Training programs designed for pregnant women are commonly divided into 4 phases:
• Exercises for 1st trimester
• Exercises for 2nd trimester
• Exercises for 3rd trimester
• Postnatal training
Training in the 1st trimester
The first trimester is the pregnancy period from week 1 to week 12. This period is often accommodated with some pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness, feeling a bit mentally down, moodiness, etc.
Training in this period can greatly improve your mood, reduce sickness and keep your fetus healthy. The exercises which are performed in this stage are not far away from what you’ve been doing previously if you were already active.
Body parts that get the most attention here are the core(abs, obliques, lower back), pelvis and glutes.
If you weren’t active before becoming pregant use this stage as a jumping board to strengthen all you’re muscles before things start to get a bit more uncomfortable as the stomach grows.
Training frequency in this period can be as high as 5-6 sessions per week, obviously still keeping it somewhat lightweight and keeping a close eye on how you feel.
You can view another useful article about 1st Trimester training here.
Training in the 2nd trimester
The second trimester of pregnancy is the period between the 13th week and the 28th week.
This is the period where you definitely notice the effects of pregnancy and you have a full-grown belly which adds weight and puts stress on your muscles and bones.
If you’ve already started working out from the first trimester, things should go smooth by now and you only need to focus on stabilizing the hips, strengthening the pelvic floor and lower back/ glute area.
Avoid exercises which put you in a position to lie on your back for prolonged periods of time as the growing foetus can reduce blood flow in some areas.
Training frequency in this period should go a bit down as you will accumulate a bit of fatigue because of the extra weight. Doing 2-3 training sessions a week would be plenty.
Training in the 3rd trimester
The third and final trimester starts from week 28 and lasts until you give birth which is usually around week 40.
This time around, mobility will be decreased significantly so doing regular strength exercises which require some mobility will be off the list. Instead throughout this period, you should focus on breathing, contractile exercises which will later help with the delivery of the baby.
Yoga and swimming for prenatal ladies are perfect for the 3rd Trimester.
You can also read a useful article about 2nd and 3rd Trimester training here.
Postnatal training In The UAE
After the labour process is over. Give your body a rest for a couple of weeks (2-3) and then start with light movements.
The first thing that you need to start working on is the kegel and the pelvic floor which will be extremely loose and weakened because of the labour process.
As time goes by, whenever you feel ready you can start implementing your old training routine(if you previously worked out) or you can start a brand new fitness plan.
• Light cardiovascular activities should be present at any time of the pregnancy as a trained cardiovascular system can reduce hypertension, lower resting heartbeat and get you ready for the labour process.