First trimester pregnancy workouts are important especially if you must stay fit during the early days of your pregnancy. Thus, pregnancy workouts for first trimester are really essential.
One of the best things you can do for yourself and your baby is staying healthy and fit when you’re pregnant. Getting up and moving around will often help you feel better even if you have morning sickness or other discomforts of early pregnancy. However, you should rest when you need to rest.
Furthermore, exercise will help you control weight gain, prepare you for bearing more weight, and get you in shape for childbirth. Also, it’s very good for mood and sleeping too.
Related: Concealed Facts You Didn’t Know About Pregnancy Workouts
Again, you probably aren’t noticing many major bodily changes yet, other than feeling like you need a little more rest. Paying attention to the new limits on your energy and avoiding falls are the most important rules for a first trimester pregnancy workout. Make sure your doctor is aware of what exercise you’re doing, and talk to them about anything new you start.
The first trimester is a good time to add a low-impact exercise that you’ll be able to do as your pregnancy progresses. For example, if you run for exercise three times a week now, replace one session of water exercise with one weekly run during your first trimester. By doing so, you’ll have a head start on water workouts if and when you give up running.
Related: The Very Best Pregnancy Workouts You Definitely Never Knew!!!
Table of Contents
First Trimester Pregnancy Workouts
If you weren’t exercising regularly before you got pregnant, now is the time to begin a habit that could serve you for a lifetime. Start with a low level of exertion and work up to 30 minutes daily, 3 to 5 times weekly. Work with a trainer who is an expert in working out during pregnancy if possible.
Also, don’t forget to enjoy yourself. If you are not cut out for going to the gym, don’t beat yourself up about it. You can go dancing with friends or splash around in the pool. It is better to carry out seemingly small exercises than doing none at all.
Below are some pregnancy workouts for first trimester:
Pilates
Balance and lower back pain are two of the challenges you’ll experience during pregnancy and Pilates can help you address this! Thus, you can add them to pregnancy workouts for first trimester.
Furthermore, pilates build core muscles through a series of equipment and floor exercises. Your first sessions should focus on building strength, Then, your later sessions challenge that strength and your balance.
Additionally, stay away from poses where you lie on your back as well as any twisting of your midsection. Don’t overexert yourself during pilates or other belly-focused exercises. This could cause diastasis recti, a condition in which the parallel panels of your abdominal muscles separate temporarily.
Finally, how much of Pilates should you do? A prenatal Pilates workout once every week will help you build strength and balance.
Yoga
One of the best exercises you can do for yourself during pregnancy and for the rest of your life is Yoga. It builds strength and balance, keeps muscles limber, reduces your blood pressure, and teaches you breathing rhythms that will help during the delivery of your baby. Even long after childbirth, as you enter menopause, yoga can help prevent osteoporosis by building bone mineral density. Thus, it’s perfect for pregnancy workouts for first trimester.
Furthermore, if you already practice yoga and your pregnancy routine is comfortable in your new condition, you can add it to your first trimester pregnancy workout.
Again, you should avoid:
- backbends
- poses that twist the abdomen
- positions like headstands where your feet are over your head
- lying on your back
- Bikram or “hot” yoga
Walking
Swimming and Water Aerobics
This one of the best exercises anyone can add to their first trimester pregnancy workouts or pregnancy workouts in general. The pool is your friend during pregnancy because the water is soothing, the exercise is low-impact, and you won’t fall over. There are helpful series of prenatal exercises that focus on building core strength you can engage in.
Furthermore, if you’re already engaged in water exercise, there’s no need to change your routine. Just like all exercises, avoid twisting your middle too much and pay attention to your energy limits. Also, if you get tired, it’s not time to push yourself, it’s time to get out of the pool.
Additionally, if you’re starting water exercise during pregnancy, ask about safe routines from a swim coach or trainer at your pool.
Finally, engage in this first trimester pregnancy workout 3 to 5 times every week, 30 minutes at a time.
Running
To begin with, if you’ve never been a runner, you may want to consider other pregnancy exercises. It’s highly unlikely that running in your first trimester will cause a pregnancy problem. However, you will need to give it up in the next several months eventually, and there are lots of other ways to get a healthy workout. However, running is still a good addition to pregnancy workouts for first trimester, make sure you are extra careful though.
Furthermore, you can probably continue to follow your safe running routine in your first trimester if you were a runner before pregnancy. These same cautions apply to falls and energy. Try to run on only flat tracks or a treadmill with safety bars to prevent falls. Again, stop when you’re tired, not after because now is not the time to push yourself.
Additionally, if your pre-pregnancy routine still feels good, keep it up. Aim for 30 minutes of running at least 3 days per week.
Weight Training
What weight training does is to help you build strength throughout your body. This prepares you for carrying more pregnancy weight and to help you during delivery. Thus, it is a very good addition to your first trimester pregnancy workouts.
Furthermore, you can lift free weights and work out on weight machines at a gym. Stay away from any maneuvers that hold weights over your belly and that have you lying on your back. Again, take care not to strain your breathing and work with a trainer on a prenatal routine.
Shop for free weights
According to a study in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, low to moderate intensity strength training twice weekly is safe and helpful for pregnancy.
Stationary Bike and Spin Class
Stationary Bike and Spin Classes are a really good addition to pregnancy workouts for first trimester. The problem during pregnancy is not getting on a bike, it’s falling off. Or, in the case of riding a bike on the streets, having an accident is a risk. Thus, stationary bikes and spin class are good options during your first trimester. This is because both are low-impact and get your heart moving without the dangers of the road.
Furthermore, be careful not to fall prey to the competitive atmosphere of some spin classes. Always go at a pace that feels right for your body.
Again, late in your first trimester, you might notice your center of gravity changing. Whether you’re on a stationary bike or spinning, ensure that the height of your handlebars is properly supporting your back, and adjust it if you need to.
Additionally, try 2 or 3 sessions on a bike or spin class every week in sessions of 30 minutes to an hour.
Conclusion
You probably don’t look pregnant in your first trimester yet. Thus, make sure your exercise coaches and workout buddies know that you’re expecting.
It can help to do warm ups before a workout. Five minutes of stretching before you begin your first trimester pregnancy workouts will help your muscles prepare for exertion.
Also, you should do a cool down. Switch to slower exercise and stretch any tight muscles during the last five minutes.
Furthermore, take a break from first trimester pregnancy workouts if you:
- feel nauseated
- get too hot
- feel dehydrated
- experience any bleeding, vaginal discharge, or abdominal or pelvic pain
Take a lot of water regularly during pregnancy, whether you’re exercising or not. Eat quality snacks after you finish exercising.
Additionally, there is no recommendation for the ideal heart rate during first trimester pregnancy workouts. However, a good rule of thumb is that you should work at a pace where you’d able to carry on a normal conversation.
Finally, pregnancy workouts for first trimester are very important to any expectant mother especially because it’s the best time to begin to exercise. This is largely because at this time you’ll be able to have an idea of what works for you especially if you weren’t into workouts before.
Discussion about this post