Pregnancy Exercise/Workouts at Home


I want to share with you this 25-minute pregnancy workout at home. It's important to have access to workouts you can do in the privacy and comfort of your own home at a time you may want to be avoiding the gym.

So, let's chat a little more about what will make your at-home pregnancy workouts work for you. More importantly, how I want you to participate in safe workouts that will continue to motivate and energize you to keep doing them throughout each trimester.



Your Pregnancy Workouts at Home Need to Be

1. Safe

Safety for both you and the baby is non-negotiable.

Without having an instructor right there with you to correct technique, or advise you from performing certain exercises, you MUST follow a guided video workout.

A qualified instructor knows the exact movements and exercises you must avoid. They also have experience and knowledge in prescribing exercises accordingly to your week of pregnancy.

2. Effective

So while you are not pushing yourself to maximum exertion, you can still improve your fitness level. Effective pregnancy exercises involve strengthening your core and pelvic floor muscles.

3. Designed for pregnancy

I cannot stress enough that when pregnant, you must modify your workouts to ensure they are safe for your week of pregnancy. Prenatal yoga is recommended.

But certain yoga poses that were safe before getting pregnant are now not safe when pregnant.

Related: Yoga when Pregnant >

Pregnancy Exercise/Workouts at Home
                                                       
4. Designed by a prenatal exercise specialist

Most personal trainers do not receive sufficient training when it comes to pregnant women. How you exercise in the 3rd trimester and 2nd trimester is different from how you exercise in the 1st trimester.

You must have trust in your instructor that they know what they are talking about. That they know what is safe and what is not.

Our Practice team consists of prenatal exercise specialists, pelvic floor experts, prenatal yoga instructors, and Exercises Physiologists.

5. Take into account your growing belly

As your body changes with each week of pregnancy, so must your workouts. Your growing belly starts to get in the way. Your balance is affected. You must avoid lying on your back in pregnancy after 16 weeks.

6. Keep you motivated

If you are not motivated to work out then you will likely stop exercising. While taking a break when required is fine, stopping together is not ideal.

If you enjoy and look forward to your workouts then you will stay motivated as you focus on WHY you are exercising.

7. Adapt to each trimester

My workouts are designed for each week. If you someone gives you one workout to do for your entire pregnancy then you know it's not right. As you approach childbirth, your workouts must be modified.

8. Convenient

If you have to drive to and from the gym, battle with other members for equipment, and find a parking spot; then you will start to make excuses not to go.

I like the gym, don't get me wrong. But the convenience of working out at home, in privacy, is what our members love most about our program.

9. Approved by your doctor

While most doctors I know are not experts in prenatal exercise, they are experts when it comes to looking after you. They will know what you should, and shouldn't, be doing. So only exercise after getting their approval.


Pregnancy Exercise/Workouts at Home

                                                 


When to Stop Your Pregnancy Workout

Although there are many benefits to exercising, your current condition may prevent you from doing so for now. A normal pregnancy can quickly turn into one that needs to be monitored closely.

If a prenatal workout that contains certain movements or poses is deemed not suitable for you, then try a breathing and relaxation session. Strength training is recommended but only if you can do it.
My breathing techniques have helped my clients during labor.

They can also help you throughout your pregnancy when you need to de-stress, unwind and feel rejuvenated.

If you have experienced (or are currently experiencing) any of the following it may be advised not to start exercising just yet.
Speak to your doctor if you have:

1. Persistent vaginal bleeding.

2. Joint or muscle problems.

3. Heart or lung problems.

4. Severe anemia (very low iron levels in your blood).

5. Very high blood pressure.

6. Had a premature baby.

7. Serious heart disease.

8. Serious lung disease.

9. Extremely underweight.

10. A low-lying placenta (placenta praevia).

11. Cervical weakness.

Exercise in pregnancy

The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain. It will also help you to cope with labor and get back into shape after birth.

Keep up your normal daily physical activity or exercise (sport, running, yoga, dancing, or even walking to the shops and back) for as long as you feel comfortable.

Exercise is not dangerous for your baby. There is some evidence that active women are less likely to experience problems in later pregnancy and labor.
Exercise tips for pregnancy



Do not exhaust yourself. You may need to slow down as your pregnancy progresses or if your maternity team advises you to. If in doubt, consult your maternity team.

As a general rule, you should be able to hold a conversation as you exercise when pregnant. If you become breathless as you talk, then you're probably exercising too strenuously.

If you were not active before you got pregnant, do not suddenly take up strenuous exercise. If you start an aerobic exercise program (such as running, swimming, cycling, or aerobics classes), tell the instructor that you're pregnant and begin with no more than 15 minutes of continuous exercise, 3 times a week. Increase this gradually to daily 30-minute sessions.


Exercise tips when you're pregnant: 

  1. always warm up before exercising, and cool down afterward
  2. try to keep active daily – 30 minutes of walking each day can be enough, but if you cannot manage that, any amount is better than nothing
  3. avoid any strenuous exercise in hot weather
  4. drink plenty of water and other fluids
  5. if you go to exercise classes, make sure your teacher is properly qualified and knows that you're pregnant, as well as how many weeks pregnant you are
  6. you might like to try swimming because the water will support your increased weight. Some local swimming pools provide aqua-natal classes with qualified instructors. Find your local swimming pool
  7. exercises that have a risk of falling, such as horse riding, downhill skiing, ice hockey, gymnastics, and cycling, which should only be done with caution. Falls carry a risk of damage to your baby

Exercises to avoid in pregnancy

  1. do not lie flat on your back for long periods, particularly after 16 weeks, because the weight of your bump presses on the main blood vessel bringing blood back to your heart and this can make you feel faint
  2. do not take part in contact sports where there's a risk of being hit, such as kickboxing, judo, or squash
  3. do not go scuba diving, because the baby has no protection against decompression sickness and gas embolism (gas bubbles in the bloodstream)
  4. do not exercise at heights over 2,500m above sea level – this is because you and your baby are at risk of altitude sickness

Exercises for a fitter pregnancy


If you are pregnant, try to fit the exercises listed in this section into your daily routine. These types of exercises will strengthen your muscles to help you carry the extra weight of pregnancy. They'll also make your joints stronger, improve circulation, ease backache, and generally help you feel well.

Stomach-strengthening exercises


As your baby gets bigger, you may find that the hollow in your lower back increases and this can give you a backache. These exercises strengthen stomach (abdominal) muscles and may ease backache, 

which can be a problem in pregnancy: 

  1. start in a box position (on all 4s) with knees under hips, hands under shoulders, fingers facing forward and abdominals lifted to keep your back straight
  2. pull in your stomach muscles and raise your back up towards the ceiling, curling your trunk and allowing your head to relax gently forward. Do not let your elbows lock
  3. hold for a few seconds then slowly return to the box position
  4. take care not to hollow your back: it should always return to a straight/neutral position
  5. do this slowly and rhythmically 10 times, making your muscles work hard and moving your back carefully
  6. only move your back as far as you can comfortably

Pelvic tilt exercises

  1. stand with your shoulders and bottom against a wall
  2. keep your knees soft
  3. pull your tummy button towards your spine, so that your back flattens against the wall: hold for 4 seconds then release
  4. repeat up to 10 times
  5. Pelvic floor exercises



Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, which come under great strain in pregnancy and childbirth. The pelvic floor consists of layers of muscles that stretch like a supportive hammock from the pubic bone (in front) to the end of the backbone (spine).

If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, you may find that you leak urine when you cough, sneeze or strain. This is quite common, and there is no reason to feel embarrassed. It's known as stress incontinence and it can continue after pregnancy.

You can strengthen these muscles by doing pelvic floor exercises. This helps to reduce or avoid stress incontinence after pregnancy. All pregnant women should do pelvic floor exercises, even if they're young and not suffering from stress incontinence now.

How to do pelvic floor exercises: 
  1. close up your bottom, as if you're trying to stop yourself from going to the toilet
  2. at the same time, draw in your vagina as if you're gripping a tampon, and your urethra as if to stop the flow of urine
  3. at first, do this exercise quickly, tightening and releasing the muscles immediately
  4. then do it slowly, holding the contractions for as long as you can before you relax: try to count to 10
  5. try to do 3 sets of 8 squeezes every day: to help you remember, you could do a set at each meal

As well as these exercises, practice tightening the pelvic floor muscles before and during coughing and sneezing.

Find out more about incontinence.

Find out more about keeping fit and healthy after you've had your baby.