Want to add weight training into your prenatal routine? Then this may be for you......


I have been blessed to be able to bring two beautiful children into the world. Both pregnancies went well but very different in many ways.


My first pregnancy didn't hardly involve any exercise it went  relatively well and what I thought was a normal standard pregnancy with back pain swelling etc. The recovery of labour was a very slow and painful one.

The second pregnancy a stark difference,  tons of energy very little pain no swelling and a fantastic and fast recovery.  What did I do differently....... I added strength training to my prenatal routine.

During my second pregnancy I used my 'Pregnant With Muscle' plan to help keep my hard earned muscles, pain and  tiredness associated with pregnancy at bay and above all help with labour and recovery and I credit this to the very big differences between the two pregnancies.

Every women who wants to workout during pregnancy (and cleared by their doctor  to do so) should add weight training during pregnancy)

 If you have done your research by now you will know you shouldn't try anything new really in pregnancy and you would be right. However I am a certified Pre/Postnatal personal trainer and I have adapted my weight training workouts to suit all levels and are safe for pregnant ladies to follow in the gym and/or at home.

Watch out for these gym based pregnant workouts coming soon.

 

If you are pregnant or thinking about pregnancy soon leave your name and email below to be notified of its release or if your looking for something more personal why not have a look at our online personal training or send us an email.

Boy was I glad I stuck with my weight training during pregnancy.  My second pregnancy with my beautiful son was a total breeze, gained a healthy required amount of weight and I totally credit it to lifting through my whole pregnancy and eating healthy,

I know what you're thinking if you have found your way to our site ‘ This chick is naturally slim and probably never puts on weight’  Wrong!  Yes I was naturally slim when I was younger and in my hay day a keen athletic participant as well as other sports.

However during my first pregnancy and the years leading up to my first child being born my diet mainly consisted of fried foods and chocolate. For a few years my exercise habits had been attending gym randomly and wandering aimlessly round the gym mainly from cardio machine to cardio machine the jumping on a few weight training machines which I had no idea what it was actually doing for me.

So back to my first pregnancy,  I had  a relatively  good pregnancy well  good as to be expected. The normal things ladies complain about, back pain swelling etc.  The  labour  however was not so good but that’s a whole different story. My recovery after my first child was painfully to say the least. After the pain had subsided months later it was only then I had noticed I gained unwanted pounds and didn't look like myself -I had become so unfit over the years.

It was then my true fit life started and I began lifting weights and became a personal trainer. I had found a passion for lifting weights and discovered the fantastic benefits it brings in keeping you in shape and lean.

This year we found out we were pregnant with our second child. This time armed with knowledge and a qualification in pre and post natal fitness I was  determined to stay fit and healthy during this pregnancy and I was sure as hell going to keep lifting which is what I love.

There are a lot of misconceptions about women  and weight training during pregnancy. I truly believe that lifting during pregnancy helps with many common ailments and postural and muscles imbalances that a pregnant women suffers from. Well I had none of that this time  round, I stayed consistent with my lifting and eating well and I felt like I had tons of energy throughout the whole pregnancy.  Not only did I not experience any back pain, swelling or put on any unwanted weight I managed to keep a hold of some of that nice muscle I earned.

  

Being consistent with my weight training during pregnancy also kept me strong I personally worked out 3 times a week and lifted pretty much the usual amount of weight I normally do all the way though until the last month. Why did I need to keep strong you ask for that marathon of a task that is called labour. This time around I knew what I was in for knew about all the pain I was to endure and anticipated being ill for weeks after.

None of this happened, keeping strong with lifting during pregnancy made my labour go much faster this time. sure contractions still hurt like a b**ch but the pushing was so quick and calm and relaxed such a stark contrast to my first labour where I pushed for hours.  I delivered my beautiful child standing up in a semi squat position yes that's right a squat ;)

Get this, I was out of the hospital in a few hours and up and about like nothing had happened. I was back to exercising lighting within 11 days of giving birth and my bounce back of my body seems to be quite good so far to.

I cannot not recommend  weight lifting during pregnancy enough, not only will you look better but your recovery will be faster and it has obvious health benefits to you and your baby.

The general rule to exercising during pregnancy is if you did the activity before pregnancy it's generally ok to carry on the same after you become pregnant modifying as the pregnancy continues if the  doctor has given you the ok to exercise. This can be applied to weight lifting during pregnancy by using common sense and the correct modifications to intensity and equipment used. see here for more  tips and advice to exercising during pregnancy

If you want to add weight training to your prenatal fitness and its new to you here are some tips to weight training during pregnancy if you think you need some extra help with personalised program for you see here. Or inlist the help of a certified prenatal trainer in the gym.

• Exercise 3-5 per week with resistance and cardio
• Train each muscle group 2-3 time a week with sufficient rest days in between each workout to allow for recovery

• 1-3 sets of each exercise allow enough rest between each set to recovery keep the range high at 12-15
• Think about training all the major muscle groups. Legs chest back shoulders etc maybe pick about 8-10 exercises. You can do this as full body session or split into lower body upper body etc
• ALWAYS use correct form and lift weight in a slow controlled manner
• NEVER Hold your breath when performing any exercise
• Exercise in a well ventilated room and drink lots of water

  
  
  Should you include weight training in your prenatal regime erm yes yes !!!!!

  
  

  
  

  * Please get your doctors approval before starting any exercise during pregnancy.

During pregnancy you can be effected by Hyperlordosis. This is the over curvature of the spine due to the increase in weight in the abdomen. This doesn't just effect just pregnant ladies can happen to anyone with excess weight in the front. If your finding yourself with back pain, hip and even sometimes knee pain this could be one of the reasons why. Of course the magic hormones in pregnancy are a lot to blame. Certain muscles can get tight due to this i.e. your back and hip flexors and in doing so you abs and hamstrings and glutes will get weak. Ways to combat this is to stretch your hip flexors (pictured above nice modified version for preggos you can use a chair for support) stretch your lower back (check the net for safe back stretches) Exercise your abs and your deep core muscles/ use exercise to strengthen them and don't do crunches of course I like belly breathing ;) and strengthen your hamstrings and glutes. Continuing with my weight training and squatting throughout has helped so much. If you are further along you can just do body weight squats and straight leg deadlifts for e.g Also focus on posture and get your body in neutral peeps see pictures and don't get stuck in a chair all day it can often promote bad posture.
              

Remember to keep your tummy button in towards your spine to reduce the pressure of your organs and baby on you abs

AB exercises

This is how I work my Ab’s during pregnancy need to remember to do it more often, before pregnancy I rarely worked hard on my abs anyway tried to focus on nutrition and more core strengthening exercises no big crunching the more research I did on Diastasis Recti the more I found out traditional ab exercises make the mummy pouch as the call it stick out more so avoid like the plague.

Pictured are Leg slides, belly breathing technique, and the bottom pic is belly breathing whilst holding your tummy to help lessen the ab separation. 

Draw your tummy button in towards your spine whilst breathing normally as your core gets stronger you can do this for longer and longer I sometimes do it through the day without even noticing. Use this anytime through the day bending over picking up your kids house work it helps correct your posture to.

Notice how much smaller my tummy looks when its drawn in, my stretch marks are form my first pregnancy so far haven’t received any new ones I wear them with pride though. I have been using Mama mio cream and oil.

AB seperatation

 

 Look at it this way protein powder is just food in a supplement form its quite safe however note some contain many additives and things you just don't really want to add to your diet unnecessarily. I personally use MRM as its an all natural whey and its free from additives and is very low in calories etc I'm not sponsored by them its just what I like to use.  

Where possible its always best to get your protein intake from wholefoods I only use the shakes for before and after workout. Many women find it a life saver during morning sickness because they can't keep foods down.

Most women who workout whilst pregnant take some kind of protein shake or maybe opt for a more friendly option like vegan kinds. When selecting a protein shake please read the labelling and research all the ingredients.

General rule for clean eating is if you can't pronounce the ingredients don't buy it and the fewer the ingredients the better. 


Please talk to a nutritionist or your doctor if your really unsure and want to double check as you may have special dietary needs and you may have intolerance to certain ingredients.

 

 

 

Sample of what I do on a leg day when at the gym. This was filmed at 12 am, the only time I could fit my workout in that day. No Excuses get it done  ;)