Exercise while pregnant in water? Certainly! Here are Jo’s top 3 tips for ladies wanting to exercise while pregnant in water
If you are pregnant you will really benefit from exercise in water because it is low impact, keeps your body temperature cool and your heart rate lower than equivalent exercise on land. These are all important factors during the pregnancy for mother and baby alike. Here are my top 3 tips for exercising in the pool at all stages of pregnancy.
- Lunge walking – keep your torso upright and use breastroke arms, heels down and lunge walk the same as you do on land. Try this forwards and backwards, dropping your shoulders under the water as you lunge walk. If you have pelvic issues (pubic symphysis, or sacro iliac joint discomfort) keep your knees closer together than you normally would in a lunge movement (life life in a mini skirt)
- Swimming – generally freestyle and backstroke are fine, and sidestroke. I highly recommend you mix up the strokes and not do too much on your front, as the weight of the belly can often lead to a sway back posture. Breaststroke is often not recommended if there is any issues with pelvic pain. Be mindful of how you enter and exit the pool as getting up a vertical ladder can be harder than expected.
- Deep or shallow water running – both are safe and effective for maintaining fitness during your pregnancy. If you are not comfortable using a deep water belt use a noodle to sit on like a horse – you will need additional buoyancy to maintain correct body alignment – don’t tip forward from the hips – this not only switches off the abs but it is not a functional posture to exercise with. In the shallow remember to run heels down to the bottom of the pool.
There are other reasons for heading to the pool to exercise while pregnant such as:
- the deepness of the water will help to eliminate a build up of fluid in the body,
- it will help generally with circulation and blood pressure as well as
- all the wonderful mental health benefits that exercise offers.
- It’s inexpensive, flexible and effective!
So I hope to see you at the pool during your pregnancy exercising in a range of ways.
Jo Cordell-Cooper has worked with pregnant women for over a decade providing safe water based exercise before baby is born, as well and post natal exercise that is both healing and restorative for the mother after baby is born. Contact Jo 0409 862206, activesolutionstas@gmail.com for more information.
