As a mother, it is a prime concern of yours to make sure your child is happy and healthy. However, it is important to remember that while you’re pregnant, keeping yourself active is just as important as taking that prenatal vitamin everyday.
That being said, some moms-to-be often have reservations about working out when expecting. But that doesn’t need to be the case. Here are 10 excellent workouts that are great for mommy and baby.
1. Swimming
Swimming is a fabulous workout for everyone, but it’s an especially great workout for pregnant women. Swimming allows you to keep pressure off of sore joints, alleviates the strain of running with a belly, and is an excellent source of cardio.
2. Dancing
That’s right! You can get your groove on to some Baby Mozart. Dancing is both fun and easy. You can dance at your own pace, have fun, and get your partner involved. This is also a great workout for cardio, and is easy on aching joints and a pregnant belly.
3. Yoga
Being pregnant is stressful, whether you’re a first time mom, or have some kiddo’s running around, having a bun in the oven can get tough. Yoga not only is a fabulous low impact workout for your body, but it’s great for your mind too. So go out get some mommy/baby zen time!
4. Stretching
Just like Yoga, stretching is very low impact and a great way to relax. Plus, pregnancy is notorious for being hard on your muscles. Keeping them warm and loose is a great way to stay active and to help get over those pesky muscle ache side effects of pregnancy.
5. Plie’s
Channel your inner ballerina with this fun exercise. Hold on to a chair and spread your feet about shoulder width apart with your toes pointing outwards. From there squat down, keeping pressure on your heels, until you reach a 90 degree angle and come back up. If a 90 degree angle is too deep for you, that’s okay! Do what feels comfortable. This is a great workout to build strength without using weights. A full plie tutorial is available here.
6. Planks
Beat the post baby belly before it comes. Planks are a modifiable exercise that tones your arms, shoulders, back, and abs. This is another exercise to do to build strength without using weights.
7. Tailor Sitting
This is a bit complicated, BUT it’s not only fabulous for you during pregnancy, it also helps prepare your body for the day you bring that baby into the world. Essentially, this is just the butterfly stretch while pressing down lightly on your knees with your elbows. Check out Mayo Clinic’s (much better) description of the exercise here.
8. Stationary Cycling
Take pressure off your feet with this great cardio workout. Keep your legs healthy and strong without the pressure of running. Plus, the handlebars can be raised up as your belly gets bigger to keep you comfortable as you peddle.
9. Pilates
Toning that tummy and keeping that lower back strong are excellent things to keep in mind. The stronger your back and stomach are, the easier it can be to endure labor. Plus, pilates is fun! See when Elite has pilates by checking out the class calendar on our website.
10. Walking
Going for a walk once a day keeps you fit and loose. It’s just a little dose of cardio that is still good on the knees, feet, and back. This can also be done anywhere, anytime.
So enjoy some quality time with your baby belly and get some good exercise in!
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