Exercising during pregnancy

Just because you have become pregnant, it doesn't mean you have to stop exercise. Exercise is actually encouraged during pregnancy to help prepare your body for the rigors of labor and delivery. There are a couple of rules that need to be adhered to for pregnancy exercise.  Number one is that if you have never worked out or exercised regularly before becoming pregnant, it is not the time to start intense exercise training sessions.  On the other hand, if you are hitting the weights at the gym, running on the track or on the bike or in the pool with intense workouts prior to becoming pregnant you can more than likely continue what you have been doing as long as your Obstetrician gives you the healthy ok.  For non-exercisers, it is best to start your pregnancy exercise with low impact, easy to moderate exercises like walking, stretching and light high rep resistance training (using bands, dumbells or weight machines).  Swimming is an ideal pregnancy workout as is water aerobics due the non-weight bearing effect on the body. Eliptical trainers at the gym are also very good as the impact is low.

Visting the chiropractor, while healthy and symptom free every 2 weeks durring your pregnancy is a great way to keep you muscular system in balance with a properly aligned pelvis and prepare your body for delivery. 

Author

Dr J. Zimmerman, Chiropractor Dr. Zimmerman is a practicing chiropractor from Galloway, NJ with 30 years of chiropractic practice.