Tag: prevent water retention

Pregnancy Cardio Workout at Home

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If you are pregnant, and looking for a good cardio or body weight strength training workout do to at home, here are some ideas and exercise videos to help you on your way. I was able to maintain a fit pregnancy by doing these same workouts in combination with a running (or walking) program. It is extremely important to continue exercising throughout pregnancy to help reduce water retention (especially in the third trimester), excess pregnancy weight gain, moodiness, fatigue, nasuea, and many other common pregnancy symptoms. Always check with your physician before starting an exercise program during pregnancy.

Pregnacy Exercises: Fit Pregnancy Total Body Workout DVD

Introducing my Pregnancy Exercises: Fit Pregnancy Total Body Workout DVD. If you are looking for a prenatal workout to do through all three trimesters of pregnancy, during your pre-pregnancy fitness plan, and for post-delivery recovery, look no further.

For a very limited time, I am accepting pre-orders for the Pregnancy Exercises: Fit Pregnancy Total Body Workout DVD with an added incentive of no shipping and handling fees!

Ab and Core Exercises During Pregnancy

It is important to continue stimulating your ab and core muscles during pregnancy. It will help with labor and delivery and will speed up recovery. After the first trimester, it is best not to do ab exercises on your back (and risk cutting off the oxygen supply to the baby).

Try these ab and core exercises after warming up properly. Continue breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Get Toned, Sexy Arms, Even During Pregnancy

Do you want toned, sexy arms during pregnancy and beyond? Are you worried that heavy lifting will be unsafe during pregnancy or make your arms look bulky and masculine? Here is a great circuit to get strong, sexy, feminine arms. Do this 5 minute circuit a few times a week in combination with cardio and strength training exercises during pregnancy.

Pregnancy Cardio Circuit for a Workout at Home

Try this tough core and cardio 5 minute workout during pregnancy. I picked one with less jumping and bouncing. 🙂 The relaxin hormone can make it hard to continue lunge jumps and plyometrics. I had to scale back a bit on my plyos in the third trimester of pregnancy because my pelvis tended to get sore.

With this pregnancy cardio circuit, you will stimulate your back, abdominal, arm, and leg muscles without even leaving the ground! This quick circuit will get your heart rate up to fat burning and cardio zone, while strengthening and toning your core! It’s a tough workout, but worth the results!

Check back for more at home pregnancy cardio workouts to be posted soon! Continuing to exercise throughout pregnancy is safe and so important. Maintaining a fit pregnancy will help you in labor and delivery and to speed up recovery. Join our community or like us on Facebook to receive daily pregnancy fitness and nutrition tips! Best wishes.

How Much Weight Should I Gain During Pregnancy? 1 lb Per Week?

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How much weight should I gain during pregnancy? 1 pound per week? 25-40 pounds over the entire pregnancy? Is is possible to control the weight gain? These questions were on my mind throughout much of my pregnancy.

How much weight should you gain during pregnancy?

It didn’t take me too long into my pregnancy to realize that my doctor’s instructions to gain 1 lb per week was baloney. Before pregnancy, I was very fit and maintained a healthy BMI (body mass index). However, I was concerned about gaining too much or too little weight. My doctor prescribed the magic 1 lb per week weight gain. So, I bought myself a scale. I had never owned a scale before!  Prior to pregnancy, I preferred to weigh myself in the gym on occasion, just to make sure I was maintaining my weight. I even recommend to my clients that they only weight themselves one time per week at most – just to make sure they don’t become obsessed with the numbers. But this was different – right? This is pregnancy weight gain and it’s important to get on the scale every day and make sure you aren’t gaining too much or too little – right? 1 lb per week – right? WRONG!

I learned, after many weeks of frustration, ups and downs, and obsession over numbers, that my body is going to do what it needs to do to make a baby.  There were weeks that I gained 3 lbs, and there were weeks that I gained no weight at all. Between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy – I swear I gained 10 lbs – but that was what my body needed to do. These particular weeks I was also famished and it felt like I was filling a black hole when I ate. I absolutely could not get full- but again, my baby was growing, my belly was growing, and my body needed fuel to function properly.

I tried to find articles about the fluctuation in weight gain that I was experiencing, but I could not find a single thing. I called and talked with 3 different male doctors at my OB/GYN, and they all said the same thing- just gain 1 lb per week. Well, I have news for all of these male doctors in their 50’s – 1 lb per week is not a reality – maybe it is for the perfect celebrity pregnant person from the perfect sitcom – but not for me, and not for a lot of women I know. The important thing is that you are living healthy, feeling healthy, and giving your body what it needs to make that baby to the best of its ability!

Pay attention to how you look and feel. Are you seeing weight gain on your arms or legs – or just your stomach? If you’re eating healthy and maintaining an exercise program, you will likely see the pregnancy weight gain only around your mid-section up until the end of your pregnancy!

At the end of my pregnancy, I had gained 28 lbs total. Considering the fact that pregnancy is 40 weeks, I certainly gained less than 1 lb per week. I felt great and took the weight off within days. Focus on what is important. Prioritize health for you and your baby, and the pregnancy weight gain will take care of itself. Next time around, I will not keep a scale at the house!