First trimester tips

pregnant-01Marita’s Pre-Natal Fitness. I am a pilates instructor and fitness professional. I’ve been teaching for over 20 years. In addition, my mom is an incredible OB/GYN. I grew up around pregnant people, worked in my mom’s office, and listened to her give advice to women for years. My mom is hysterically funny. I loved the way she would explain things to her patients. I think I got my funny gift from her. My clients have asked me to blog and make some videos about pre-natal fitness. I also taught fitness and exercised until the day I delivered with both of my kids.

First Trimester Tips

First of all, congratulations. Pregnancy is a very exciting time. If your doctor as cleared you to exercise, hooray!

If you are new to all of this, pre-natal means pregnant. You be pregnant. You are pre-natal.

The first trimester is 12 weeks.

  1. Drink more water. Like lots. You will have to pee more. This will be your new way of life. A baby is growing in your uterus. Your uterus is up against your bladder. Your body is making more blood. Higher blood volume means you need more water.
  2. Sleep more. You will be tired. Honor this.
  3. If you already have an exercise routine, great! It doesn’t have to change too much yet. If you’ve been doing a routine you love for at least 6 months, you are okay to continue.
  4. Stay cool. Temperature wise. It’s for the baby.
  5. Take more breaks. Your body is working hard on the inside.
  6. If you get dizzy, stop and take a break.
  7. Start getting in the habit of lying on your left side with knees bent after 50 minutes of exercise for 5 minutes. This sends oxygen back to the baby. Some of my clients say they feel fine. It’s not about you. It’s about getting some much needed oxygen to the baby.
  8. Start watching your balance. Your center of gravity is changing as you grow. Hold on to something if you feel unsteady.
  9. Get some support. As in a better exercise bra. Those girls are gonna hurt. Some gals like to wear two bras. I did.  I slept with two jog bras.
  10. Make sure you are eating. Sounds obvious but this isn’t the nineteen fifties. Eat food. Healthy food.
  11. Heartburn. For some women, sit ups and pelvic tilts give them heartburn. Ask an experienced, knowledgable trainer for an alternative move like planks or squats. I was able to do these without discomfort into my second trimester.
  12. If you are new to exercise and pregnancy, find a trainer experienced in prenatal exercise to get you on a graduated, modified exercise program. This is not the time to begin an aggressive program. You can get a trainer referral from your OB. Or you can search online for NASM, ACE or PMA trainers. These trainers will at least have a base knowledge of prenatal fitness.
  13. Inversions. This means legs over your head. Handstands. Headstands. Or plow pose from yoga. No bueno according to ACOG. American College of obstetrics and gynecology. I’ve had some clients totally disagree with me on this one. They say,”I know my body and I feel its’s okay.” Great. It’s my job to tell you the safety guidelines set forth by ACOG. I didn’t do it when I was pregnant. One of the main reasons is that it sends blood away from the baby. Less O2 for baby. In later trimesters it can affect the baby’s position for birth.

Please leave any comments or questions below. I will be posting tips for second and third trimester as well.

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