High-intensity Exercises during Pregnancy: Should You or Shouldn’t You?

If you are an athlete, you can most probably continue with your high-intensity exercise routine throughout your pregnancy. Professional athletes such as Serena Williams, Allyson Felix, and Alysia Montano even won medals while they were pregnant or breastfeeding. However, if you have not been into high-intensity exercises before pregnancy, then this is not a good time to start. In fact, in many cases, professional athletes are discouraged from following any intense exercise regime while pregnant. If you have been doing high-intensity exercise and wish to continue it during pregnancy, consult your doctor. 

Things to Consider

If you plan to continue doing high-intensity exercise during pregnancy, here are a few things that you should keep in mind.

• Listen to your body and do not over-exert. Your body is going through numerous changes. So, be kind to yourself. Do not push your body way past its limits.

• Eat a well-balanced diet and drink plenty of water. Giving proper nutrition to your body and staying hydrated is important.

• Do high-intensity exercise for 30-60 minutes only; 3-4 times a week.

• Stick to an exercise regime that your body is used to. If you have been running 10 km, do not increase it to 20 km.

• Avoid overheating during your exercise sessions. Overheating can cause serious complications in your pregnancy. Try to exercise in the open air early in the morning when the weather is cooler. Alternatively, go to a gym that has proper air-conditioning.

• Stay away from activities where you can fall or get injured.

• Do not perform exercises such as weight lifting where you need to hold your breath for a longer duration. This could slow down your baby’s heart rate.

• After each training session, allow your body to rest and recover.

• Avoid taking supplements as they can harm the baby.

• Immediately stop the exercise if you feel dizzy, have abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, contraction, or have shortness of breath.

Safe high-intensity Exercises

Always consult with your doctor before starting any exercise. Some high-intensity exercises that you can perform during pregnancy are:

• Jump squats

• Clean and press

• Push-up

• Running

• Plank

• Reverse lunge 

• Step-up

• Speed Skate

High-intensity exercises should not be done for the first time during pregnancy. However, if you have been performing high-intensity for a long time then there is no harm in continuing after consulting with your doctor.