Many mothers ask themselves the question to what extent their pregnancy limits their physical abilities or makes them less resilient. In general, it can be said that pregnancy is not an illness that condemns you to bed rest and rest. On the contrary, a healthy amount of exercise and sport during pregnancy is good for the body and mind of an expectant mother. From today’s perspective, sport during pregnancy is considered healthy and beneficial to maternal and child well-being. Studies even prove the preventive effect with regard to typical pregnancy complaints, such as water retention during pregnancy.
When should I start with the abdominal muscle training?
Especially exercises for the muscles of the lower back (see: Back training during pregnancy) and the abdomen strengthen the back and thus also ensure a healthy posture during pregnancy. In addition, abdominal muscle training is recommended to prevent umbilical hernia, which is a common occurrence during pregnancy because the pressure in the abdominal cavity increases. However, the training of the abdominal muscles is subject to a few special rules.
When training for the first time during pregnancy, a doctor should be consulted beforehand and the exercises should only be performed under the supervision of a specialist. During the first twenty weeks of pregnancy, abdominal training is possible without any problems. The straight abdominal muscles can be trained in the same way as the oblique abdominal muscles. However, the load should only be chosen high enough to make you feel comfortable. .
Sports
In general, during pregnancy, any sport should be done in moderation and not be too strenuous. It is important not to overstrain yourself during training and to always feel good. It is also important to warm up sufficiently before each training session.
In general, you should continue with your previous sport and, if necessary, adjust the intensity, duration and frequency to the pregnancy. It makes sense to individually reduce the intensity of stress during pregnancy – if you were a passionate long-distance runner before, for example, you don’t have to shorten the distance overnight. Personal risk factors should always be weighed individually.
Ask your doctor for advice on whether and how much sport you should do during your pregnancy. Especially when jogging, a rough guideline is to avoid pulses above 140/min and to choose a pace that allows you to talk while you are running. So as long as jogging is not perceived as too strenuous or the abdominal girth begins to interfere, there are basically no limits to the runners.
Visiting the gym is also still possible. However, in this case the lifting of weights should be avoided and rather a cardio or gymnastics program should be chosen. Depending on the courses on offer, there are various sports such as dance, gymnastics, yoga and Pilates at different levels, which can be attended according to individual assessment.
If you have not been very active in sports so far and would like to change this at the time of pregnancy, we recommend sports such as Nordic walking, cycling, swimming, gymnastics, Pilates or generally aerobic exercises and stretching. Generally unsuitable are sports activities with high loads, many jumping elements and a high risk of injury. Classical high-risk sports such as parachuting, technical diving etc. should be avoided.
