Active April: This Week’s Top 6 Questions About Working Out
Hey mamas, how are you finding week 1 of Active April? Earlier this week we shared two cardio workouts, one for pregnancy and one for postpartum, so we can all focus on fitness together. Check those out here.
We asked our community for their most burning questions about cardio fitness in pregnancy and postpartum. Here are the top 5 questions, asked & answered…
1. Is cardio exercise safe during pregnancy and postpartum?
The short answer is yes if you have been cleared by your doctor to exercise and listen to your body so you know when to take it easy. Here’s more info…
Cardio in pregnancy: Unless you’ve been told it’s not safe for you to exercise during pregnancy, then cardio is safe to do in all 3 trimesters. Pay attention to how your body feels and if you do feel unwell at all, be sure to slow down and stop as soon as possible. You’ll want to take extra time to warm up fully and take time to stretch and cool down after.
Cardio in postpartum: It’s important to wait at least 6 weeks after birth before you do any exercise (except light walks and stretching) and you must have your doctor’s clearance before you start working out again. After you’ve had that clearance and are feeling like you are able to exercise then it is safe to start doing cardio. Remember to take things slowly and start with low-moderate intensity routines to let your body get used to being active again.
Check out Is That Safe? Doing Cardio In Pregnancy And Postpartum
2. How can I stay comfortable when I’m exercising during pregnancy and postpartum?
We hear you, mamas, exercising during pregnancy and postpartum isn’t always the most comfortable experience, so what you can you do to stay comfortable? Here are our tips:
Keep water with you: you’re at greater risk of dehydration when you’re pregnant and if you’re breastfeeding, so you should be drinking water throughout the day, especially when you exercise. Keep a bottle with you and take sips between exercises.
Avoid overheating: keep a window or door open when you exercise so that you don’t overheat! Better yet, if it’s nice out, pick a shady spot outside.
Find the right sports bra: as you experience added breast weight, heightened sensitivity, sore nipples, leaking milk, and nagging upper back pain, having the right support will greatly improve your comfort during workouts. Here are our recommendations for pregnancy and postpartum sports bras.
Pumping or feeding before a workout: Full breasts can make exercising uncomfortable, so if you can, pump or feed before your daily workouts.
Lighter workouts: If you’re experiencing symptoms like fatigue and nausea which are making working out difficult, try lighter exercises such as walking, light yoga and stretching, or swimming. These will keep your body moving until you’re feeling a bit more like yourself.
Check out these other symptom battling tips in How To Survive The First Trimester.
3. What are the exercises that pregnant women should not do in their third trimester?
During every trimester of pregnancy, you should only do workouts you know are safe and stage-appropriate, If you have any concerns about working out in your third trimester, then you should speak to your doctor, but generally, if you are having a low-risk pregnancy and have not been told it’s unsafe for you to exercise, then it’s safe to stay active up until labor.
In the third trimester, you should avoid:
Anything that causes pain or discomfort (stop immediately) - this goes for all trimesters!
Exercises involving balance (e.g. jumping or skipping) - your balance will decline as bump grows so be cautious of any movements that require balance. If you want to do squats or lunges, for example, use a chair for stability
Any exercise where you lie on your back or stomach - during pregnancy, you should avoid lying flat on your back as this can put pressure on the blood vessels that supply the uterus.
4. How can I prevent Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis Recti is the term used when a woman’s abs separate during pregnancy. Most women will experience some abdominal separation or Diastasis Recti during pregnancy - and that’s normal. To help minimize the extent of ab separation, before you are pregnant you can practice strengthening your core and pelvic floor muscles. During pregnancy, you can continue to strengthen your core, but follow modified, pregnancy-safe exercises - we have everything you need in the Baby2Body app!
Check out this episode from our Youtube series for more: What is Diastasis Recti & how can I tell if I have it?
5. Can I do squats and lunges during pregnancy?
Squats and lunges are safe for most women to do during pregnancy. Some women may find it more difficult to balance as their bump grows but you can try reducing the depth of your squat if necessary and use a chair or workout buddy to assist with your balance. Remember, safety first, and don’t do any exercises that cause pain and discomfort.
6. I’m struggling with exercise motivation, what should I do?
It’s definitely tricky to stay motivated to exercise, especially during pregnancy and postpartum when you’re experiencing fatigue. Hear from our founder & CEO Melinda Nicci for some top tips.
Sleeping baby? Scroll to read the video transcript!
Video transcript:
Hi, I'm so glad you asked, but before we get into the answers that are gonna give you everything you need to know about pregnancy conception, and postpartum, be sure to hit that notification button, give us a thumbs up, and subscribe. So you don't miss an episode.
We all struggle with motivation to exercise at some time in our life and post-birth, this is a time when you're feeling tired, you are not exactly feeling energetic and the last thing you may be wanting to do is to exercise, but take it from me exercise is such to an important part of your recovery.
Now, the reasons to exercise are - literally, I could sit you down for 20 minutes and tell you a bunch of different things - but the most important thing is that it gives you a sense of self-efficacy. So your belief in yourself will be better. Your self-esteem will be better. You will get energized by the endorphins and also the surge of oxygen right through your body and that will make you feel so much better the rest of the day. Now, if you're really struggling to fit it in, or you don't know what to do, we've got some great exercises on our app, which you can find the link below, and every week we take you through exercises and some really nice things to do to make a lot more interesting.
You can also join up with friends and go for walks in the park and if you have a regular slot that you know, every couple of days or every week that you're going to do that, then it's a lot easier to be motivated because you have something to look forward to. You can also invest in some really simple equipment that you can have at home like a yoga mat, some dumbbells, maybe some bands, a ball. So at least those things are there and they're ready and you can just hop into them and start using them whenever you like.
Get out there, take a walk, do some deep breathing and those happy hormones will start doing their job.