Pregnant women should maintain a regular exercise program. If you had a fitness routine prior to conception; it is appropriate to continue this with just a few modifications. Things become a bit difficult, however, if this was not the case. The best idea, if you plan on becoming pregnant is to start an exercise program before conceiving. If you do begin a program after becoming pregnancy, check with your doctor, start off with short intervals of exercise at a fairly low intensity, and increase only to moderate intensity gradually over time. You want to strengthen your own body, without risking injury to yourself or strain to the baby. The purpose should never be to lose weight while you are pregnant, but rather to simply feel better, sleep better, and prepare your body for the months to come. As always, it is a good idea to consult a doctor before starting an exercise program.

It is important to warm up and stretch

Beginning an exercise program can be very overwhelming and painful if you aren’t careful. Warming your body up and stretching prior to exercise is very important for your health, as well as that of your baby. Especially while pregnant, take things slowly. If at any time you feel dizzy, experience cramps, or have any vaginal bleeding, simply stop. Warming up and stretching before exercise is important, however, since it serves to raise your body and muscle temperature, along with preparing your cardiovascular system, respiratory system and nervous system for the demands of exercise by increasing the blood circulation slowly. ACOG contraindications to exercise women with significant heart disease, restrictive lung disease, preclampsia, hypertension, history of placental problems in current pregnancy, or those with placenta previa at 26 weeks or third trimester bleeding.

Warming up will allow all of your connective tissues, muscles, and joints that haven’t been stretched in a while to handle the stress put on during exercise, limiting your chances for injury. Connective tissue is similar to hard plastic; if you don’t warm-up plastic it won’t be flexible, and is much more likely to “break.”

Proper warm-up and stretching also helps reduce the severity of soreness the next day or two following exercise. The increased blood flow helps deliver more oxygen to the muscles and helps get rid of the waste products that contribute to soreness. Increased blood flow also helps bring more fuel to your body, resulting in better performance.

During pregnancy the body undergoes changes in blood volumes in the circulation (increase by 30-50%) which means a pregnant woman needs more oxygen for this increased blood flow. The periphery of the body will experience an increase in blood (creating what they call that pregnancy glow) which in turn raises the body temperature. This can fool a woman into thinking she is “warmed up” up when truly she is not. Therefore it is important for a woman to understand the changes in her circulatory system that occur when pregnant before beginning an exercise program. Another change that occurs due to increase in blood volume in the body is a decrease in blood pressure, but in contrast an increase in resting and heart rate. These are all confusing factors that need to be addressed and understood prior to beginning an exercise program.

A warm-up should be done with a low impact exercise, such as stationary biking or walking (gradually picking up the pace as you progress). Never get onto equipment that you feel at risk for falling off; your balance is quite different than pre-pregnancy. These exercises allow your body to warm-up with limited stress to your joints. You want to hold a stretch in a comfortable position for 15 seconds, never stretching into pain. Certain hormones (Relaxin) that are produced during pregnancy cause the joints to become more likely to be overstretched, so avoid maximum extension. Stretching does have many positive benefits for pregnant women, including improving posture and balance that might be strained due to the added weight.

Start out slow and keep things in moderation

One reason that soreness might occur is trying to do too much too soon. Don’t try to make up for lost time. Start out with a few exercises and slowly progress. Your body will gradually adapt to the increased stress. If you are starting resistance training for the first time, try picking 1-2 exercises for each area of the body, the upper body, lower body and core. If it starts to hurt, stop. Don’t place any unneeded stress on your body or to the baby. You do not need to be training with the intent to be in the best shape of your life. Rather, you want to be in good shape cardiovascularly and strong enough to have, feel healthy, enjoy increased energy and experience a quicker recovery. Actual childbirth is a physical stress on the body, and by exercising in the months preceding, most agree, it will be easier.

If you are a beginner to aerobic training, start out with walking or something that raises your heart rate a little bit, nothing that will get you out of breath. After all, just being pregnant causes your heart rate to increase from its normal tempo. Try doing this for 10 minutes the first few times you exercise, slowly progressing your time. As you increase the time to where you can handle 30 minutes at that pace, start adding a little more intensity. So you could do 2 or 3 days of 30 minute training at your initial pace, with a 10-minute day at an increased intensity. As a rule of thumb, you should be able to carry on a conversation while exercising. If not, you need to slow down the tempo. You don’t need to aim for a really vigorous workout.

Another area of concern for the beginner is energy level. Most people expect to exercise the first few weeks and experience a shot of energy. In actuality, the opposite occurs at first. Your body isn’t use to the added work, which causes you to feel fatigued and even drained, especially if you over do it. Don’t get discouraged, it’s natural to feel this way until your body adapts. As this occurs, your cardiovascular system becomes more conditioned, causing you to have more energy and focus throughout the day. It is important to note, however, that you will not be unable to maintain the energy level you had pre-pregnancy. Exercise simply gives you a boost over what you might otherwise be experiencing. The changes within your body are already using up more energy than before. 

Take care of yourself during and after the workout

Over-doing it will cause stiffness and soreness, causing many women to give up on exercise completely. If you do strain your muscles, there are a few things you can do to feel better. Exercise actually breaks your muscles down – sleep, nutrition, and hydration play a vital role in their growth. Proper rest, feeding your body healthy food, and drinking plenty of water will help your body recover much quickly. Also, try a low impact exercise at a low to moderate intensity and stretching, both of which will deliver more oxygen and blood to help clean out the waste and bring more nutrients to your muscles.

Dehydration might also be a concern. Your body loses a large quantity of water during exercise, so it is very important to drink more water as you exercise. Active people should drink at least 10-12 eight-ounce cups a day. Make sure to take plenty of breaks throughout to refuel. Headaches, stiffness and cramping are all results of dehydration.

As with any normal exercise program, a cool-down should be included. This will help to gradually lower your blood pressure and heart rate (which is raised to begin with during pregnancy) to its normal pregnancy level. If you simply stop, the blood pressure may drop too quickly which can be dangerous (blood pressure in the first 2 trimesters is low already). This might included a leisurely walk as well as stretching. Another important thing to keep in mind is that, if you have been stretching on the floor especially, take your time getting to your feet. Again, this can cause a rapid decrease in blood pressure if not avoided. It is perfectly acceptable and expected that, after an hour of exercise, you take an hour to relax.