How to Exercise in the First Trimester
First things first, it’s totally natural to not exercise in your first trimester. The likelihood is you’re feeling pretty rubbish, exhausted, nausea, sore boobs and whatever other symptoms you’ve managed to get lumbered with.
Truth be told, the first trimester is hard!
Why?
Your body is going through a massive change. It’s gone from not being pregnant to having to grow a baby for the first (or more) time!
Here are a few common things I felt and why and how I dealt with them.
Out of Breath
Walking up a small hill takes your breath away now, when previously you’d be able to run on incline 10 on a treadmill. This is perfectly normal as your body’s blood volume is increasing by 50% which means you’ll need to take in more oxygen. Plus you’re now breathing for two which is why you should make sure to always be able to maintain a conversation when exercising to ensure baby gets what it needs.
- Take your exercise back a peg or two, remember there’s a reason for you being out of breath and that it’s not because you’re unfit.
- Run for enjoyment or time rather than speed. Maybe even do a walk/run.
- Take longer rest periods in between exercises to get your breath back.
- Ensure diaphragmatic breathing is a focus when working out.
Easily Tired
Walking up a small hill takes your breath away now, when previously you’d be able to run on incline 10 on a treadmill. This is perfectly normal as your body’s blood volume is increasing by 50% which means you’ll need to take in more oxygen. Plus you’re now breathing for two which is why you should make sure to always be able to maintain a conversation when exercising to ensure baby gets what it needs.
- Take longer rest periods when exercising.
- Make your workouts shorter by grouping moves together into trisets or even opt for compound lifts.
- Add in a few extra rest days and work around what makes you feel more alive, as personally I find what used to be a fairly active but manageable day now wipes me out for a fair few days!
Increased Heart Rate
If you track your resting heart rate, you’ll notice it increases during pregnancy, often up to 15bpm higher than pre pregnancy! It can also grow in size during pregnancy to allow for pumping the extra blood volume around the body. In fact, it works 40% harder during your second trimester. Also, the added weight gain from pregnancy means your body is having to work slightly harder when exercising.
- Be mindful of what your “new resting heart rate” is, as it increasing day to day can often be an indicator of you doing too much and your body being under stress.
- Keep an eye on your heart rate when exercising, you want it to be about 70% of your max at the most, although sometimes it’s easier to just see how you feel and judge being a 7/10.
Slightly Achy or Stiff
Your body is changing to allow for the body to grow, plus pregnancy hormones like relaxin are causing your body to be more mobile. Hips and back tend to be the main problem areas with the postural changes pregnancy brings on.
- Get working on exercises that strengthen your glutes, back, move in different directions to work the hips etc. Think glute bridges, shin box, active pigeons, clams, hip CARs for your glutes; rows, face pulls, band pull aparts, lat pulldowns for your back, plus exercises like the deadlift will also help keep the muscles down your back strong.
- Add in some mobility workouts or prenatal yoga to help with the problem areas and leave you feeling good.
- Make sure you stretch after a workout and pay particular attention to your chest and hip flexors as these areas get tight (which cause the back/hip niggles).
Nauseous
Why they call it morning sickness when it lands anytime but in the morning I’ll never know! Feeling sick isn’t going to help you have a great workout, so if it’s really bad, take it easy.
- Fuel your body – everyone advised me to snack constantly to avoid feeling sick. If you’ve got a workout planned, try eating something a bit beforehand to stave off any nausea and give you some more energy. Also, always eat something after a workout as your body likes to sabotage you if it feels you’re expending too much energy.
- Stay hydrated!
Sore Boobs!
One of the reasons I stopped running at 8 weeks as it felt like someone had stuck a knitting needle into each of my nipples!
- It eases off in time, but I found that exercising in the cold was my main trigger so I wore extra clothing,
- Wear a supportive sports bra to avoid too much movement.
- Opt for something lower impact. Truth be told, I swapped it for walking and cycling in the end as running no longer felt enjoyable.
So they are a few of my tips on how to exercise around pregnancy symptoms. However here are a few extra words of advice:
- Find yourself a personal trainer who specialises in prenatal exercise so you know you’re in safe hands and they can help adapt sessions to how you’re feeling and leave you feeling at your best. It also means you’ve got that accountability by having something in the diary.
- Alternative to the above, is join a prenatal class. Again the accountability and working towards a healthy pregnancy. In short, by keeping moving you’ll feel so much better for it (plus there’s research around it reducing complications and chance of getting gestational diabetes).
- It’s a marathon, not a sprint! If you missed a scheduled workout because you’re too tired, that’s okay. Now is the time to listen to your body and not force exercise if you’re really not feeling it. Chances are you might need to swap it for a nap.
- Lose the ego. You’ll no longer be striving to get new PBs, drop a dress size or whatever your motivation was prior to pregnancy. It’s about having a healthy pregnancy and staying strong to lessen any aches or pains and help you carry everything life as a new mum throws at you.
