Staying Active While Pregnant

I don’t know about anyone else, but being pregnant occasionally makes me want to be lazy. I mean, laaaazzzyyyy. I’m carrying extra weight; I get short on breath and tired so much more easily than I did a few months ago. There are days where I would love to just sit on the couch all evening and drown my thoughts in Pinterest. But if there’s one thing I know to be true, it’s that staying active during pregnancy is incredibly important! Both my Dr. and my body tell me so.

My Dr. recommended I refrain from doing any high-impact workouts that could cause a lot of jarring, so I've been doing some research on workouts appropriate for pregnancy. Here are the five workouts I found to be the most commonly recommended:

Walking. This is my number one go-to workout while pregnant. Since my workouts happen first thing in the morning, this is the perfect way for me to get some fresh air, clear my head, pray, and get my heart rate up a little bit.

Yoga. I have to admit, I haven’t tried this yet. But I’d love to start! I know that colder weather is on the way so my commitment level of getting up and walking to the gym will begin to dwindle. I’ll have no excuse to stay in bed if I can just go down to the basement and throw in a workout video. I think I’ll venture over to Amazon to check into this as soon as I finish this post…

Swimming. I can totally see how this would be a great workout during pregnancy. It’s low impact yet a great way to stay in shape. Unfortunately, my small town does not house any sort of indoor pool, and the outdoor pool is out of commission until summer – Not that I would be interested in swimming outdoors this time of year anyway, let’s be honest. So, I may have to pass on this one, but I love the idea.

Elliptical. This is my go-to when I have to hit the gym. It gives me a welcome break from the “dreadmill” and I feel it gives me a little tougher workout while still remaining low impact. I don’t do it every day, but when I’m in need of breaking a little sweat, this is where I turn.

Light Strength Training. I think this is a must during pregnancy. Cardio helps get me going, burn calories, and raise my heart rate a bit, but strength training makes me feel strong and in all around better shape. Plus I don’t need to remind other mother’s out there how much strength is needed during labor. And that’s all I’ll say about that. J

So, to sum this up, I believe whole-heartedly that staying active while pregnant is important.  While I’m just as guilty as the next person on having a “lazy” day, I know deep down that the benefits of staying active during this point in my life is crucial as ever. I’ve noticed that when I do workout, I sleep a lot better, my head is clearer, and I’m in a much more positive mood. So I’m going to try to mix the above activities into my workout routine as much as possible and get myself off the couch. Besides, I can look at Pinterest on my phone while I’m on the treadmill, right? J

*I would like to note that I am not a certified trainer and most definitely do not have a degree in pre-natal care, so please check with your Dr. before beginning your own pregnancy workout routine!