Having seen in our Pregnancy Special how to benefit from exercises such as yoga, pilates, swimming or walking, we now stop at some general tips that will make the exercise we develop during these months the most appropriate.
Because following these guidelines we will achieve that improve our cardiovascular and muscular condition, as well as favoring postural correction and avoiding excessive weight gain. All this will provide the pregnant woman with a better general physical condition and will allow her to face the work of pregnancy and childbirth with fewer risks.
- The first thing to consider is our physical peculiarities. To do this, the doctor who follows our pregnancy will advise us which exercise or exercises will be the ones that suit us and in what frequency, since some pregnancies require particular precautions (arterial hypertension, heart disease, asthma, bronchitis, obesity, diabetes ...).
- In addition, it will be considered whether the mother until then has been sedentary or not to establish an appropriate exercise plan. Obviously, if the future mom did not exercise, she should have softer beginnings.
- It is always a good time to start exercising, the sooner the better, even when you are waiting for pregnancy. In the same way that we take vitamins to prepare our body before becoming pregnant, we can exercise our body.
- When deciding to start exercising, it is convenient that start gradually, gradually increasing the intensity and duration of the exercises.
- It is important the preheating to the practice of the exercise to avoid cramps, pulls or other pervasive effects of sudden abrupt physical activity. Overloading of muscles or joints, more vulnerable when they are "cold", can be avoided by gentle warm-up exercises. In addition it also ensures that the heart and circulation will not suffer a sudden acceleration. Rotating feet and hands, lifting arms and legs, waist rotation, stretching ... are some of the exercises that can be performed.
- In the practice of the exercise, do not try to force the organism or reach our limits: reaching goals that cost us effort or are impossible is harmful. As the pregnancy progresses, and especially in the final rectum, the most likely and convenient is that we have to lower the bar even more.
- Practice exercise in a relaxed, but also constant way. If we swim or walk only sporadically, the benefits of these physical activities are diluted over time. You have to set an exercise routine, establishing the weekly sessions that suit us. Three, or much better, four days, or even daily exercise is the best. This will keep the muscles flexible and will be physically fit at the time of delivery and recovery.
- We must control exercise time so that it is not scarce or excessive according to medical indications and what our own body and well-being dictates. At the end of pregnancy, when it becomes more difficult physical activity, it is recommended (and often necessary) to reduce the time of the exercise session and, to compensate, perform more sessions a day.
- Stop when necessary. As soon as you notice excessive fatigue or physical discomfort, you have to pause the exercise until you recover. If the discomfort does not stop or is important, stop completely and go to the specialist to determine its causes.
- Finish the exercise gradually and slowly. In the same way that we start with warm-up, you can end with gentle exercises so as not to stop the activity abruptly, since the blood is trapped in the muscles and the irrigation of other parts of the body is reduced. For example, if we walk at a fast pace, we will have to end up walking more calmly, or in the case of swimming, we will make slow and relaxing movements in the water.
