Exercises For Pregnant Women

In my last trimester, I would often get breathless, tired, and fatigued. Obviously, all this was bound to happen because the bun in the oven was getting bigger week by week. My belly size was increasing and it was really getting difficult to work out but all that didn’t give me a reason to rule out any physical activity from my schedule. Exercises for pregnant women was not very common then. Nonetheless, I didn’t want to give up.

Today, I am back to weighing as much as I did during my college days. Yes!! All this is possible. I was 68 kilos on my due-date and 2 months later, I was healthy at 53 kilos :). My body-type is petit and most of the weight I gained I thought I would never be able to lose…but, I DID! So happy to announce that all my post-delivery test reports came fine. What really worked in my case was the fact that once Brat H was born, I was back to my routine workout (of course, with the consent of the obstetrician).

Exercises for pregnant women:

Ladies, make an exercise plan that is easy to follow to help you remain active and in shape before and post your delivery. TCT recommends that you speak to your obstetrician about the plan and include exercises accordingly.

Check out the top 4 exercises for pregnant women that will help an expecting mom to stay active and in shape post delivery.

Before starting with the workout do a five minutes warm-up session. It is important because you should let your heart rate rise at an even pace. You can work out inside the house barefoot on a yoga mat or outside with your shoes on. For your warm-up exercises try Marching on the Spot, Wall Slide, Thoracic Rotation, Air Squats, and Cat Camel, each for one minute. Now, you can proceed to the following five quick exercises.

1. Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch – 2 Sets

  • Kneel by placing your left knee on the floor. Bend your right knee at 90 degrees by resting the right foot on the floor.
  • Bring your torso in an upright position and stretch your right hand upwards. Bend your torso towards your right and move your right hand as backward as possible. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Keep your breathing steady.
  • Repeat this movement with your other leg and shift arms.Exercises for pregnant woman 01

2. Standing Calf Stretch – 2 Sets

  1. Stand in front of a wall. As you are facing the wall, place your right foot at a distance of 2 feet and your left foot close to your wall.
  2. Place hands on the wall with shoulder-wide width and height. Now, lean against it and simultaneously bend your left knee.
  3. Shift your weight to your back foot to feel a stretch in your right calf. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Keep your breathing steady.
  4. Switch legs and repeat this movement.

Exercises for pregnant woman 023. Glute Stretch – 2 Sets

  • Lie down on your back and bend your knees at 90 degrees.
  • Bring your left leg’s ankle towards the right side and cross your right leg. The ankle should be placed over your right thigh.
  • Using both your hands, pull the left knee towards the middle of your chest. Bring it as close as possible, till you feel a comfortable stretch in your glute muscles. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Keep your breathing steady.
  • Switch legs and repeat this movement.Exercises for pregnant woman 03

4. Modified Side Plank – 3 Sets

  • Lie down on the floor with your left side and bend both knees at 90 degrees.
  • Using your left elbow, push your body up.
  • Support your torso by contracting the abs and raise hips so that your body forms a straight line. Remember to keep your breathing steady. Hold this position till you can.
  • Return to normal position and rest for 60 seconds.
  • Now lie down on the right side and repeat this exercise on the other side.Exercises for pregnant woman 04

Image source: 01, 02, 03, 04

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