Just because a woman becomes pregnant does not mean that she should totally stop training for nine months. Only in very specific situations, such as a risky pregnancy, the doctor can advise rest, but every female athlete can continue training. For this reason, today we explain the benefits of strength training during pregnancy .
Before, however, we want to clarify that you should not start a sports routine of this type if you have not trained before pregnancy . If this is your case, you can do simple yoga poses or gymnastics exclusively for pregnant women, but we do not recommend strength training.
What are the benefits of strength training during pregnancy?
A woman who is pregnant is often recommended to attend Pilates or yoga classes that focus, among other things, on strengthening the pelvic floor. However, there are studies that have shown that low intensity cardiovascular training is also very beneficial for a pregnant woman and that strength training, if the routine is well studied, can be even more so .
One of the main benefits of strength training is that it strengthens the back , an area of the body that usually suffers a lot during pregnancy and that hurts many women as the baby develops. This is because the increase in the belly, added to the weight gain, makes you adopt a more comfortable but, at the same time, more harmful posture, that of curving the lumbar area.
Like any other strength training, strength training can help a woman not gain excess weight , something that usually happens quite frequently. In addition, sport prepares the body for the moment of childbirth .
Women who have been physically active during pregnancy have also been shown to have shorter deliveries because the dilation phase is shorter.
Tips for Sticking with Strength Training During Pregnancy
During pregnancy it is advisable to have the opinion of the doctor to decide whether or not to continue with a sports training of whatever type. If there is no reason to abandon sports practice, it is best to have the help and supervision of a personal trainer specialized in pregnant women.
If we say this it is because there are personal trainers who do not know all the needs of a pregnant woman, as well as because of the dangers that doing certain movements or exercises can bring.
This personal trainer will have to do a routine adapted to the physical condition of the woman and will have to make variations as her body responds throughout the nine months of pregnancy. This means that a routine that is being followed very well during the first two or three months may be too harsh in the seventh, so you will have to readjust.
What about Kegel exercises?
There is a lot of talk about the importance of Kegel exercises for pregnant women because they strengthen the pelvic floor. We recommend always including them in training, as it can help in childbirth and postpartum.
It is advisable to perform this type of exercise from the second trimester. After giving birth, it is recommended to allow a couple of days to return to them, unless there has been some kind of complication and a few more days of rest and rest are necessary.
Other recommendations
It is very important not to strain your body during a sports routine when you are pregnant. If you don’t get there, nothing happens because the most important thing is to stay active during pregnancy.
It is also very important to maintain a good diet , not only for the correct development of the baby, but also for the health of the mother. We advise having the help and opinion of a nutritionist, who must be aware of the sports activity that is carried out to decide what type of diet to follow that benefits both the mother and the baby.
There are physical activities that are not recommended for a pregnant woman , within these are included all in which the risk of falls or blows in the abdomen area is high. Skiing, karate, polo, martial arts, skating, diving, paddle tennis, boxing or horse riding are not recommended, for example . Nor is it advisable to practice sports for pregnant women with high blood pressure or cardiovascular or thyroid problems or for those who have suffered a previous abortion, have multiple pregnancy, placenta previa or premature rupture of membranes. In any of these cases the doctor should advise that it is better to avoid physical activity.
Now that you know all the benefits of strength training during pregnancy, what do you think about it? Have you continued practicing sports during and after pregnancy or would you? Or are you afraid that it is dangerous for the baby? If you think it is dangerous, we assure you that it is not, as long as you put yourself in the hands of real professionals.
