OH! Magazine - Australian Version July 2015 | Page 8

MICHELLE
BRIDGES

A GUIDE TO EXERCISE AND

PREGNANCY

Michelle Bridges shares her guide to exercising when you’re sick.
After years of talking to people
about weight and exercise issues,
I thought I’d pretty much heard it all. But
now and again a conversation really hits
me and makes me realize that there is
some pretty crazy thinking going on out
there.

I

I was having a chat to a girlfriend who I
got to know professionally five or six years
ago. Since then we’ve become friends,
and although we don’t see that much of
each other, we have a healthy respect for
each other as both being modern women
who are getting out there trying to make a
difference.
And being a modern woman, she was into
her exercise, a whizz in the kitchen and
pregnant with her first child at thirty
something.
Which is why, when she asked me if it
was OK to do a push up on her toes at five

months I was a bit taken aback frankly.
The short answer was pretty much ‘yes,
why wouldn’t it be?’ but it lead me to
enquire what the current thinking about
exercising while pregnant is out there in
pre-natal land. After chats with pregnant
non-exercisers, exercisers and even
preggie personal trainers and instructors,
the common thread became apparent.
And that thread was that apart from the
personal trainers, no-one particularly
knew. That there were those who were
gripped with fear at the prospect of lifting
a finger. Others who knew that there were
certain things that they shouldn’t be
doing, but they weren’t quite sure what.
Some of them muttered something about
heart rate.
Of course the end result was that a lot of
women simply opted out and relegated

their exercise regimes to the ‘to be
continued’ basket. It’s almost as if the
risk of something going wrong outweighed
the possibility of things going right. Or at
least better.
There are considerations to be taken into
account when it comes to training when
pregnant but they aren’t so complex that
exercise should be jettisoned altogether.
Besides, the benefits aren’t just reserved
for the mother – the child will also be
better off for mum keeping on top of her
fitness at probably the most important
time of her life.
There is also a bucket load of information
available to help mothers-to-be put
together safe, targeted training regimes
that will not only assist in an easier birth,
but also make life a lot simpler when it
comes to getting rid of baby weight and
returning to pre-pregnancy fitness levels.

Michelle’s Tip
Start with your doctor or
gynaecologist with planning your
pregnancy exercising. From there,
enlist the help of a trainer but make
sure that they have been specifically
trained in pre-natal exercise.

8

JULY 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )

www.michellebridges.com.au

( Fitness )