Exercising Through Pregnancy

According to ACOG, you can safely engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise on most, if not all, days of the week. Walking, swimming, riding a stationary bike, using the elliptical, and doing low-impact aerobics are perfect cardio options as your pregnancy progresses, since these activities don’t put any pressure on your joints, loose ligaments, or
pelvic floor. However, if you were jogging or spinning prior to your pregnancy, then it’s probably safe to continue.
If you’re new to doing cardio, start off easily by walking at a slow to moderate pace. Then, as you feel stronger and move into the second trimester, you can bump up the intensity a little. Cross-training is the best option, especially through pregnancy when your body is going through so many physiological changes, because it will ensure that
you’re not overusing certain muscles. Working a wide range of muscles can help you steer clear of injury and keep you moving as normally as possible over the next nine months. Of course, you also don’t want to overdo exercising when you’re pregnant because extreme fatigue, injury, and excess stress on your body from too much exercise can prevent the baby from getting enough nutrients and oxygen.

Finding the Right Intensity

The intensity of exercise during pregnancy matters. The more intense your workout, the more blood flow and oxygen going toward your muscles and away from your growing baby. But how do you find a level that is intense enough to be beneficial, but also safe enough that you can be sure you are not depriving your baby of anything he or she needs?
Up until recently, pregnant women were told to monitor their intensity by keeping their heart rates no higher than 140 beats per minute (bpm), and this advice is still often repeated in women’s magazines, other information guides, and even by some doctors and midwives. However, many experts believe that this rule of thumb may not apply to people who were regular exercisers before pregnancy. A woman’s age may also make a difference. As a result, it seems that a potentially better way to determine intensity is to use “rate of perceived exertion” (RPE) instead of target heart rates. RPE is simply the level of intensity that you feel you are experiencing. It is somewhat subjective, but that doesn’t mean you have nothing to base it on. How hard are you breathing? How fast is your heart beating? Are you sweating? Can you carry on a conversation? Are you comfortable, or are you starting to f eel tired? There are different RPE scales used, but in
the Super Fit Mama program I decided to use a simple scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being no exertion at all and 10 being maximal (see the RPE chart in Chapter 7). Throughout your entire pregnancy, use the RPE scale to gauge how hard you’re working out, and make sure your intensity is no more than a 7–8 on the chart. Another simple way to monitor yourself is the talk test. You should always be able to carry on a conversation while you work out, and if you can’t, you’re working out too intensely. Finally, remember that your heart rate will be much higher than it was before you became pregnant. It may take as long as 15 minutes for your heart to recover to resting rate following a workout, so the cooldown is a critical part of your workout. The bottom line here is to listen to your body. Stop exercising when you feel fatigued, and never, ever exercise to exhaustion.
Check out my new book Super Fit Mama for more information