You’ve just found out you’re pregnant and now you’re wondering if you have to give up your current fitness regime. Well I am here to say no not really especially not yet. There are great benefits to exercising throughout your pregnancy if you are able to and if you can I would highly recommend it.
Before I go any further I want you to know you are in control of your body and I would always say listen to what they are saying. Only do what you feel safe and comfortable doing and if anything feels wrong please seek advice from your GP/midwife. Not every pregnancy is the same and I am writing this based on a non complication healthy pregnancies.
What can do you?
You can do everything you did pre pregnancy within the first trimester, you may not feel like you want to however. Your body is currently going through major changes – physical and psychological which means you may be experiencing nausea, tiredness, aches/ pains. Making exercise the last thing on your mind. For me I worked out a handful of times when I felt like but I never felt guilty if I didn’t work out. This is another key thing do not feel guilty if you can’t do what you used to, you are creating a mini human always remember that.
If you did a certain type of exercise before you got pregnant you can still do it now. If you ran you can still run, if you lifted weights you can still lift, if you did yoga you can still do yoga. Now is not the time to start a new style though so don’t start up CrossFit or marathon training because your body will not be prepared for it.
Unfortunately there are a couple of things you do have to stop doing for safety reasons: high impact contact sport like rugby or wrestling, climbing and anything where you are having to hold your breath over a period of time. It is also recommended to keep your heart rate from getting too high and aiming for 60-70% effort rather than 100%.
Also to note please don’t stress about things you did when you were pregnant but unaware, that’s ok that happens you have done nothing wrong.
Your focus has changed
Your reasons for why you exercise are yours and yours only. However now there is a new focus, preparing your body for this next stage and keeping yourself healthy and strong. It isn’t about hitting PBs or loosing weight or anything like that. It’s about building your core strength and maintaining a level of fitness.
Exercise can’t harm the baby and it has been shown that an active pregnancy can help with labour and quicker recovery. Also you are in the first trimester so whilst you are doing all the work internally your body isn’t physically changing too much. Which means modifications and alterations are not needed as much as they will be down the line.
Some things to be aware of:
- Your breathing, make sure you are allowing proper deep breaths throughout your workouts.
- Building your core strength and being aware of using it all the time. Pay special attention when doing core based work of any doming or coning through the front abdominals. If this happens regress your movements so you can control it for example doing plank based core on your knees.
- Laying on your back is perfectly fine in your first trimester as is jumping and high impact. If all feels ok in your joints and pelvis then you are good to go. Like I said earlier though this may not feel good for at the moment so you can omit it.
- When lifting weights you will probably be lifting a bit lighter than you did before hand
- Take more rest as and when you need it as your body will fatigue quicker.
Always listen to your body
Don’t worry or stress too much about it. This is your first trimester as long as you feel ok and fine to do so continue what you are doing. If you feel safer then please talk to your midwife and ask her opinion. If you are in a class tell the instructor you are pregnant and they will be able to offer you some modifications but again these will be guidelines.
The only person who knows what is ok and what isn’t is you, the rest is just advice not a rule. Every single pregnancy is different and whilst I have been able to continue training you may not be able to or want to and that’s ok. For some women they prefer to slow down, for others it’s about keeping the same pace.
The NHS recommends 30 minutes of brisk exercise a day so I would advise you try and stick to this but at the same time if your body is saying a sofa day watching Netflix then you do that :).
Being pregnant doesn’t make you unable to do anything.
You are growing a mini human mama you are capable of anything. If you feel strong enough and ok then you keep working out. The moment it feels wrong, you stop and get help.
I would highly recommend keeping active for the simple reason you get that time for you, to do something for you when everything else is all about the baby. And I don’t know about you but I know I still want my me time.
If you do want any guidance or help with modifying exercise to pregnancy I am qualified to do so and would be happy to help please just drop me an email.
xxx
Not in your first trimester? Find posts for exercising in your second and third trimesters here.
