Training When Pregnant | Important Things To Avoid

Content Executive2 years ago

Training while pregnant can be difficult to navigate. While expectant mothers should not be expected to give up an active lifestyle, there are a few exercises best avoided.

Luckily, PTs Sim and Kay are on hand to guide mindful mums-to-be through the dos and don'ts of training when expecting. They’re both pre and post-natal trained, as well as pregnant themselves, so know a thing or two about the topic.

As ever, it’s always recommended that you speak to your doctor of midwife to receive the all-clear to carry on with any form of training when pregnant.

Unless you’ve been advised against it by a medical professional, it is safe to exercise during pregnancy. Having said that, it’s better to stick to roughly the same training programme you followed before finding out you were pregnant. For example, if you didn’t go to spin class before pregnancy, now’s probably not the best time to start.

If you didn’t exercise before pregnancy but want to start, it should still be safe to do so, but get some guidance first.

Some exercises to avoid

Don't exercise in a supine position

In other words, don’t complete any exercises while lying on your back. This can suppress the vein that carries oxygen to the baby.

Avoid forcibly exhaling with your mouth shut

This is common during heavy weightlifting. Exerting yourself in this way should be avoided because it puts pressure on the abdominal area and could increase blood pressure.

Adapt your calorie intake

Be mindful of how many calories you’re burning through exercise, ensuring you’re still eating plenty to account for the baby. You should increase your calorie consumption as you train and throughout the three trimesters.

Other considerations

Avoid exercising in the heat
Avoid contact sports (eg football, rugby and martial arts)

Take Home Message

And remember, exercise during your pregnancy should be fun and enjoyable. Pregnancy is an incredibly special time in your life, so don’t feel any pressure to push yourself if you don’t want to. Do what makes you feel good, and take the opportunity to connect with your growing baby — that’s the most important thing.

Emily Wilcock

Content Executive

After completing an internship with Myprotein, Emily returned to university to finish her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing. With experience in lifestyle writing, Emily aims to entertain and educate through her work. Her focuses include recipes, real and inspiring stories, and working with writers to help provide easy-to-digest evidence-based research. Her work on recipes has been previously featured in The Supplement magazine, with a particular focus on high-protein, nutritious meals, plus advice on how to properly fuel your body. Outside of work, Emily’s top priority is food. She’s a self-professed star baker and a connoisseur of all things baked. In her spare time, she’s either cooking up a storm, our looking out for the opportunity to try out Manchester’s newest restaurants. But as a huge fan of carbs, if it’s not pasta or pasta-adjacent, she’s not interested. If she’s not in the kitchen, she’s tucked up with a book for an early night, or you’ll find her in the gym working up a sweat. Afterall, all those carbs require quite the appetite.