Tip 2 from Jen: Build a relationship with your trainer. This is a great point. Any fitness professional experienced in prenatal exercise will do their due diligence to ask you about your experience, complications, history, etc. You don’t want to have to catch every new instructor up, or worse, not have them understand your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll receive better workouts and your trainer will feel more confident challenging you if you’ve built a relationship. Jen adds, “I have a constant connection with Ashley so I am more aware of how hard to push myself and/or to know what to look out for! Ashley keeps me updated as to what to watch out for if certain pains pop up. This enables me to continue my training with confidence.
Tip 3 from Shannon: Be kind to yourself. “You never know what kind of day you are going to have. Energy flow fluctuates so much throughout different trimesters, and can change daily. At a certain point, your body just grows and changes and things you used to be able to do, you just can’t do. I’ve also cut back slightly on how frequently I workout as I get closer to the end, which is okay. I’m still making the time as my body feels it can. I agree with Shannon. For some the hardest part of prenatal exercise is mental. You want to challenge yourself, but you don’t want to be rigid in your goals. With hormones shifting and your body physically changing, your mentally have to be flexible and try to be OK with adapting as needed.
If you’re pregnant and ready to get started, check out this Free prenatal exercise 101 series for tips to get started or enroll in the Free Trial of the Prenatal Core, Function & Fitness online membership.
Ashley Reid is an exercise physiologist with the only strength-based studio for moms and moms-to-be in Philadelphia.