One question that bothers many women when they are pregnant is what sort of safe pregnancy exercise they can do to stay fit and keep the weight off? Pregnancy is a time of great physical changes to women's bodies...one of the main changes, unfortunately, is weight gain which can be both prenatal and postnatal.
We all know women who started out slim at the onset of pregnancy and, nine months later, had put on more than a few pounds. Even with the best will in the world, doing no exercise while you are pregnant will probably result in unwanted weight gain.
The thing is it just doesn't have to be this way! By setting up a realistic and safe fitness and diet regime at the beginning of your pregnancy you can control your weight throughout your pregnancy. The million dollar question is what sort of exercise during pregnancy can be considered safe?
In this article we will examine the benefits of one of the safest forms of prenatal and postnatal exercise - walking. Believe it or not, this is probably one of the most effective ways of staying slim and fit while pregnant.
Walking during pregnancy is a great way to lose weight and stay fit because it doesn't put much stress on your body or joints. You need to do the following to ensure that you walk your way to fitness:
Walk Regularly
You will get times during your pregnancy when you just don't feel like doing any sort of physical activity. These are the times when you just need to force yourself to develop the habit of going for a regular walk during your pregnancy. Set a time to do it - say 10 o'clock every other morning. You will soon find that you get used to the idea of exercising regularly. In fact, you might even start finding yourself looking forward to it! Walk for 30 minutes to an hour to get some cardiovascular action going.
Do Your Stretches Before You Start Walking
Always make sure that you do your stretches before you start your walk and Immediately after you complete your walk. This is very important during pregnancy as your body secretes hormones that relax your muscles. This is great as the hormones help you to prepare for birth while you are pregnant. The problem is that they make you more prone to injury during pregnancy so make sure that you complete those stretches!
Things To Avoid
Firstly,it is important that you see your doctor before commencing any sort of pregnancy exercise, safe or not. Secondly, you should never walk to the point where you are out of breath or tired. The aim is to have regular relaxed walks over a reasonable period of time. Keep the pace steady and do not starve yourself of oxygen as this may affect your baby. Needless to say, if you experience any heart or chest pains, muscle pains or dizziness stop straight away and see your doctor.
Thinking about getting out and walking as a form of exercise? Walking is one of the most relaxing forms of low-impact exercises that brings us not only good health, but also time to socialize with the neighbors or simply spend some quality "alone time." But as with all effective endeavors, walking is more useful when it's done as part of a meaningful program. This doesn't suggest that walking can't be fun. We simply believe that you would enjoy your plight and reap the benefits of walking more if it were a path toward some sort of goal.
What kind of goal?
Aside from the obvious benefits like exercising or socializing with other walkers, how about the goal of simply feeling good? We bet you can recall a time in your childhood when walking or running made you feel just fantastic. As a child, walking might have made you feel 'free' or maybe it gave you an exclusive claim to be a happy-go-lucky kid. We'll even bet you can remember when you had not a care in the world except getting home from walking in time for supper or your favorite television show. And if you took your shoes off, you might have taken a private delight in the way the grass or sand felt on your bare feet as you stretched your legs in proud, feel-good strides.
As an adult, we often feel these days are gone and reserved for the next generation, but it doesn't have to be. You too, can relive those happy feelings you had as a carefree child by simply walking and enjoying the tingling feelings that your body sends you - it just feels plain GOOD to be enjoying life actively! Few things can beat a stroll down the beach or through the woods.
Both Paul Kay & Gabriel Adams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Paul Kay has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pregnancy Problems. There you have it - now you can walk your way to safe pregnancy fitness and keep the weight off during your pregnancy! For more useful pregnancy exercise tips plea. Paul Kay's top article generates over 480 views. Bookmark Paul Kay to your Favourites.