I feel that it’s really important to think about your core strength. I have been doing Pilates for a couple of years now and really enjoy it – it’s relaxing and it helps to strengthen your body.
When you are pregnant it can be easy to forget about focusing on your core strength. You feel sick, tired, run down….! But your body is getting ready to do something major, so taking a little time each day to focus on it can be really helpful for labour and delivery – and for post birth.
You can usually find classes locally that focus on Pilates for different abilities, for pregnant mums, new mums (and some for men too!)
However, it can be hard to attend a class when you are busy, so some people opt to work out at home.
I do both. I like to make time for a class because I enjoy meeting other women and it’s great to have one-on-one time with a trained instructor.
When I’m working out at home, I have come to really like the 10 minute solution work out DVDs.
They do one which is for pregnant moms:
Here it is on Amazon.
One of the best things about these DVDs is that they are broken into sections which you can tailor to your own desire. Have 10 mins ? Great! Have an hour? Super! You can choose which sections to do to build your own workout. I usually do 2-3 sections twice a week. Plus I attend my class.
The workouts are really well explained, so you feel confident you are getting the move just right. Some you need hand weights but you don’t have to use them if you don’t feel you want to.
This particular DVD has a post birth section which helps you know what to do to help your body recover. This is really important too – it’s not good to overdo things when you have just had a baby, but at the same time you want to start feeling normal again 🙂
During pregnancy, Pilates is very highly recommended to help you develop muscles to aid you in carrying your baby for all those months. It can help prevent you suffering from pelvic pain which some women develop. Plus, when you don’t feel like doing high intensity workouts, Pilates is slow and focuses on your breathing.
Maybe this will encourage some of you to think about taking care of your body in this way.
Hazel-Ann x
Fruitful Fellowship 