Exercise During Pregnancy

Definitely swimming if you can get to an indoor pool. I swam several times a week when I was pregnant with my first. I had a fairly long labor (I was induced early- blah, blah, blah), but only pushed for 15 minutes! I recovered very quickly, too. I swear it was the swimming! Unfortunately I haven't done ANY "exercise" with this pregnancy, so we'll see how labor/delivery/recovery go!

(I DO count chasing a 14-month-old around the house all day and walking the dog as unofficial exercise!!)

Just don't overdo it. My OB always said you can keep doing the level of activity you were doing when you got pregnant, but you shouldn't increase it.

Good luck!

Try "Fit Mama" Exercise DVD! I loved it! It gave me a lot of energy on those days when I felt blah!

J.,
I can't say I've heard of the book, but if you exercise at all now, you can really just keep on doing what you're doing. Talk to your doctor to make sure you don't have any other issues going on, but the general rule is that you can do just about anything. My doctor said she has had women who played collegiate sports all through their pregnancies. I continued to run 5-6 miles a day until the end of my 7th month, and the only reason I stopped was that I was so slow that old people were passing me by! I did keep walking, and I also did aerobics (regular and water) and lifted weights right up until the day I gave birth. I also went back to walking within a week of giving birth, which I highly recommend just so you start feeling like a person again! The only thing I did differently was to give up traditional sit-ups, because these can cut off the blood supply, as can lying on your back for too long, which is why doctors don't recommend sleeping on your back when pregnant. Despite eating like a horse, I gained about 25 lbs and lost it all within a couple of months without really trying. Good luck, and remember that gaining a few pounds is a small trade-off for what you're getting (but I know it's not something you want to do if you can help it!).
Becca

Dear J., I am a certified Pilates instructor and excersize is a great way to continue feeling good during your pregnancy and help out during birth. My only suggestion is not to begin a new routine during pregnancy but to stick with what types of excersize you did before you got pregnant but in moderation. If you ran, speed walk instead. There are videos that are geared toward pregnancy such as pilates and yoga that are gentle enough to begin if you have never done it before. Just consult your doctor. Good luck!

Denise Austin has a good pregnancy workout that I believe she filmed which she was pregnant. I don't think I would buy anything that said pregnancy without pounds, you need to gain weight while you are pregnant, but there is nothing wrong with staying in shape, it will help your labor to go better, help you feel better and be healthier during pregnancy, and help you return to pre baby size after your little one is born. just remember that you really only need a few hundred calories more per day than you normally would eat, so if you are concerned about the weight gain, eat lots of fruits and veggies and lean meats, take a good supplements and make sure to take extra calcium, this is one thing the baby really needs and I was completely drained of my calcium levels by around the 6 months and had to start taking extra, so might as well start now to keep those up. I like the liquid kind you can get at the vitamin shoppe and they have different flavors for different tastes.

Hi,
I have heard of that book and was tempted to buy it myself, but when I did more research her program sounded too good to be true. That's the one where you don't gain any extra weight than what you need for the baby so that when you have the baby, there isn't that much left to lose, right? When I researched it I found that there is not magic diet to make the pounds melt off like she states. I'm sure it works for some people, just like all other diets, but it doesn't work for everyone. The best advice to to follow the Best Diet from the What to expect when your expecting book. A good diet with a lot of variety is always a smart choice.
Exercise is fantastic during pregnancy. I like the Denise Austin video, but really love the Kathy Smith one. I also like the Yoga Momma by Crunch. There are a lot of great videos out there, you can check http://www.collagevideo.com for video clips and comments about the videos so you know what you are getting. You can also do your regular workouts, but scale them down. No impact, just do low impact or "grounded" movements and if you are doing step aerobics, adjust your step height. The rule of thumb is you can pretty much keep doing what you were doing before (with less jumping) during the first tri-mester, lower the step one raiser during the second tri-mester and just use the platform the third. You can even go without the platform and just move forward and back depending on how your feeling. The best thing is to be very aware of your body, this isn't the time to "push your body" further, your not training! If you truly feel too tired to go on, then cool down and stretch and stop. If you just can't do another step on the treadmill, don't! I love being pregnant and exericising because I really take it easy and enjoy all my workouts! There is no pressure to push my body to get results, I can just sit back and relax (well as much as you can during a workout). I have a few videos that have jumpy parts that you can't change to grounded moves so I just march in place during those segments.
Good luck and congratulations!
Y.

i used an exercising dvd called fit mama and it has pre and post natal workouts. i also let my cousin borrow it recently before she had her baby and she said it really helped her get through labor because a lot of the exercises are geared towards childbirth. but it also did a good job of keeping me in shape the whole time.

Pregnancy without pounds sounds oxymoronic to me! You have to gain weight during pregnancy, and I'd be wary of a plan that tells you otherwise. But exercise is great during pregnancy, as all the other ladies have said, and any of their suggestions sound great to me!

Pregnancy Yoga. It helps w/ the back pressure as well as keep you fit, safely. There's alot of resources available if you google this - there are TONS of videos as well as local classes to join.

Good luck!

Hello J.,
You can try asking your OB office for any recommendations. My OB office actually had a midwife in there that held Yoga classes for the pregnant woman in the clinic. Also, swimming is a great exercise to do. It help you stay in shape and gives your body time to relax, be weightless and relieve your joints of added pressure from the pregnancy. Hope this helped!!