Is it safe to exercise when you are pregnant? Are you going to “shake the baby loose” or cause it to overheat?
It is indeed safe to exercise when pregnant (unless you have a serious medical condition). Your body, in all of its wisdom, will let you know what you can and cannot do. You won’t be hitting the intensities that you otherwise would because you simply won’t be able to when pregnant. If you are able, it is safe to get your heart rate up over 140 beats per minute and to do a vigorous workout longer than 15 minutes.
Running, pickleball, weight lifting, swimming, most anything that you want to do is a viable way to exercise when pregnant. The only exercises that should be avoided are contact sports like jiu jitsu or sports with high risk for injury like technical mountain biking. There are two other things to be done with caution (or avoided). One is lying on your back after the fourth month. Lying on your back could compress the vein carrying blood from the uterus which would limit oxygen supply to the baby. Also, lifting heavy weights that would cause you to hold your breath could cause spikes in blood pressure, so is best avoided.
Even with limited lying on your back and a pregnant torso, it is still beneficial to work on your core muscles and the muscles of the pelvic floor. Actually, this should be emphasized to ease with child birth and postpartum recovery.
When it comes to exercise and pregnancy, exercise recommendations are not much different than for any other adult. Your body is resilient and is going through a natural process that it was made to do. Exercise Is still good for you and helps prevent complications like gestational diabetes. People used to think of women as delicate especially during pregnancy. Attitudes have changed. Now we know that the real risk would be to not exercise during pregnancy.
