If you have been keeping up with your physical fitness before or early into your pregnancy, it’s generally safe for you to proceed with your routines. Brisk walking, jogging, and even running might be safe given your fitness level.
Not to mention the Kegel exercise—which can and should be performed at any chance you have—even during your workouts.
Despite it all, however, it all depends on how healthy your pregnancy is. Some modifications may still be necessary due to your bodily changes.
So, be sure to remember to clarify with your doctor beforehand. Especially if you are new to fitness and about to explore new changes to your routines with added equipment or weights.
Before you begin, you must have wondered about movements and activities you may want to avoid at this stage of pregnancy.
When it comes to working out, many traditional exercises like push-ups, crunches, and planking are not just impossible to do but also detrimental to mother and baby.
Here are a few other key positions and activities that you may just want to take note of:
Lying Flat Down on Your Back
According to many experts, it’s fine for pregnant mothers to lay on their back early into their pregnancy. It is during the later stages, particularly around 20 weeks onwards is where it can harm both mother and baby.
Doing so may compress major blood vessels, potentially restricting airflow to the baby. So, always modify your lying positions. Place a pillow behind your stomach, ensure your back is always elevated at the smallest degree, or lie on your sides.
Skipping or Anything Requiring Jumping
Unless you’ve consulted with your doctor, it’s safer for you to avoid any exercises requiring you to jump, hop or skip when it’s late into your pregnancy.
To experts like Dr. Sabiha Anjum, it’s best to avoid any exercises requiring vigorous jumping or skipping this time around. From a nasty fall, preterm pregnancy, vaginal bleeding or tear, early contractions, and other complications—the risks are simply not worth the gamble.
Crunches
If you were to discover you have diastasis recti during this period of pregnancy, you may want to avoid exercises where your abs bulge from extra strain.
Crunches, like sit-ups, do exactly that, and cases of over-exertion can inflict harm to the mother and baby. Though, whether or not they are harmful to all healthy pregnancies, is still up for debate among many experts.
A common concern among them is the occurrence or worsening of diastasis recti. When you crunch or do a sit-up, moving forward will cause your abs to stretch and separate. An incorrect form or overstretching can easily inflict similar damage.
Hot Yoga
Exposure to excessive heat generally paves away for a number of complications and the temperature in hot yoga rooms typically ranges from 90 to 108 degrees.
So, there is always a possibility for participants to experience dehydration and a dangerous elevation to their core body temperature.
This study suggests that even simmering in hot tubs may increase risks to both baby and mother. So, one can only imagine the risks from a session of hot yoga.
However, that doesn’t mean traditional prenatal yoga bears the same risk. It’s actually highly encouraged with plenty of proven physical and mental benefits.
8 Safe and Great Exercises for Your Third Trimester
The third trimester of pregnancy does warrant your caution, and rightly so!
At this stage, you may experience more limitations than your earlier trimesters, thanks to your healthy growing baby. And especially if you are just easing into fitness, be aware of your current fitness level before embarking on your modified routines.
Essentially, when it comes to fitness during the third trimester of your pregnancy, try to put lesser emphasis and stress on peak performance.
Instead, the focus now lies in the most optimum exercises that will benefit your pregnancy journey and in return, your body (and therefore, a smoother labour experience).
With all that in mind, let’s explore some exercises to spice up your third-trimester fitness!
#1 Modified squat: Deep squat with Pelvic Floor Contraction
Traditional squats may serve you well during early pregnancy but that probably won’t be the case by the time you reach your third trimester. Your belly is developed, bigger and you’re prone to imbalance—which is why you should angle your stance wider.
Aside from the sumo squat, you can also opt for a modified traditional squat by dropping and holding your squat position. At the same time, squeeze your pelvic floor muscles and hold for 10 seconds. Relax as you rise from the squat.
#2 Side lunge
Side lunges help strengthen major muscles of your lower body which help carry most of the weight of your growing belly.
If balance is a concern for you then feel free to hold on to a rail or chair before you. To do this exercise, follow the steps below:
- With your feet apart shoulder-width, point your toes forward.
- You may also hold light dumbbells on either hand, facing downwards by your side.
- Step to a side with one leg and lower your body slightly at both knees without passing your front toes.
- Hold and this is where you can also perform the Kegel exercise.
- Push up and back to the starting position.
- After a few reps on one leg, repeat the same for the other.
#3 Single leg deadlift
This might be a slightly advanced exercise but if it does entice you, then be sure to obtain that clearance from your doctor beforehand.
Targeting your glutes, leg, and core muscles, here’s how to do a single leg deadlift:
- With your feet together, and a dumbbell in each hand, shift your weight to one foot with your knee bent.
- Use your other foot as a kickstand if needed for extra balance.
- Lower your torso to the ground, reaching the dumbbells toward your standing foot as your right leg extends straight behind you.
- Keep your back straight the entire time.
- Engaging your butt and core, lower your leg back to a standing position.
- After a few reps on one leg, repeat the same on the other.
#4 Wall sit
Wall sits are quite similar to squats as they both work your pelvic muscles, strengthening your abs and torso.
Wall sits, however, are known as a static movement which requires you to remain in a stationary position for some time. You can also modify this exercise by placing a stabilising ball between the wall and your back!
To do this exercise:
- Lean your back against the ball with a space about two feet between your feet and the wall.
- Slide down until you reach a sitting position or your knees are at a 90-degree angle.
- Hold for 10 seconds, slide up to a standing position and repeat.
- You can also increase the holding time for each set instead of increasing your repetitions.
#5 Leg Lift
This is a form of modified leg lifts well suited for pregnant mothers!
According to your preference, you may do this workout either front-facing or on your side.
For a front-facing leg raise:
- Get on your hands and knees with your arms locked and hands placed parallel to your shoulders.
- Raise one knee and straighten the leg behind you until it’s parallel to the floor.
- Bend and lower your knee to the floor.
- After a few repetitions on one leg, repeat the same on the other.
Side leg raise:
- Propped up by one hand and the same side knee on the ground, straighten your other leg out.
- Rest your free hand on your hip.
- Raise the straightened leg to hip level and back down.
- After a few repetitions on one leg, repeat the same on the other.
#6 Cat-cow exercise
The cat-cow pose or exercise greatly helps with pregnancy back pains! This is also suited for labour to help position your baby into a more optimum position for delivery.
To do this exercise:
- On your hands and knees, flatten your back.
- Inhale and arch your back as you look slightly up.
- Hold this position for 2-3 seconds.
- As you exhale, reverse the movement by completely rounding your back, tucking in your chin.
- Hold this position for 2-3 seconds.
- Repeat.
#7 Bird dog pose or the quadruped exercise
Here’s another exercise that includes your upper body as well.
The bird dog pose helps build your gluts, arm, and core muscles. To do this exercise:
- Get on your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- Ensure your head and neck are in neutral positions.
- Lift an arm to your front and the opposite leg behind you.
- After a few repetitions on one side, repeat the same on the other.
#8 Dumbbell lateral raise
Dumbbell lateral raises will help strengthen your back, but it also tones your shoulders, arms and back. For a proper exercise:
- Stand or sit with your back straight and legs apart, shoulder-width.
- With arms by your side, hold a dumbbell in each hand with palms facing inwards/downwards.
- Lift your arms outwards to your sides until shoulder height.
- Lower your arms to starting position.
Routines Just for Mummy
Your third trimester is indeed when you and the baby are most vulnerable. As mentioned earlier, with changes to your body come changes to your workout routines too.
So, always be sure to consult your doctor before proceeding with variations to your fitness plans.
When including weights into your workout, you might risk them bumping your belly and causing potential harm to the baby. So, be sure to use only lightweights easy for you to lift.
Don’t raise weights above your heads to avoid chances of dropping them on you as well.
Most importantly, always listen to your body! Stop when you need to, rest when your body asks you to and modify your exercises as your doctor deems fit.
Here are two simple workouts to help kickstart your fitness this trimester!
Routine #1
One set of this routine includes:
- 10-15 reps of moderate-intensity weighted dumbbell lateral raise
- 10-15 reps of deep squat with pelvic floor contraction
- 10-15 reps of side lunges
Routine #2
One set of this routine includes:
- 10-15 reps of quadruped exercises.
- 10-15 reps of single-leg deadlifts.
- 10 seconds wall sit, increase by 10 seconds for each set.
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