PREGNANCY
2
Training for
two?
Fitness guru Steve Mululu gives his advice on
training with a baby bump
When it comes to changing your body there is a lot that you
can do in 9 months – but nothing that happens in a gym is as
dramatic as the physical changes that come with pregnancy.
All pregnancy-related changes are out of your control, but
you can get a bit of the control back by keeping your body in
tip-top condition in preparation for bringing a new life into
the world.
During the cold winter months the sloth factor and the lure of comfort
food is a challenge even for non-pregnant people, so it takes special
commitment to stand up to the challenge when you’re pregnant and
have the discomfort of a baby bump or morning sickness or back pain.
And yet, the benefits of sticking to a healthy, responsible training
programme become evident during labour and afterwards when the
recovery period takes much less effort.
In all honesty, winter doesn’t really impact on exercise requirements
other than necessitating you wear an extra layer of clothes to and from
the gym and that your resolve on a cold day is strong.
However, pregnancy require s a very specific training approach that has
two goals in mind. Firstly, to become strong and fit to support the
changes that happen to your body during the 9 months; and secondly,
to train for a safe labour and delivery for both mom and baby.
Your training schedule has to be flexible to allow for the many changes
that are going to happen over the 9 months. You may be nauseous or feel
exhausted because you had to run to the loo so many times during the
night that you never managed to get a solid night’s rest. And towards the
end of the pregnancy you’ll likely get quite uncomfortable.
You also have to be aware of all the hormonal changes going on in your
body such as the effects of the pregnancy hormone relaxin. This is the
hormone that relaxes the body’s muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cervix.
It causes the pelvis to stretch and expand, making the hip and lumbar
joints quite unstable. Relaxin levels increase during pregnancy and
remain in the body for up to a year or more postpartum, so extra care
has to be taken not to injure joints while exercising.