What exercise are you doing in pregnancy?

[PeaPenguin]

Just wondering what others did before and are now able to do?

First trimester I couldn't do much due to sickness. I am now back at gym classes but adapting and going slower. There is so little proper advice on exercise in pregnancy. Lots of very cautious advice too it seems.

In all honesty, I haven't been doing much! I stopped gym in first trimester due to nausea and tiredness and then never went back oops!
Im about to enter third trimester and started doing pregnancy yoga at home and going for regular walks.
The advice is you can usually continue a similar level of exercise you were doing pre-pregnancy.
Though if this is hardcore weight training or any extreme level, I would check with midwife! :)

Swimming, cycling, walking and yoga. There's a good bit of evidence that HIIT is beneficial in the third trimester but there's no way I'll be arsed with that! I'll do yoga and swimming right to the end, but the rest will drop off, I think.

I'm only 6 weeks and 5 days but went back to Zumba and swim at 5 weeks, have defo found my energy lacking. (Did limited exercise in the weeks before due to it being IVF and being cautious). Have always walked throughout.

I did a stretch class which is similar to yoga and asked the instructor before the rest of the class arrived, she advised to avoid anything that's holding the core in tight so early on and anything that requires lying on tummy.

I haven't done any for a week now due to having a tiny amount of spotting and deciding to hold off till my scan on Wednesday just to feel reassured but will defo pick up swimming and Zumba if all is well

2nd pregnancy and currently 14 weeks, gym 2-3 times a week and back to doing weights and circuits, still doing box jumps etc as they feel good. Also running- did a 5k yesterday before work :-) oh and walking the dog and chasing a toddler around

I’m so far maintaining my pre-pregnancy routine at 22 weeks pregnant. I run 6 days a week and then top up with a couple miles of walking most days. In my previous pregnancy I maintained a similar routine up until I went into labour (4 days before my due date). That baby is now 5 and very fun and clever.

However, no one should ever take up running within pregnancy - it must be a pre-existing routine.

Oh also - I try to remember some core/glute exercises a few days a week plus pelvic floor exercises every day. This is to keep the core and surrounding areas strong for labour and recovery. I also did this previous pregnancy with fab results.

I carried on with my usual Les Mills classes but dropped to the lowest intensity option from about four months. Carried on with usual cycling until 7 months when my shifting weight/centre of gravity meant that it didn't feel good any more. Carried on with yoga throughout (the lovely teacher made adaptations for me where needed).

I ran throughout my pregnancy. I also had a horse that I rode up until 6 months and mucked out etc until I gave birth.

Yea advice is very lacking. You could look for a pt or similar pregnancy (and subsequently post pregnancy) programme.

You need to be aware of anything thy puts pressure on your midline (stomach) and look out for doming (stop any exercise that causes this) as you will
damage yourself. I trained up until 38 weeks pregnant but was quite limited by what I could do by last trimester as tummy was quite big!

Bumps & Burpees by Charlie Barker is an excellent book, she also has an instagram account @ bumpsandburpees and online programmes for different trimesters. I've not paid for the programmes but the book and insta have been invaluable for continuing with my current classes and knowing what modifications to make.

I'm doing bootcamp classes twice a week.

I'm sticking to what I was doing before pregnancy, so deadlifts, leg press, curls and lots of upper body.

I don't do any jumping or ab workouts and the trainer watches and adapts things.

None due to bleeding!

I kept up with what I normally did but with adaptations.
Body sculpt/LBC type classes, swimming and Pilates (an example in Pilates not lying fully on my back as pregnancy progressed) Good fitness instructors should be able to tell you what alternatives you should do during pregnancy.
I would have a word with them and see what they suggest.

23 weeks. Still running but starting to slow (stopped at 33 weeks in my first). I do a boot camp class a few times a week and a bit of weightlifting.

basically the same as before but with lower intensity/weight.

starting to have to adapt in the classes a bit but most instructors are good if you let them know you’re pregnant :)

I’m 11 weeks- I can’t even stand up without wanting to throw up. When this stage passes I can’t wait to go back out walking in the Brecon Beacons again. I miss taking my dog there. At the moment just the thought of it makes me sick 😔

I’m nearly 41 weeks pregnant and I’m still training about 5 times a week. I was/ felt sick as a dog for the first 18-20 weeks and I just wanted to sleep but I always felt better after doing some exercise so I kept it up. Usually weights and CrossFit type stuff, at lower intensity but also swimming, yoga etc. I stopped doing kipping movements around 20 weeks and also limited jumping and running to save my pelvic floor as it’s under a lot of stress just being pregnant and it could set my recovery back.
I also did a few shorter swim runs up until 30 weeks, just for fun and didn’t push myself. I’ve been a high level athlete most of my life though so my body is used to it and I listen to my body, even if I’d like to push harder the body wouldn’t have it. NHS guidelines states that it’s a good time to start exercising if you aren’t already! https://www.nhs.uk/start-for-life/pregnancy/exercising-in-pregnancy/

And I should’ve said that I did the same with my son, he came at nearly 42 weeks and I was exercising when my water broke 😅 I had a really good pregnancy, recovery and my son came out fit and healthy, still is.

Wow, can I ask you a few questions?

I am planning on working out for along as I can.

How did you find your energy levels as ypu got heavier and did you continue to lift heavy?

Also did you find your bump was small?

I'm 21w but with my 4th and this is the first pregnancy I have come into fit and the first one I have been training through, my bump has only just started to show a little bit.

Before baby I did kickboxing 3x a week, gym or run the other 4 days, cycling every day.

During pregnancy I swapped kickboxing for aqua aerobics twice a week, pilates once a week. I stopped at 7 months due to SPD. I also ran until about 5 months, again SPD put paid to that.

It would be amazing to be like those pop sugar mums doing star jumps with bumps, but it didn't work like that in reality!!

Basically look for low impact, core strengthening, gentle cardio.

@NmeChngeFail I think I get more energy from exercising not the opposite actually. I don’t train very hard though, rarely go over an rpe of 6-7. People do tell me my bump is small so it might be but I can’t really see it. I didn’t show much at 21 weeks either! If you can I would continue to train as I definitely believe it’ll give you a healthier and smoother pregnancy.

I do some walking and toddler wrangling, and I went swimming up until about 30 weeks. Haven’t been since as i’ve been constantly ill with covid and colds/coughs. Now 37 weeks.

I couldn’t face running but went for fast walks, as fast as I could, and including hills. Also swimming and yoga.