Archive for the ‘Pregnancy’ Category
Fit for birth
In honor of my pre-natal class moms and the handful of girlfriends I have that are prego at the moment, I wanted to share some insightful stuff for you to chew on while you’re awaiting that precious little bundle of yours! If you’re due any minute now, don’t think that you won’t benefit from this info. Being fit and/or becoming fit during the post-natal period is just as crucial, for different reasons, but it is important. So are you ready? Let’s go! 
Let me start by saying that being physically “fit” is not all about having cut up biceps and a six pack! Always a very nice bonus, but it doesn’t define one being fit. By the same token, different people define being physically fit in different ways. I think it’s important to make note of that! As Dr. Nicholas Romanov puts it,
“The word “FIT” can be summed up along the lines of being “suited to the circumstances”, “meeting adequate standards for a purpose”, “physically and mentally sound and healthy”, “in harmony with”.
So lets stick to “fit” for birth. I’d like to assume that most women, all access barriers aside, receive pre-natal care. It’s of the utmost importance. So assuming that you have been/are/are going to receive your prenatal vitamins, I congratulate you! The nutrients and minerals that you need when you are pregnant are not that different from when you’re not. However, if you are low on any, your prenatal vitamins will help you get and stay on track for you AND that extra bundle that you’re a life line to.
There is tons of information just on pregnancy and nutrition alone, and I’d be more than happy to talk one on one with you if you so choose to get more info. Just send me an email and I’ll get back to you. But what I want to focus on is being physically fit during pregnancy because our bodies go through so much change and trauma at the end of it. Being fit can in fact make labor and delivery go much smoother than you think! Not to mention all the benefits you’ll receive from being active. Physical activity is any form of exercise or movement of the body that uses energy. Straight from the March of Dimes website, regular physical activity can:
- Improve a person’s mood
- Reduce feelings of depression
- Help with managing stress
- Help with managing weight
- Help with sleeping better
- Increase energy throughout the day
Start smart by doing an activity that you enjoy. There’s not a better activity to do than one that you really like doing. If you haven’t been previously active, then start slow. If you can, try to be active at least 4x per week for about 30 minutes, and of course rest when you need to. ALWAYS bring water with you to stay hydrated and wear comfortable clothing and good shoes. Anything from washing a car, to working in a garden to dancing is game. Of the more common ways to be and stay active, walking, biking and/or jogging at slower pace are all great exercises. Swimming happpens to be a favorite because of the buoyancy the water offers. It’s also great to relieve stress from your joints from the extra weight you are carrying. 
Achieving fitness before, during and after your pregnancy helps you to relieve the typical aches & pains of pregnancy, improves your posture, and strengthens and stretches your muscles. A nice perk (and hopefully an obvious one) is that it helps to control excess weight gain. This is very common in first time pregnancies because the thought of “eating for two” is misinterpreted. Yes, you are eating for two, but there are guidelines to this. (E-mail me :)
During labor and childbirth, unless you are a lucky lady who will go with perhaps one contraction, have the kid in less than 10 minutes with barley any pain and be the envy of all moms, you will need to dig deep for strength, stamina, and endurance, all of which will increase with physical exercise. Your recovery from the event will also be speedier than if you had not been exercising at all.
Strength training (my personal favorite) is by no means off the playing field! But you must be careful of certain exercises during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. You want to try to avoid heavy pushing using your lower body, such as in squats for example. Rather than doing squats with weights on a machine, consider doing them on a stability ball. 
As shown here, you can use the ball for balance to squat. You can go as low as you can and as you stand up, bring the ball back up with you, giving you a little bit of a workout for your arms as well :) Compound movements are great because they allow you to workout a few muscle groups at thee same time all within one exercise. So weight training is great about 3x per week. Keep things light and it’s preferable to use machines during this point. The reason for this is because when we are pregnant, our balance is not the greatest. So using machines not only helps maintain our balance while performing the exercise, but it also helps to keep proper form during the movement.
Both cardio exercise and weight training is very important for a healthy body. If you’ve started a routine for yourself, that’s awesome! If you haven’t, I strongly suggest that you start not only for your health, but for that of you bebe too.
Remember to drink plenty of water, take your prenatal vitamins, no alcohol, no smoking, get rest when you can, and get ready because before you know it, you’ll be fit for birth!! 
