Your Pregnancy Questions Answered: What's the best exercise you can do throughout pregnancy?

"Hi Nisha, what exercise can you do throughout pregnancy? whats the best for each trimester please? Also I heard that you cannot let your heart beat go over 140? Any advice greatly appreciated as I want to stay trim but not do anything that could harm me or baby. Just in the trying to get pregnant stages now. thank you"

Thanks Julena for this great question!

This is a common concern for pregnant mums, especially for those who are in the delicate first trimester of pregnancy. You want to stay trim and in shape, yet the last thing you want to do is take the risk of harming your baby. It's hard to know just how much activity is safe so a lot of newly pregnant mums err on the side of caution and stop doing exercise altogether. The thing is, this can do more harm than good...

Stopping all activity during pregnancy can slow down your metabolism and lead to a build up of fat. This in turn can affect your hormonal balance as roughly 30% of oestrogen comes from fat cells. If you are trying to conceive, (like Julena), this hormonal disruption will greatly reduce your chances of getting pregnant.

If you are already pregnant, excess fat can add a serious risk factor to your pregnancy, increasing chances of pre-eclampsia, and fetal birth defects.

So what is the most effective way to stay in shape and maintain the healthiest pregnancy possible whilst exercising safely?

Resistance Training!

Now you don't need to be lifting heavy weights - in fact one of the most effective forms of resistance training for pregnancy is body weight exercises. After all, you should always be able to move and carry your own body weight safely and effectively without causing yourself injury, right?

To make sure you are exercising safely but still getting the most out of your workout, stick to simple exercises that mimic everyday movement, such as squats, rows, presses and overhead lifts.

For early pregnancy and for those who are new to exercise, choose up to 6 exercises and either string them together in a circuit fashion and repeat 2-3 times.

If you are used to training and have been exercising regularly for at least 6 months prior to getting pregnant try pairing up the exercises and performing them as a superset. Repeat each superset 2-3 times before moving onto the next couplet.

Either way, your workout should take you no more than 15 minutes to complete.

If you are exercising smartly, 15 minutes is plenty of time to get a good workout so the bonus to you is that you no longer need to spend long boring sessions slogging it out on the treadmill!

The great news is that all of these exercises can be adapted for each trimester. Not only that but as your pregnancy progresses you will be adding your own overload to your workout from your increasing body weight!

I hope this answers some of your concerns about exercising in pregnancy. Look out for my next post where I'll be giving you a video workout that you can do along with me, with some of the best exercises to support your pregnant body and banish back pain and other common pregnancy aches and pains.

Until then, stay sexy, self-confident and superfit!

Nisha

P.S. If you want your pregnancy questions answered just post your comment in Pregnancy Questions Answered

For access to more articles, videos and other resources on pregnancy fitness join my pregnancy community at http://www.the9monthclub.ning.com

Round Ligament Pain

I thought it was my abs splitting but turns out my abs are fine, (thank god!). What I was experiencing was round ligament pain.

Why midwives never tell you these things is beyond me. I saw my midwife for my 24 week checkup and mentioned I was feeling some pain in my lower abs and groin. Her advice was that I shouldn't be engaging my tummy muscles at all. Ever. WTF? Can you imagine what a mess my core would be in if I never engaged my muscles? Apart from the fact that I teach pilates and Body Balance weekly and I train at least 3 days on top of that, how on earth would I be able to support my own weight without engaging my core?

Anyway, I just agreed with and did my own research.

Round Ligament pain occurs around the 2nd trimester and can carry on all the way through the third trimester too. The round ligament is the ligament that attaches to your hip bone to hold the uterus in place. The ligaments must stretch and grow to support the weight of the baby, (you can't build a house on matchsticks!), and can grow from around 2 inches to 12inches.

This stretching can be accompanied by sharp pains or twinges in the groin. Once I'd ruled out my abs splitting I thought I'd strained my abs with too much training, but then I realised that I could still train and do most things without any pain at all. The pains would occur with getting up out of bed, getting in the car and if I was trying to do a lunge or any exercise where I would need to stretch the groin area. It wouldn't last long, just a few seconds but it was sharp but not unbearable and went away pretty quickly. Still I didn't want to have this my whole pregnancy so I took some steps to remedy it.

First off I took 2 days off of training, to allow any additional strain on the muscle tissue to repair. This worked well and I reduced the pain by about 70% just from that.

Secondly when I went back to training I focussed on getting my glutes fired up to support my pelvis. Bridges would take the weight off the ligaments so I designed a workout around these and some other glute firing exercises.

Third, I went swiming. I found the water really helped as it supported my bump and took pressure off the ligaments whilst I worked out. Breast stroke worked the gluteus medius which stabilises the pelvis and helped stretch out my groin, gently, without pressure. It also allowed me to focus on my posterior chain which is essential in supporting a pregnant posture.

These things reduced the pain to around 5% of what it was originally. Lastly I learned to roll onto my side to get up and to sit down sideways in the car seat before swinging my legs in together, to avoid loading the ligaments in an already stretched position.

Another pregnancy lesson learnt the hard way! But I'm glad I could share it in case you suffer the same thing!

Antenatal / Prenatal class

I don't know whether it's me or the NHS but I have to say that the information I've been given by my midwife during my pregnancy is minimal or next to nothing. It is only thanks to the wonders of the net, magazines, articles and the library of books I've collected that I know as much as I do. Fortunately I'm a bookworm, and seeing as I'm passionate about my field of work and the science of the human body, it has been a rather pleasant and relatively easy learning experience.

So very recently, (like last week when I returned from holiday and realised that, at 23 weeks, I was already over halfway through), it dawned on me that I was suppposed to enrol in antenatal classes in the not too distant future. Now I had thought that this was something the midwife informed you about when the time came and assumed I didn't need to worry about it yet.

Not so.

In my scan of antenatal classes in Bristol I was alarmed to see the first class listing on Google was already full up. I carried on to the National Childbirth Trust. The course that was the most suitable for my due date was also full up. I filled in the online enquiry form for it anyway but to be on the safe side I also emailed the local course administrator directly to see what my options were. She emailed me back almost straight away with a place on a course that was located a little further away but still had places and urged me to respond as quickly as possible as the places were filling up fast. I emailed back immediately to book my place.

So my advice to those of you who haven't booked your classes yet and are already around 22/23 weeks, like me, is get on to your clinic/hospital/childbirth agency and get your place reserved! Otherwise you may have to settle for a course that is not the most convenient for you!

Sun, sand and surf! Holiday tips for pregnancy

I've just returned from a very relaxing week on holiday with Carl. During your second trimester it's a good idea to book a holiday. You are safe to fly up until 28 weeks, at which time you'll need a doctor's note. As the second trimester should see you feeling more vibrant, healthy and energetic, it's the perfect time to take a break and really enjoy it without the drag of fatigue or morning sickness. Also you're not too big at this stage so you should still feel quite comfortable in the heat.

I would advise getting to check in as early as possible so you can ask for a seat near the toilet and with extra legroom. If you're peeing often, (who isn't at this stage!), it might be an idea to get an aisle seat so you don't have to disturb anyone if you're getting up frequently.

Carl and I were in Ibiza for a friends wedding which was beautiful. Yours truly was bridesmaid and the ceremony, setting, food and company was amazing. The bride cried and my bottom lip started to tremble but I managed to hold it in!

Now Ibiza is probably the last place you would associate with a quiet relaxing holiday but I booked us into a resort called Santa Eulalia. No clubs, just a gorgeouus marina with million pound yachts moored up, lots of nice restaurants and a beach. We hired a car for the week and made the most of it, visiting a different beach on the island every day. My favourite beach was Ses Aigues Blancos, literal translation, clear waters. It was a local beach with all spanish and a couple of nudists on it, (no that is not why it was my favourite!). The water was amazingly clear and as I love the sea I spent most of the day happily splashing around in the sea while Carl sunbathed.

We also visited the famous hippy market which is one of my favourite places on the island. It was just as good as I remembered it and I bought a beautiful silk dress for the bargain price of 33 Euros.

We spent our last night having tapas at a Spanish street cafe in Ibiza town. We wandered round the shops and night stalls, (the best time to go shopping in Ibiza is around 8pm when everything comes alive), and all too soon it was over. I was particularly sad as I knew this was the last holiday we would have as a couple. Not that I'm not excited to be having my little boy - on the contrary, I can't wait, but still, it was the end of an era of doing exactly as we pleased, without having to put someone elses needs above our own constantly.

We flew back into a grey Bristol on Monday afternoon and spent the evening doing washing ready for Carl to go back to work at 530am on Tuesday morning.

After a wonderful week in the sun and eating ice-creams every day, it's now time to get back on my healthy eating plan and back in the gym! Goodbye indulgence, hello sexy pregnant mama. Luckily I didn't gain a thing on holiday - must've been all the swimming and walking we did. Plus it was so hot I didn't want to eat much anyway. The first day back I was so tired I mostly slept but then it was back to routine. Wednesday night I went for my first swimming lesson, Thursday was legs day at the gym and today, Friday was upper body. Tommorow I'm teaching classes and Sunday I plan to go practise my swimming. My body feels better for it and I know I was feeling a little out of synch on holiday for the lack of structured exercise. So I guess in a way it's good to be back. Just a shame I couldn't bring the beaches and the sunshine with me!