My top 7 tips on exercise during pregnancy

Keeping fit during pregnancy is so important - for both you and for your baby! Benefits of exercise during pregnancy include -

Mom:
*Improving muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness.
*Reducing the risk of developing gestational diabetes.
*Preventing excess weight gain.
*Improving sleep patterns.
*Preparing her to hold and carry her growing child.
*Improving appearance and posture.
*Promoting circulation and stimulating the digestive processes (which help prevent hemorrhoids, constipation, varicose veins, leg cramps and swelling in the ankles).
*Alleviating some of the discomforts of pregnancy, such as lower back pain.
*Strengthening the muscles needed for labor and delivery, which can ease delivery and labor time.

Baby:
*Preparing the fetus to transition to the non-maternal environment.
*Increasing placental efficiency for blood circulation, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to fetus. Decreasing fetal fat without decreasing overall growth of the fetus.
*Increasing newborn's readiness to self-calm and self-quiet.
*Increasing fetal movement, which possibly helps develop oral language skills by age 5.


The benefits of exercise during pregnancy are GREAT, but do you know how to do it safe and effectively? Here's my list of 7 tips for exercise during pregnancy:

1) ALWAYS get your Dr’s approval before starting, or continuing, with ANY exercise program when pregnant. The health of you & your baby are more important than your regular calorie burn! While low impact exercise will probably be approved by your Dr, every woman is different and it's important for your Dr to know what type of physical exercise you're planning for your pregnancy.

2) When pregnant Moderate Means Moderate. In the past, experts suggested monitoring your heart rate during exercise. New research suggests that heart rate isn't an accurate way to measure intensity during pregnancy. The ACOG has lifted the restriction of the heart rate cap of 140 beats per minute. When you're pregnant, your heart rate is already increased and is more sensitive to changes. Experts now suggest using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale. This scale ranges from 1 to 10 & is a self-assessment. You should exercise between level 4 (Somewhat hard) and level 6 (Hard).

3) When pregnant don’t overdo it. You don't want to become breathless or exhausted. You should be able to carry on a conversation with someone next to you. If you can sing, you may not be exercising intensely enough, but if you are too winded to speak, then slow down.

4) The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend pregnant women should exercise moderately for 30 minutes most days, if not every day (unless there are medical reasons prohibiting it). Some of my favorite activities include walking, light jogging, swimming, a modified version of Turbo Kick/Turbo Jam and light strength training.

5) When pregnant LISTEN TO YOUR BODY and know when to stop. Bleeding, dizziness, sever pain, headache & chest pain are just a FEW warning signs during pregnancy exercise. If you experience any of these signs, or any sign that just doesn't feel right, STOP.

6) Exercises to avoid? Pregnancy is not the time for contact sports that could cause you to fall, injure yourself, get struck in the abdomen, or badly shake the baby. Therefore, avoid scuba diving, water skiing, basketball, softball, baseball, horseback riding, and snow skiing. In addition, after 16 weeks (4th month of pregnancy) avoid laying on your back while exercising. This decreases the blood flow to your uterus and placenta.

7) My FAVORITE pregnancy & exercise resource is Baby Fit (www.babyfit.com) by SparkPeople!

Stay safe and congratulations on your pregnancy!

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Get the low down on Turbo Fire!

Low Down on Turbo Fire!

Turbo Fire is a total-body cardio-conditioning workout program with the BEST music and the BEST trainer, where you get the BEST spot in class! The upbeat music motivates you to dial up your intensity levels, doing kickboxing drills and aerobic exercises mixed with dance moves in a class setting.

Your instructor is the highly sought-after, award winning Chalene Johnson, creator of other successful programs like Turbo Jam and ChaLEAN Extreme. Anyone looking to achieve peak fitness levels can combine the Turbo Fire program in either 12 weeks, or 20 weeks with Advanced Turbo Fire Classes.

Why is it effective?

It's all about the HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) burns up to 9x more fat and calories than traditional cardio. These HIIT moves are known as "Fire Drills". Unlike traditional cardio, HIIT means working out at your MAX in up to 1-minute intervals. As a result, your body continues to burn calories for up to a 24-hour period. This means 4 minutes of HIIT can be more effective than 30 to 45 minutes on a treadmill or stair climber!

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Turbo Fire will be available June 18, 2010! Let me know if you have any questions.