Pregnancy Workout Safety

With my first baby, I was so terrified I was going to harm my unborn baby by working out. How silly I was! It is so important for you, for baby, your labor AND your postpartum recovery!

With baby #2 on the way, I knew I wanted to continue my fitness journey. With me being in my second trimester though, it is important to be cautious and know my limitations, specifically because I love to weightlift. These are some simple rules and precautions I take while lifting.

1. Be careful with your workouts. It is much easier for you to get injured due to all the relaxin from pregnancy. Pregnancy is not the time to push yourself to your limits.

2. Be realistic. I like to run and in fact just completed a 7.8 mile trail race while 10 weeks pregnant. I never would have done that had I not trained nor knew what to expect. I am also not going to sign up for any marathons anytime soon as I have never trained for one. 😉

3. Don’t lift while lying flat on your back. This was a rough one for me. I thought “well there goes by biceps routine” but there are so many other things you can do. Think incline bench as opposed to flat bench. Simple modifications are all you need!

4. Be aware. Watch your weights and watch others. This simply is so you don’t get injured by falling or getting hit by a weight.

5. Watch your breathing. My rule of thumb: I should always be able to have a conversation. If I am too out of breath to speak, I need to focus on taking in oxygen.

6. Stay hydrated. This one is plain and simple. This is important whether you are working out or not.

7. Lighter weights, more reps. This goes back to the relaxin. I would much rather do 20 reps where I have control of both my body and weights as opposed to doing 10 really heavy sets that overload my body. Careless mistakes here can really injure you. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I tend to gravitate more towards the fixed weight machines as there is less room for error there. The stationary helps ensure you are lifting correctly whereas the free weights give you more free reign that could result in injury.

8. ALWAYS consult your doctor first. I am just a momma like you, not a medical professional nor a personal trainer. I am just sharing some rules I follow personally after reading many fitness journals and blogs. 🙃

Following these guidelines, I intend to workout all the way to the very end (whether its 40 weeks or 41 weeks like my first🤣). I have learned that by following some safety measures I can have a fit pregnancy!

Here is to 26 more weeks of fitness!💕