I am in my 14th week of pregnancy! This will be my 5th child. With my other 4 children, I didn't exercise at all. I began to exercise in between my children, but could never maintain it during pregnancy. There was just something about jogging and nausea that I just could not do! I am determined with this pregnancy to exercise at least 3-4 days a week for the entire duration. Getting through the first trimester was incredibly difficult, but I did it! Now as I enter my second trimester, I am concerned about what kinds of exercises are safe for me.
I love to body build! It is basically a glorified way of saying, I love to lift weights. I love to lift heavy, but I was concerned going into this pregnancy if I could continue to do this. At my 10 week appointment I asked my doctor if I could continue to lift and she said YES! I have been lifting heavy for about 18 months. The first six months of my lifting was with a wonderful trainer, Melanie. She taught me a great deal. Since then, she and I have become lifting partners and again I have continued to learn from her. She is a wonderful teacher and wonderful friend. Hopefully you will hear from her on this blog! I have been exercising pretty hard core for about 4 years (after the birth of my 4th baby) doing mostly cardio. As I have been studying what is okay and what isn't okay at each stage of pregnancy, I have found some very useful info, that I hope will help you, if you are expecting and wondering what is okay and what isn't when it comes to keeping those tummy muscles tight.
Your abdominal's are one of the most important muscles in your body because it supports your back, and as many of you may know, that is the one thing that may bother you the most. Most activity requires the use of your abdominal's or what is refered to as your "core". So, it is important that we keep them strong. During pregnancy, as your abdominal's are stretched, especially in your second and third trimesters, you run the risk of having your abdominal muscles separate. I found a wonderful website that explains what your normal abdominal's muscles look like (normal recti) and how they can look if you put too much pressure on your abdominal's (diastasis recti). Also remember if you have not completely recovered postpartum, then you will also run the risk of diastasis recti.
So, what is safe and what isn't? One very important rule to remember is to avoid any exercise that involves you laying flat on your back for more than three minutes. Especially in your third trimester, it might be best to avoid lying on your back at all when working your "core". I did ask my OB about lying on my back when doing the bench press and she said as long as I put my feet up on the bench and I am comfortable, then I should be okay, even possibly through my third trimester. When bench pressing, you lift that bar between 8-15 reps and really are only on your back for about a minute or less. Abdominal's on your back are usually different, in that you are on your back for a longer amount of time and reps range much higher, say between 25 to 50 reps, and in your third trimester, this is just too long. Already, I've found that most abdominal's that involve me doing any kind of leg lifts or lying flat on my back doing a crunch is uncomfortable. Here are a list of a few exercises that I've found feel great and are safe to do throughout your pregnancy as well as postpartum.
Exercise Ball
Lying on your back at an angle, versus flat on an exercise ball, gives you a great deal of support. This can be done throughout your second trimester with very small crunch like movements. As with any abdominal exercise, the exercise is as useful as you make it. It doesn't have to be a large movement, only small movements concentrating on that area will prove most effective. This is probably going to be uncomfortable in your third trimester as it again is still on your back for an extended period of time, even at an angle...better to be safe than sorry.
Obliques
Again, lying on your back at an angle, instead of doing a straight crunch, try lying still...arms out and hands together (at eye level) and moving your hands side to side, so that you are looking to the side. Do this slowly and remember to breathe! (I will try to add a picture of this...stay tuned)
Side Bends
Standing straight and tall, holding a weight in each hand, I like to go heavy (35 lbs) but you could start lighter (15 lbs at least), bend from side to side, SLOWLY. Make sure that your hand (not the weight itself, especially if you are using a plate) goes as far down as your mid-thigh to right above your knee. This will work your side (oblique) muscles. Remember to concentrate on each side, contracting those tummy muscles and holding them tight and you should feel this muscles working. If you are not, you probably do not have enough weight or you are not go as far down as you should on each side. Again...I will try and post some pictures this next week.
This exercise is one of my favorites!
Pelvic Rocking
On your hands and knees, concentrate on your tummy and keep it tight as you bring your head in and roll your back up. Hold it and count to 5 slowly. As you breathe out, bring your head up and arch your back. This is a wonderful exercise to do, especially late in your pregnancy, taking pressure off of your back.
Below are some of the sites where I got my information. They also give their own descriptions of these exercises and well as a few pics. I hope that this helps! Remember, that these are great even when you are not pregnant! In the future I will also post some awesome tummy exercises I've learned that you can do when NOT pregnant! Stay tuned!
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/exercise/abs.html
http://www.iloveindia.com/fitness/pregnancy/pregnancy-abs-exercises.html
http://www.progressiveparent.com/Pregnancy_postnatal_exercise/pregnancy-exercise-abs.htm (this site has a few exercises I did not mention above)
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