If you’re pregnant, congratulations! What an exciting nine months of navigating a totally new world and adjusting to life with a baby growing in your belly. Pregnancy eventually impacts everything, from your eating and sleeping habits to your emotions and your workout routine. If you’re dedicated to exercising on a daily basis, you might be wondering how to adapt once you can no longer see your toes over your expanding belly.
The first rule of thumb is, of course, safety. An impressively toned pregnancy body isn’t worth jeopardizing your health or your baby’s health. Though you certainly don’t have to tiptoe around like you’re now made of porcelain, you can’t exactly take up rugby for the first time. If you feel chest pain, dizziness, calf pain, or unusual shortness of breath, it’s time to stop your workout and take a rest. Pregnancy isn’t the time to push through and assume you’ll be okay.
With that said, if you’ve been training in a certain workout program or sport long before your pregnancy, like distance running or CrossFit, you can most likely continue your regimen as long as your OB-GYN approves. Since your body can tolerate more by nature, your pregnant body can as well.
You’ll know if something doesn’t feel right and you need to stop. If you can’t sustain the workout you did before pregnancy, there are plenty of low intensity workouts you can use while pregnant, even if they aren’t something you would have considered before. If you are moving enough to stay healthy, nourishing your body, and getting plenty of rest, then you’re golden.
Reasonable weight training and prenatal yoga are mom-to-be favorites, especially when cardio becomes a bit too cumbersome. Every momma is different; some run five miles until the day they deliver, and others find cardio too intensive after the first trimester. There is no right or wrong, no good or bad, as long as you and your baby are safe and comfortable. Embrace what you’re able to do, try new moves, and remember to enjoy the whole experience.