Can I Continue Impact Exercise During Pregnancy?
Let’s make answering this for yourself as easy as possible!
Not having symptoms? You're good to go
Having symptoms? This post is for you!
Symptoms indicate that your tolerance to load/impact is reduced. Meaning the core doesn’t have the endurance or core control in its current (pregnant) state.
What are some symptoms to look out for when doing impact exercise while pregnant?
Any pain that doesn’t resolve quickly after activity like hip, knee, low back, sacral or muscle pain
Urinary leakage: do you lose even a drop when you don’t plan on it? This is urinary incontinence
Urinary or bowel urgency: that feeling of I gotta go right now
A feeling of heaviness/pressure or that ‘something is falling out’ of your pelvis. This indicates your pelvic organs aren’t happy
These are just SIGNS that something is off in the pressure system of your core. This does not necessarily mean STOP your exercise, it means pay attention and modify it in some capacity.
Options might be:
Reduce your weights and try a resistance band instead or just body weight
Reduce # of sets/reps
Reduce running time/distance/speed
Change running surface (cement to mulch path?)
Try cross training and lower/no impact days in between impact days
Adjust your pelvic to rib alignment
Breathe better
All women’s bodies are unique. If you would like to know more about how the above relates to your specific condition, email me here. Please also follow us on Instagram or join our private Facebook Group for a ton of free support on common women’s health concerns.