subsided and the pregnant body can do a little more than it did in the first few months. Exercise routines that work well would be:

– Spinning, indoor cycling or bicycling (depending on the weather outside)
– Elliptical machine training – great for cardio and doesn’t have any sudden, jolting moves.
– Strength training or weight lifting – be careful to not stress the abdomen muscles or lift weights that are too heavy.

In the End

The third trimester is the time again to take things easy and slower with your workouts. Your body is heavier and your center of gravity may be a little off. Incorporating routines that take these things into consideration are ideal. Again, routines like Pilates and Prenatal Yoga are lower-intensity than other exercises and can still give you results. You can also implement exercise routines like water aerobics and swimming that help take pressure off your belly and still give your body a good workout.Water exercises are also great for muscle relaxation during the last trimester.

Pregnancy only lasts nine months, but the pregnancy exercise plan that you develop during that time can easily transfer to a more intense routine later. Develop a plan that works best for you and your body and ideally, one that you can use even after the nine months are up.