Exercise in early pregnancy

[Laura510]

So this isn’t my first baby but I have taken up the gym these last couple of years and I’ve got into good shape. I have PT twice a week and I’ve become good friends with my PT. however, I don’t trust her with the secret on my pregnancy, we are desperate to keep this hush for a good 3 months. We have 5 children aged 5 and up and we really don’t want them to know until we are at a fairly safe point incase the worst happens.
I really want to keep fit throughout the pregnancy but I don’t know what is safe.
What did everyone else do with regards to fitness? Ideally I’d like to keep going with my PT and wondered if it’s stuff I’ve done before pregnancy, is it safe to continue??

It's generally safe to continue with the stuff you've done before. However, there are certain positions you need to avoid, you shouldn't overstretch. You also need to watch your heart rate- if you exercise to vigorously, you could deprive the baby of oxygen.

I think it'd be pretty sensible to get a PT trained in pregnancy. It's a specialist course that is additional to general PT training. A general PT might only have a very vague idea of the does and don'ts.

General rule is do everything you were already doing, but listen to your body and do overdo it, and don't do anything that puts you at risk of trauma - fencing, skiing, mountain biking etc. Later in pregnancy some positions are discouraged - those where you lie on your back and could restrict blood flow, but you don't need to worry about that in the first trimester.

Overwhelmingly the advice these days is that keeping yourself fit during pregnancy is a very good thing. Good luck!

*don't overdo it!

Agree with PP with just a couple of things to add:

• Listen to your body, if something doesn’t feel right or you start to feel breathless then stop or dial back the intensity
• Avoid exercises which focus on the rectus abdominus (front abs) like crunches, Russian twists, v-ups as these can contribute to abdominal separation

Mumhood and Moms Gone Strong are programs aimed at pregnant women, could be worth a look if you don’t want to talk to your PT just yet