Your pregnancy is progressing nicely now; you keep checking off those milestones! You may be seeing your provider more frequently if you’re nearing the finish line and your body is adjusting well to some pretty amazing anatomical, physiological and hormonal changes.
No doubt, you’ve had to slow things down a bit, but you’re probably fairly impressed with your fitness levels, all things considered, if you’re exercising. It’s truly remarkable!
Connecting with baby through breath
Below are a couple of things to consider when exercising during your third trimester:
DEHYDRATION
It’s important to stay hydrated during pregnancy; I know you’ve heard me say this before! It is even more important to do so during your third trimester as your circulation isn’t great. Blood may pool in your lower extremities, so along with getting your feet up, you must make sure you’re taking frequent sips of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
Ok, so the downside to this, is also frequent trips to the restroom. I understand how inconvenient and time-consuming this is, but it’s important to keep your fluid intake up, particularly if you’re exercising.
PELVIC FLOOR
Make exercise to your pelvic floor a daily routine. In fact, make it a part of everything you do! And, if you’ve been working with me for awhile now, you are likely incorporating pelvic floor work with your diaphragmatic breathing—amazing to feel the core work as a unit, isn’t it?! If you haven’t had this experience yet, it’s not too late! There is always time to build this connection, so get in touch for guidance!
So, back to the pelvic floor. When you bend down to pick something up, engage your pelvic floor. When you go upstairs, switch on your pelvic floor. When you stand up from a seated position, draw up and in with your pelvic floor muscles. Tie this activity to your breath.
Just making these few changes to your day-to-day activities can really make a difference to your pelvic floor awareness, health and strength.
Around 30% of postnatal women suffer with some form of stress incontinence, so it’s vital that you work your pelvic floor muscles during pregnancy, to help keep them strong to support the weight of your developing baby.
MOVING AROUND SAFELY
Consider safe-moving techniques to ensure you’re not putting undue stress on your back, pelvic or abdominals when you’re moving yourself from one position to another. In bed for example, if you wanted to move from one side to the other, the safest way to do so would be to stack your knees together, engage your core/pelvic floor, use your arms to roll gently onto your back, and then continue to move safely onto your other side. Cumbersome, but safe!
FATIGUE
Some women suddenly feel very, very tired throughout our third trimester and others will get a rush of energy, which just proves that all pregnancies are different and should be treated individually.
The thing to bear in mind is, listening to your body at this stage is the best thing to do.
If you feel tired, or achey or just not up to exercise, have the night off, and revisit it the next day, perhaps trying a workout out at home, a brisk walk at lunch, a swim after work, or a short gym session etc. You’ll feel much better after exercise, and it’s vital that you stay as active as you can for as long as you feel able.
ABDOMINAL SEPARATION
At this stage in pregnancy, you’re far more likely to have an abdominal separation in the six-pack muscles that run vertically down the center of your stomach, though it is not universal. If this applies to you, it’s honestly nothing to worry about. It’s painless, and because baby is growing and growing, these muscles become stretched and weakened.
It can however, cause you to suffer with lower back pain and/or pelvic floor symptoms (especially postpartum), simply because your abdominals are in a weakened, stretched state.
So, now, while you are still pregnant just be sure you avoid anything that will worsen this separation. As you’re not lying on your back to do exercise, you’ve taken out any forward-flexion ie: sit up type movements and twisting movements, you’re focusing on pelvic floor/core stability work now, you should be absolutely fine.
This separation can be rehabbed postpartum with specific exercises, movement and nutrition recommendations, so please, get in touch!
And there you have it – my top 5 tips for exercising during your third trimester.
Hang in there–you’re so close!!
Happy Moms & Babies just a few short weeks after their final prenatal class with Bodies for Birth!
Work with me one-on-one for an individualized program to reach your health and fitness goals!
Join us in our private Facebook group for ongoing support and access to me for answers to all your pregnancy and postpartum related fitness questions! If you have questions, please feel free to reach out! I’m always happy to help! If you found this helpful, share widely!! Thank you! You can work with me one-one-one via Skype or in-person. Visit www.bodiesforbirth.com to learn more!
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Written in collaboration with Claire Mockridge, www.clairemockridge.com
Claire Mockridge is a qualified and experienced Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor and Pilates Teacher with a passion for fitness and wellbeing. Teaching general exercise and Pilates classes in West Bridgford, Nottingham, Claire has a specialism in pregnant and postnatal fitness.
See more at: http:www.clairemockridge.com