Exercise

[Cheeseandapple]

I'm 23 weeks pregnant and I'd like to start exercising again. I'm not very fit but pre-preg did run very occasionally or do HIITs from YouTube. Everything I've read says don't do more than you did pre-pregnancy but not sure what would be ok given my sporadic exercise historically. Wondering what other people do during pregnancy?

I walk about an hour a day in the week (30 mins each way) as part of my commute instead of getting the bus. I was doing it before I got pregnant but walking is excellent exercise for pregnancy and gentle on the joints etc. I’ve had a straightforward pregnancy (now almost 35 weeks) and i definitely think it’s had a good effect on my weight gain and how I’ve felt in general. I definitely wasn’t this active in my first pregnancy as I worked from home! Hopefully it’ll result in a shorter and easier labour this time...(Although i don’t suppose it’ll be hard to beat 63 hours from first twinge to birth! 🤣🤣)

Walking and swimming are good options in pregnancy plus pregnancy-specific Pilates/yoga.

Just make sure you listen to your body, whatever you do. Don’t get too overheated or really out of breath. There’s tonnes of advice online.

I started aquanatal which I really enjoyed. I wish I had started it earlier though. It’s simple exercise and the pool really helped take the weight of the bump. I also continue to walk as much as I can

Walking and swimming are probably your best bet. I swam pre-pregnancy, buts it one my midwife specifically said was ok to take up even if your body isn't used to it.

Don't take up anything high impact now - too much of a strain. As others have said, whatever you do listen to your body. It's worth talking to your midwife too.

I'm 32 weeks now and have had to give up rowing, which I did regularly before (no room for the bump now!) and I stopped weight lifting as soon as I found out I was pregnant. Swimming is saving my sanity, especially after the heat of the last few days!

Thank you! I've been walking everywhere but think I'll try to start swimming a couple of times a week.

Walking/swimming and if you want you can start light running (recommended 10 min a day max until it's regular, and then you can build up to doing a longer weekly walk). Don't make anyone pressurise you into a pregnancy-specific paid class like pilates - they're not a magic solution that fills your quota - only do them if they sound fun to you and worth the money for their own sake; like the others said, listen to your body and do the exercises that suit you.

On the other hand, I've done some in depth research into what happens to competitive athletes who work out at extremely high levels and get above their 90% recommended heart rate, and the medical opinion is that they temporarily deprive the baby of sufficient oxygen which could affect birth rate. Statistical analyses show that women who are extremely fit are less likely to have overweight babies and equally likely to have underweight babies, with a slightly lower mean weight - which could be explained anyway in that women who are extremely fit are less likely to be overweight, and overweight women tend to have heavier babies, contributing to the mean average.

So basically, exercise as hard as you like, so long as you don't injure yourself.

Went for a lovely long swim today! Thanks for the suggestions x

I'm definitely doing more exercise now than I was pre pregnancy. I used to do a class a couple of times a week so I wasn't unfit but now I've added in using my crosstrainer most days as well. I just started slowly and made sure to listen to my body, not over-exert myself and drink loads of water.

I love reading about the benefits of exercise for the baby, it's very motivating.