In general, pregnancy workouts are beneficial not only for expecting moms, but for baby as well!
Exercise during pregnancy can help reduce backaches, help you sleep better, and lower the risk of gestational diabetes {Mayo Clinic}. There’s also some research that indicates that an active pregnancy provides a boost to baby’s brain and heart health as well {What To Expect}.
In this post, I’ll highlight 5 exercises I steer clear of while pregnant, especially in the second and third trimesters.
Note that I advise you to speak with your doctor or midwife to determine whether you are able to exercise while pregnant.
Each pregnancy is unique, as I mentioned above, so I began altering my workouts much earlier in my second pregnancy.
I experienced “doming” of my abdomen much earlier in my pregnancy because my belly grew more quickly and I had diastasis recti (abdominal separation) when I got pregnant for the second time. More information about warning signs that it’s time to change your workouts, such as “doming” of the abdomen, can be found in this post.
Lying on Stomach + Belly Down Postures
This one should go without saying — once your baby bump starts to show (typically at the end of your first trimester, around 8 to 12 weeks), lying on your stomach just isn’t comfortable. Avoid any yoga poses or exercises that require lying down or applying pressure to your belly directly. Cobra pose in yoga or superman exercises are a couple of examples of these exercises.
You can drop to a tabletop position on all fours, similar to planking, with your shoulders over your wrists and your hips stacked over your knees. You can perform exercises like the “birddog” from this tabletop position.
Additionally, you might need to perform some exercises, like pushups, at an angle in your second and third trimesters as your belly continues to grow in order to prevent hitting the ground with your stomach.
Myth #5- It’s impossible to get rid of my “mom pooch”
You’ve undoubtedly seen a ton of articles and social media posts promising a “flat stomach after baby.” ”.
While getting your pre-baby body back is possible if that is your goal, it does require time, commitment, and consistency.
Expect your body to heal in the same amount of time that it took to grow another life—9 months—
But if you want to “bounce back” after having a baby and minimize the appearance of your mom pooch, there are some exercises you can do during pregnancy to help with that.