Keeping active whilst pregnant
I thought for a change this week I'd put together a little blog about keeping active whilst pregnant, especially while my memory remains reasonably fresh! As most of you will know I have recently had twins, Henry & Isabella born a month ago at 34 weeks, a tad early but they are very well!l!
I must admit I did not find being pregnant easy, the first 3 months I felt nauseous, the second 3 months I felt ok, but heavy and the last few months I felt like the size of a house, very heavy and lethargic. Exercise and keeping active in my view was one of my saving graces. It helped keep me strong enough to lug around my extra kilo's, helped keep up my energy levels up and of course the release of happy endorphins helps balance out crazy pregnancy hormones!!
So, what kind of exercise is best when pregnant? There is no right or wrong answer, and first and foremost you must check with your health professionals to get the all clear to exercise - remember every pregnancy is different. I was very fortunate during my pregnancy and was able to keep myself active and I narrowed my exercise down to three types;
- Swimming - 30 minutes or 1-1.5kms
- Walking - 1 hour
- Low impact strength work and modified group fitness classes - 30 mins and 50 mins
I found swimming very therapeutic, relaxing and great for my breath awareness and all over body strength work. Being aware of your breath during pregnancy in my view is very important, not only because your baby/ies take up space and limit your lung expansion room, but breath control during labour is important. I also loved the fact it was the only time I felt nice and light!!!
I found getting out of the house and into some fresh air for a walk around the farm great to clear my mind and enough exercise to get my heart rate up to a moderate level. I mostly took the hilly route which also helped with my leg strength work.
Lastly I enjoyed taking my group fitness classes until I was 29 weeks, I could still participate, but on a modified level. Group fitness, aside from the physical benefits is great for the socialisation which I also loved! I also developed some low impact workouts I could do at home, these involved mostly leg and upper body exercises using a combination of both body weight and light weights. Both helped keep my overall body strength up, as well as raised my heart rate to a moderate level.
I chose to rotate these exercise types and aimed to do one type everyday. I felt that keeping active made my twin pregnancy a lot easier than it could have been and highly recommend keeping active during pregnancy, provided your health professional has given the all clear and all warning signs are listened to such as cramping, dizziness, nausea etc.
Feel free to get in touch for any questions!
Ginny :)