It is so easy during pregnancy to eat what we want, and as we get bigger our energy is slowly zapped by our growing baby, so it is no wonder that many of us look at our bodies after the baby comes and wonder "what happened?" If you want to avoid this during your pregnancy then you will need to stay active.
Consider the following tips for pregnancy fitness, and try to keep them in mind as your belly grows bigger.
Stick with what you know, if you were a runner before you became pregnant, then with your doctor's approval you can continue.
You may have to reduce the intensity and distance of your runs, but you can keep going as long as you feel comfortable and your pregnancy is progressing normally.
Start slowly, for those who did not exercise regularly before, easing into an exercise routine is one of the most important pregnancy fitness tips to prevent muscle strain.
Start with a 5-10 minute workout and then gradually increase the length of workouts by 5 minutes until you get up to 30 minutes.
Stay safe, avoid activities where you could fall, as it is easy to do as your joints loosen and your center of gravity changes.
This means no skiing, bike riding (unless stationary) or even step aerobics.
Ensure that you are not overexerting yourself, you should be able to carry on a normal conversation, if not you are working yourself too hard.
Hit the pool - one of the best pregnancy fitness exercises is to get wet with an aqua-aerobic program or just swimming some laps.
While you may not like picturing yourself with a huge belly in a bathing suit, if you want to stay fit you may just have to grin and bear it.
Swimming is easy on the pregnant body as you are more weightless in the water.
Not only is it a great cardio workout but swimming also targets all the major muscle groups so you get an all over workout.