Issues that will affect exercise during your 2nd Trimester:
1. Postural changes: your growing belly can cause your
lower back to bow and shoulders and head to slouch forward
2. Loosened joints and ligaments: can cause injury
much easier than before
3. Diastasis: condition where the two halves of your
vertical abdominal muscles separate slightly
4. Weight gain
How to deal with these issues:
1. Regular and appropriate strength training and stretching can help cancel out these postural changes. You need to focus on proper form on each exercise.
Do all exercises slowly and with control.
2. Don’t stretch too far, you should not feel pain during any stretch
3. This is usually not serious, but you will need to really focus on the strength of your abdominals even more so, do core with EVERY workout and everywhere you go pay
attention to pulling your abs in between your hipbones.
4. As you gain the baby weight, you will need to be more careful to use proper form on exercise and to be as “sure-footed” as possible. Pay special attention to your belly and the precious cargo therein
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
First Trimester Exercise Woes and How to Best Them!
Issues that will affect exercise throughout your first trimester:
1. breast tenderness & swelling
2. increased body heat
3. increased heart rate
4. nausea
How to deal with these issues:
1. Wear a well fitted, supportive bra
2. Exercise in the cool of the day, work out in an air conditioned spot, wear cool clothing,
3. drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout.
4. Use a heart rate monitor to keep intensity at the appropriate level, stop exercise before becoming fatigued
5. Eat a small snack of simple carbohydrates (i.e.: crackers) an hour before working out, try it and see if you feel better once you start exercising. Exercise will often help eliminate or make nausea better
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
1. breast tenderness & swelling
2. increased body heat
3. increased heart rate
4. nausea
How to deal with these issues:
1. Wear a well fitted, supportive bra
2. Exercise in the cool of the day, work out in an air conditioned spot, wear cool clothing,
3. drink plenty of water before, during and after your workout.
4. Use a heart rate monitor to keep intensity at the appropriate level, stop exercise before becoming fatigued
5. Eat a small snack of simple carbohydrates (i.e.: crackers) an hour before working out, try it and see if you feel better once you start exercising. Exercise will often help eliminate or make nausea better
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Monday, March 30, 2009
All about Kegels exercises...
Keep Incontinence at Bay!
You’ve probably heard horror stories from a friend or family member about “accidents” after having a baby. It’s a sad fact for many mothers to have problems with incontinence. Well, you don’t have to be one of those mothers! Kegels are exercises that strengthen those very muscles. If these muscles are toned they may help keep you from an episiotomy as well. And the exercises can be done anywhere, pretty much anytime.
Where are the Kegel muscles?
When you are going to the bathroom, they are the muscles you use to shut off the stream of urine.
BEGINNER KEGEL EXERCISES:
Sit on the floor, legs crossed, back flat on the wall. (If this position is uncomfortable, you can do it sitting in a chair, lying on your bed, and even standing or walking as you get better at it.) Squeeze the Kegel muscles as hard as you can, count to 10, be sure to breathe. Relax for a couple seconds and repeat.
-Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
-Start with 1 set and work up to 3 or 4 a day.
ADVANCED KEGEL EXERCISES:
Sit on the floor, legs crossed, back flat on the wall. (If this position is uncomfortable, you can do it sitting in a chair, lying on your bed, and even standing or walking as you get better at it.) Squeeze the Kegel muscles moderately hard, then visualize an elevator going up as you squeeze harder to the slow count of 5, then slowly lower by relaxing the sqeeze to a slow count of 5.
Relax for a few seconds and repeat.
-Do 5 to 10 repetitions.
-Start with 1 set and work up to 2 or 3 a day.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
You’ve probably heard horror stories from a friend or family member about “accidents” after having a baby. It’s a sad fact for many mothers to have problems with incontinence. Well, you don’t have to be one of those mothers! Kegels are exercises that strengthen those very muscles. If these muscles are toned they may help keep you from an episiotomy as well. And the exercises can be done anywhere, pretty much anytime.
Where are the Kegel muscles?
When you are going to the bathroom, they are the muscles you use to shut off the stream of urine.
BEGINNER KEGEL EXERCISES:
Sit on the floor, legs crossed, back flat on the wall. (If this position is uncomfortable, you can do it sitting in a chair, lying on your bed, and even standing or walking as you get better at it.) Squeeze the Kegel muscles as hard as you can, count to 10, be sure to breathe. Relax for a couple seconds and repeat.
-Do 10 to 15 repetitions.
-Start with 1 set and work up to 3 or 4 a day.
ADVANCED KEGEL EXERCISES:
Sit on the floor, legs crossed, back flat on the wall. (If this position is uncomfortable, you can do it sitting in a chair, lying on your bed, and even standing or walking as you get better at it.) Squeeze the Kegel muscles moderately hard, then visualize an elevator going up as you squeeze harder to the slow count of 5, then slowly lower by relaxing the sqeeze to a slow count of 5.
Relax for a few seconds and repeat.
-Do 5 to 10 repetitions.
-Start with 1 set and work up to 2 or 3 a day.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Don't forget to stretch!
Stretching is important during your warm-up because it increases blood flow to the muscles. But stretching during your cool-down may be even more important. After
working out, stretching helps to remove lactic acid from the muscle, which in turn reduces muscle soreness. Stretching afterwards will also help you relax.
While stretching can promote flexibility, stretching too far can actually damage the muscles, particularly if you’re recovering from an injury. By overstretching, you create an automatic reflex that will cause the muscle to recoil to protect itself from tearing and injury. Also, don’t bounce while stretching. Holding your stretch in a static position is best.
Pregnancy leads to a loss of balance and control because of our expanding abdomens. This protruding belly also pulls us out of our normal movement patterns. This, in turn, leads to postural distortions and bad movement patterns. You may not even notice these changes until your backs starts to hurt, your shoulders get tight and you may even start to experience neck and head aches. Stretching is a great way to combat these unfortunate side effects of the prenatal months. It also allows you to keep your posture straight and helps your body continue to move in sync.
Unlike strength training with weights, stretching can be done daily. Tight muscles are not easily relaxed and it takes continual stretching to loosen them.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
working out, stretching helps to remove lactic acid from the muscle, which in turn reduces muscle soreness. Stretching afterwards will also help you relax.
While stretching can promote flexibility, stretching too far can actually damage the muscles, particularly if you’re recovering from an injury. By overstretching, you create an automatic reflex that will cause the muscle to recoil to protect itself from tearing and injury. Also, don’t bounce while stretching. Holding your stretch in a static position is best.
Pregnancy leads to a loss of balance and control because of our expanding abdomens. This protruding belly also pulls us out of our normal movement patterns. This, in turn, leads to postural distortions and bad movement patterns. You may not even notice these changes until your backs starts to hurt, your shoulders get tight and you may even start to experience neck and head aches. Stretching is a great way to combat these unfortunate side effects of the prenatal months. It also allows you to keep your posture straight and helps your body continue to move in sync.
Unlike strength training with weights, stretching can be done daily. Tight muscles are not easily relaxed and it takes continual stretching to loosen them.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
Imagine having strong abs your whole pregnancy!
For obvious reasons, you may worry about your abs more during pregnancy than any time in your life. Can you keep them strong? Is it safe? What exercises can you do? Yes, yes, and yes!
Surprisingly, you can keep them relatively strong even when your baby bump gets bigger. The safest and most effective exercises are core exercises and are for the "core" muscles which include your abdominals, obliques (side abs), and glutes (butt). There are core exercises that are safe and effective for you during each trimester of your pregnancy. My program at www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com has these exercises or if you would like me to send you one please e-mail me at rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com and let me know if you have asked your Health Care Provider if it is safe for you to exercise, whether you are beginner, intermediate, or advanced and which trimester you are in.
Another way to keep your abdominals strong during your pre-natal months is to focus on them even when you aren’t working out. All you need to do is pull your abdominal muscles in and hold them in as tight as you can for 30 to 45 seconds at a time. Be sure that you don’t hold your breath while you are doing this. You can do this when you are sitting at work, laying on your bed at home, or even while you are walking around the grocery store.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Surprisingly, you can keep them relatively strong even when your baby bump gets bigger. The safest and most effective exercises are core exercises and are for the "core" muscles which include your abdominals, obliques (side abs), and glutes (butt). There are core exercises that are safe and effective for you during each trimester of your pregnancy. My program at www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com has these exercises or if you would like me to send you one please e-mail me at rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com and let me know if you have asked your Health Care Provider if it is safe for you to exercise, whether you are beginner, intermediate, or advanced and which trimester you are in.
Another way to keep your abdominals strong during your pre-natal months is to focus on them even when you aren’t working out. All you need to do is pull your abdominal muscles in and hold them in as tight as you can for 30 to 45 seconds at a time. Be sure that you don’t hold your breath while you are doing this. You can do this when you are sitting at work, laying on your bed at home, or even while you are walking around the grocery store.
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Thursday, March 26, 2009
How Exercise Benefits You and Your Baby During Pregnancy
If you ever have trouble getting up the motivation to workout during pregnancy, look at the following list, not only are there multiple benefits for you and your pregnancy, but for your unborn baby as well!
FOR YOU:
1 . reduce constipation & bloating
2 . decrease backaches & swelling
3 . prevent or treat gestational diabetes
4 . sleep better
5 . increase your energy & stamina
6 . improve your mood & alleviate stress
7 . strengthen posture
8 . get back in shape quicker postpart um
9 . promote muscle tone & strength
10. cope with labor pain
11 . improve fitness of heart & lung
FOR YOUR BABY:
1 . born with less body fat , the benefits
of which may extend into adulthood
2 . greater neurodevelopmental scores
in oral language & motor areas *
*tested at age 5
3 . tolerate the stress of delivery better
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
FOR YOU:
1 . reduce constipation & bloating
2 . decrease backaches & swelling
3 . prevent or treat gestational diabetes
4 . sleep better
5 . increase your energy & stamina
6 . improve your mood & alleviate stress
7 . strengthen posture
8 . get back in shape quicker postpart um
9 . promote muscle tone & strength
10. cope with labor pain
11 . improve fitness of heart & lung
FOR YOUR BABY:
1 . born with less body fat , the benefits
of which may extend into adulthood
2 . greater neurodevelopmental scores
in oral language & motor areas *
*tested at age 5
3 . tolerate the stress of delivery better
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
How Cardiovascular Workouts Help Prepare You For Labor!
Remember that labor, with or without drugs is hard and you will need endurance and strength to get through it. The more fit your heart is, the more energy and endurance you’ll have for you and your baby’s big event! So…how do you get a more fit heart?
Cardiovascular fitness, of course! A strong heart is better able to supply your hardworking muscles with freshly oxygenated blood, which keeps them primed for action. And, if you want to go straight to the heart of the issue, women in the real world have testified to the fact that being fit helped them tolerate labor pain better and increased their stamina to endure the whole labor, pain AND pushing!
There is no single way to get in good cardiovascular fitness. There are many ways! Remember to consider your fitness level first and foremost and then the Borg Scaled of Perceived Exertion. You should stay around a 2 to 4 for your cardiovascular work. See box at right for many options. You can also switch it up, walking one day, swimming the next or any combination you want. You should try to get in 2 to 3 days of cardiovascular work depending on how you are feeling!
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
Cardiovascular fitness, of course! A strong heart is better able to supply your hardworking muscles with freshly oxygenated blood, which keeps them primed for action. And, if you want to go straight to the heart of the issue, women in the real world have testified to the fact that being fit helped them tolerate labor pain better and increased their stamina to endure the whole labor, pain AND pushing!
There is no single way to get in good cardiovascular fitness. There are many ways! Remember to consider your fitness level first and foremost and then the Borg Scaled of Perceived Exertion. You should stay around a 2 to 4 for your cardiovascular work. See box at right for many options. You can also switch it up, walking one day, swimming the next or any combination you want. You should try to get in 2 to 3 days of cardiovascular work depending on how you are feeling!
rebecca@fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
www.fitandfabulouspregnancy.com
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