Pregnancy column: How much exercise is still healthy in the first trimester
Many believe that they should or must completely refrain from exercise from the beginning of pregnancy. A fallacy: Right now, sport is good – even if you were already active in sports before and observe important rules. The actress, mom and inventor of a workout app for pregnant women and mothers, Birte Glang, shares her knowledge and experiences on the first trimester.
Everyone experiences the onset of pregnancy differently. While some have been “working” for a long time and notice on the first day of the suspended period that they could possibly be pregnant, others only notice it after many weeks.
I belonged to the latter group, although all signs were PREGNANT.
First signs of pregnancy
My breasts swelled, suddenly some bacon accumulated around the navel, which was not there before. Nausea was added, which always set in around 3 p.m. and then remained continuously until bedtime.
I also developed a rejection of foods I had loved before: for example, I love a certain drink after the workouts, but suddenly I couldn’t stand the smell alone.
In the evening suddenly came this uncanny desire for a hot cocoa! I didn’t know that at all. And then there were these “stomach aches”: Suddenly I had the permanent feeling of having stomach problems.
Sport against sleepless nights
And the night? It ended at 2 o’clock in the morning. I tried everything: meditation, soothing music, getting up and walking around, drinking tea, but the body didn’t want to get tired anymore.
It is said that the body already adjusts during pregnancy to the fact that it will get less sleep once the child is there. In any case, I find this quite impractical! It would make more sense to “prefuel” a lot of sleep hours – which of course does not work in reality.
In the morning I was tired and tired. The only thing that really helped was to get the circulation going through light sports sessions. And lo and behold: I finally felt better.
My sports program and the reactions of my environment
For the time being, I continued to Tae Bo, didhigh intensity interval training, strength training and went jogging. But it didn’t take long and I became completely unsettled by coaches, doctors, other pregnant women and my own husband, who questioned my sports program: Isn’t sport irresponsible when you’re pregnant?
- “You are not only putting yourself in danger, but also your unborn child!”
- “Your pulse rate shouldn’t be higher than 140.”
- “With Tae Bo, you absolutely have to avoid twisting in the upper body.”
- “Your body is busy with other things, don’t strain it even more with sports!”
These were just a few of the well-intentioned advice to clear accusations. It has to be said that I am not an extreme athlete. Sport yes, regularly, but moderately, then I’m fine.
Myths about sports during pregnancy
Actually, it should be clear to everyone nowadays thatsport does not hurt during pregnancy– on the contrary! But why do the myths about the right form of exercise in pregnancy persist so vehemently? And why is sport during pregnancy limited tolight yoga exercisesand gymnastics?
One thing is certain: An adapted training helps your body to cope better with the changes. You can prevent “side effects” such asback pain, gestational diabetes and so on and best of all, your unborn child trains with you! The two of you are preparing for the birth marathon together! Yes, I deliberately say marathon because the body is required to perform at its best.
It is not for nothing that many midwives and sporty mothers recommend that you should take isotonic drinks with you to the courtroom. But every reasonable person prepares accordingly for a marathon and that’s exactly why expectant mothers should take this to heart. And not only with the birth preparation course.
Exercising in Pregnancy: Health Benefits
Sport during pregnancy has many more benefits than you think. It is absolutely not only about not gaining too much weight and thus quickly getting back into the old form after birth. Rather, it is about staying mobile and preventing side effects such as back pain, stretch marksor pregnancy incontinence. In addition, thanks to endorphin release, you can better deal with the expected hormone fluctuations.
Basically, more oxygen enters the blood vessels through each workout and in this way also via the placenta to the child. And so you train together and get both fit for the birth!
Pregnant women should pay attention to this during sports
If you have been sporty before, then you can basically continue to do (almost) everything in the first trimester:
- You should just make sure that your pulse (depending on your age) should not be higher than 140 beats per minute. So you do not overwhelm yourself or your child!
- Be considerate of your daily form. Often the circulation plays tricks on you in the first few weeks, as the body is very busy with all the changes. Regular, customizedcardio workoutscan help here.
- Don’t use your pregnancy as an excuse to skip the workouts! You are not sick – on the contrary, you are in the happy situation that so many women long for. You are pregnant!
In the second trimester, there are already some physical changes that we should take into account by modifying the exercises. And also in the third a lot changes, but basically you can still do sports until the day of birth in a normal pregnancy.
My accompanying fitness program: “Move it Mama”
I myself found the whole topic so exciting that I developed the mommy fitness concept “Move it Mama” together with a team of experts. So during my own pregnancy, during theregressionand first time as a mother in Los Angeles / California, our second home, I shot the workouts in front of a beautiful backdrop.
I am already looking forward to the next column, in which we will go even deeper into the matter of pregnancy and sport. Of course, I will also tell you about my own pregnancy.