Sports during pregnancy
Being pregnant does not mean that you have to stop doing sport, as this activity is as healthy for you as it is for your baby. The important thing to remember is that you can’t exert yourself too much, such as lifting weights.
Some exercises will help you to tone and stretch your muscles, which will be a great help for the time of delivery.
1. Low-impact aerobic exercise
This refers to exercises such as pilates or yoga, which do not include fast running, kicking or jumping. The low impact allows you to maintain your balance.
Yoga is especially recommended to improve your circulation, body balance and flexibility. Others, such as tai chi, help to eliminate tension and pain, improve posture and breathing rhythm. In addition, like yoga, it also promotes flexibility and muscle toning in a natural and progressive way.
2. Walking
If you didn’t do any sport before pregnancy. A good place to start without hurting your knees is a brisk walk for 20 or 30 minutes.
As your pregnancy progresses, your centre of gravity will change and you may lose your coordination and sense of balance. For this reason it is advisable to walk on flat ground where there are no rocks or potholes.
3. Swimming
Swimming allows you to do a lot of movement without your joints suffering. In addition, the extra weight is relieved in the water and swimming exercises harmonise the entire muscular system.
Swimming tones your muscles without straining them and gives you a good cardiovascular workout. During the last trimester, water will be one of your favourite allies, as it will relieve you of the weight of pregnancy.
However, avoid diving or jumping into the water. It is better to use a handrail to enter the pool, as this will prevent your abdomen from getting a hard blow.
4. Bicycle
The exercise bike also allows you to exercise while eliminating the risk of bumps and falls. If you opt for this activity, don’t push yourself too hard and hydrate well.
In any of the sports for pregnant women that we have suggested, at least half an hour of daily activity is recommended. However, if this is not possible, you should at least practice regularly between 2 and 3 days a week for 30 to 40 minutes.
Sports not suitable for pregnant women
Although you should do some physical activity during pregnancy, it is best to avoid certain sports. Some of them are:
– Underwater sports. Activities that require you to hold your breath for a long time or that require decompression, such as scuba diving or snorkelling, are out of the question.
– Contact sports. We are referring to team sports and also to those that may involve a risk of blows to the abdomen or falls (boxing, judo, paddle tennis, squash, etc.). Although martial arts are also contraindicated, you can do tai chi or katas.
– Strenuous sports. Jumping, sudden movements, lifting weights, doing sit-ups or arching the back too much are not recommended.
– High-risk sports. This includes activities that can lead to accidents or falls. Motoring, rafting, paragliding, parachuting, skiing, skating or climbing are not advisable.
– Pelvic impact sports. These are activities that require jumping (aerobics, basketball, horse riding, long or high jumps, etc.).
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