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Exercise is important for people in all walks of life, but it’s incredibly beneficial for expecting mothers and their unborn child. Regular activity boosts circulation so that nutrient-rich blood can move throughout the body and aid in fetal development, and exercise also makes it easier for expecting mothers to gain weight along a healthy trajectory throughout their pregnancy. However, because you’re pregnant, you need to be a little more conscious in how you pursue exercise to ensure you and your developing baby stay safe. Below, we share some tips for exercising safely while pregnant.

Safe Exercise Tips For Pregnant Women

We regularly work with pregnant and postpartum mothers who want to take more control over their health, but know that no two pregnancies are the same, and the best advice will come from your treating OBGYN. The following is just general advice, and because the stakes are so high, it’s best to consult with your women’s care provider for some personalized advice on staying active throughout your pregnancy. With that said, here are some tips they’ll likely recommend:

  1. Start Slow – Don’t shock your system by taking on a lot more exercise and activity than you are used to while you’re pregnant. Ease into activity and gradually increase your intensity or your duration so that your body can easily adapt to the stress you’re putting on it. Overstraining your body at a time when it’s committing resources and energy to fetal development can lead to issues for mother and unborn child, so ease into it and gradually take on greater challenges.
  2. Connect With A PT – Don’t be surprised if your women’s care provider recommends that you connect with a physical therapist for a portion of your pregnancy, because they know firsthand just how helpful it can be to have an expert by your side helping to guide you. As we talked about on the blog in the past, physical therapy can be extremely beneficial during the first, second and third trimesters of your pregnancy, so let a professional tailor an exercise or PT program to your specific needs or goals.
  3. Avoid High Impact Activities – Oftentimes your women’s care provider will recommend that you steer clear of high impact activities or at least pursue them with caution. The motion of running or jumping isn’t likely to cause any issue for you or the unborn child, but if these high impact activities increase your fall risk, one misstep could cause major problems, so consider activities where it’s easy to stay upright. You’ll also want to avoid exercises that put excessive pressure on your abdominal area, like burpees or stomach-based exercises.
  4. Use The Talk Test – Exercise shouldn’t always be easy, but we don’t want you to push yourself to your physical extremes either, especially if you’re pregnant. Many providers and therapists recommend that pregnant women conduct the “talk test” during exercise to ensure their activities aren’t too intense. If you’re breathing too hard during exercise to be able to have a normal conversation, you should consider easing back on your intensity. You should still be able to speak or converse during your exercises while you’re pregnant.
  5. Mind The Temperature – We understand that you may want to exercise outdoors during the summer or the fall, but you need to be mindful of the weather to avoid extreme heat. Your energy is going to be drained quicker as a result of your body working hard to help your baby develop, and this can make it easier for you to become affected and overwhelmed by heat or prolonged sunlight exposure. Pay attention to the weather conditions if you’re going to be exercising outdoors, and always have water available so that you can replenish lost fluids along the way.

If you keep these tips in mind and are willing to connect with a PT professional for additional assistance, we’re confident that you’ll be able to stay active and healthy throughout your pregnancy. For more information, or to talk to the team at OrthoRehab Specialists, give our team a call today at (612) 339-2041.

Dr. Andy Masis, PT
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