PREGNANCY FITNESS

Ommm Schooling
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Learn 5 great prenatal yoga moves that strengthen you and prepare you for birth.for an easier pregnancy and birth. Our guide teaches you how.
By Teri Hanson & Jennifer Barrett


Consider yoga a way to get physically stronger and emotionally healthier during pregnancy. Even if you've never done yoga before, the modified moves taught in prenatal yoga are both safe and beneficial to expectant moms.

Pregnant fitness buffs will find that yoga rivals any other workout in keeping the body toned and flexible, and can be done up to delivery. Women with difficult pregnancies may find comfort in yoga's gentle motions and breathing.

How it energizes
In yoga, the act of breathing is just as important as moving your body. During normal activities, breathing is shallow and air stays in your upper chest. The deep-breathing techniques used in yoga bring air into your abdomen and, in turn, deliver more oxygen to your body.

The deep breathing helps during labor, too. It's different from the shallower Lamaze breathing many women learn because you draw in more oxygen. "Yogic breathing helps you approach the birthing process calmly," says Kristen Eykel, a yoga instructor in Los Angeles specializing in prenatal yoga. The breathing techniques can also help relax you in case you need a Cesarean section.

How it prepares you
Prenatal yoga addresses the physical challenges inherent to pregnancy, such as a shifted center of gravity and lower back pain. These moves will help alleviate aches and build strength in your legs, back and abdominals to prepare you for giving birth. Yoga also can ease labor and delivery, with moves that relax the hip muscles and use gravity to your advantage.

Breathing for labor
While you're in labor, you can rely on ujai pranayama, an ancient breathing technique, to help you relax through contractions. Keeping your jaw and face relaxed and eyes closed, place the top of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, and hands on your belly. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose and imagine drawing the breath into the crown of your head and the deepest part of your belly. Then exhale through your nose, drawing the belly in to empty all the air out.

The Pregnant Woman's Guide to the Gym
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Now that you're expecting, navigating the gym can be extra-tricky. We've got the goods on what's safe (and what's not), plus the best classes, cardio and weight training for pregnant women.
By Suzanne Schlosberg
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A an hour of cardio usually flies by for me at the gym, thanks to my secret motivational strategy: watching "Law & Order" reruns on the club's TV. I hop on the elliptical machine as the opening credits roll, and before I know it, Sam Waterston is finishing his closing argument to the jury.

At least, that was the case before I got pregnant. In my first trimester, some days, to my amazement, I'd poop out 10 minutes into the show—before the detectives even identified the body.

"Many active women are surprised at how pregnancy affects their workouts," says Renee M. Jeffreys, M.Sc., a prenatal-fitness consultant in Milford, Conn., and co-author of Fit to Deliver (Hartley & Marks). "But remember that these are normal, short-term changes."

So should you dial down your cardio? Are certain machines off-limits? Can you still do Pilates? The answers depend largely on what your fitness level is, which trimester you're in and how you're feeling, Jeffreys says. But this much is certain: The gym is a great place to be pregnant. If one cardio machine or strength exercise isn't comfortable, there's always another one to try.

Getting yourself to the gym may take an extra dose of motivation, but the payoff is huge. Consistent exercise during pregnancy can minimize aches and constipation, help you sleep better, and lower your risk of gestational diabetes and depression. You may even end up having a shorter, less complicated labor. Developing good workout habits during pregnancy will help you get your body back faster after delivery too.

Though my first trimester was rough going, my second was a breeze, and my third wasn't half bad, either. With my stamina back, I'd usually make it all the way through "Law & Order" at the gym—except, I'd spend the commercial breaks in the bathroom.


Whether you take classes, work out in the cardio room or lift weights, everything changes when you're pregnant. Here's how to adapt.


Class Action

If you have access to prenatal exercise classes, sign up. Not only are the workouts modified for pregnancy, but you also get to bond with your fellow moms-to-be over charming symptoms such as heartburn, swollen feet and hemorrhoids. You might even get labor tips.

If your favorite classes don't come in the prenatal variety, it's fine to keep going, as long as you pay attention to how your body feels, limit your intensity and stay within the normal range of motion. Just make sure the instructor knows you're pregnant and is knowledgeable about modifications you can make, Jeffreys advises. If your instructor hasn't worked with pregnant women, find one who has. Keep in mind that highly choreographed classes like Step aren't the best choices for expectant women since they require quick direction changes and a heightened sense of balance. Hereare the most common classes you'll find at the gym and what you need to know about benefitting from them whilepregnant.

Pilates Pilates helps maintain your abdominal muscle tone, which will support your growing belly, minimize back pain and give you more oomph for pushing during labor. But mat classes can be problematic after the first trimester because so much work is done lying on your back. Either opt out of these exercises or use an angled foam spine support (found in most Pilates studios but not many gyms); this will keep your head higher than your belly. You can still do the side-lying leg work, upper-body exercises and stretches.

Yoga Yoga not only strengthens your core and improves flexibility, but with its gentle movements and emphasis on breathing and meditation, it also fosters a sense of calm. In the second half of your pregnancy, avoid exaggerated twists and movements that tug on your belly, moves that require you to lie on your back or belly for prolonged periods, and inversions like headstands and shoulder stands.

Water aerobics Ah ... relief. You can't trip and fall; you won't overheat; and for once you won't feel like a big clod. No wonder water aerobics is a third-trimester favorite. Your joints will thank you! Wear aqua shoes so you don't slip on the bottom of the pool.

Gab Fest
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The model mom serves up great advice for pregnant women.
Interview by Ann Wycoff
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At 38, Gabby Reece leads an exceedingly full life as a pro volleyball player, entrepreneur, former host of Fit TV/Discovery's "Insider Training," Yahoo health writer, hands-on mom to daughter Reece, 4, and wife to big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. The 6'3" former model spoke with us from Maui as she and her family awaited the late-December arrival of baby number two.

What have you been up to this pregnancy? I actually competed this summer until I was four and a half months along. Nothing like not playing for a few years, then doing so knocked up! [She laughs.] I didn't anticipate being pregnant when I committed. I had a little gut, so my teammates would tease me: "Poor Gab, she doesn't play for a couple of years and look--she's had too many burritos and beers."
I also want to help other people live healthier, more active lifestyles, so I started gotogabby.com, which focuses on health, fitness, nutrition, sports, family and style. The number one complaint I hear is, "I don't have time," the predicament born of stressful lives. Everything I am doing caters to this--the clothing line, the 15-minute workout DVDs, including those for pregnant women [for Gabby's prenatal workout, click here].

And how have you been keeping fit? I train four or five times a week. Depending how I feel, I'll do 40 minutes of weights and 20 minutes of cardio. If I'm tired, I'll do one a little more vigorously, and save the other for the next day. By my 32nd week, I started to wind down. Normally, I do Spinning a lot, but it was too uncomfortable this time around. So instead I incorporated swimming with fins to make my muscles fire more.

Why is exercising so important during pregnancy?I like to remind pregnant women that they are not out of shape or fat; they're pregnant. It's not the time to get into the best shape of your life; it's a time to either maintain or not lose total control of your body.
The minute the child is born your entire life is different--you never sleep the same, you worry about the child, and the dynamic with your partner changes. But if you can at least look in the mirror and that one person looks familiar, it helps in dealing with all the changes. The time to be strong is after the birth, when you are lifting the baby all day long, breastfeeding and sleep deprived. Ultimately, the stronger you can go into child rearing, the better for you.

What's your prenatal eating plan like? During my first trimester the sight of protein and green leafy stuff made me feel sick, so I supplemented my meals by mixing whole greens into a shake and downing it. I did not increase my calories much since I eat a lot of food already because of training. Carbs are much more attractive than usual because they are easy to digest, so I try to govern that. If I really want a bagel, I'll eat eggs and order half a bagel instead of a whole one. I seem to want a big lunch and not a very big dinner. I also found this fantastic formula called Mama Calm, a magnesium supplement that helps you sleep.

Any cravings? Last time, I got excited about anything I could put sauerkraut on. It was weird. There's nothing too specific this time; occasionally, I crave crunchy salty foods like popcorn.

Will you breastfeed? With my first, I hoped that I could get through six months. Now I always say that the angel comes to visit you when have a newborn. Like most people, I fell in love with my daughter and I breastfed Reece for 23 months. That's her personality. Who knows about this one; some children are over it at 10 months. I'll go until I get the cue that we're done. I really want to stress to all women that it's really about doing the best you can in your situation.

How is this pregnancy different from your first?Reece wouldn't come out. I was pregnant for about 42 weeks. Then I went into labor for 20 hours and pushed for two, and she wouldn't drop one inch. This time, I feel a hair more vulnerable physically because I had a C-section previously. The area has weakened a bit. I also feel a little less romantic about it. There is a different kind of anxiety. I wonder how another child will affect the family dynamic. I have been thinking more about how fragile life is. Pregnancy makes you much more human. It gets you in touch with feelings you do not normally have. At times, that's an uncomfortable process. To me, the highest state of maternity is when there is a person inside your gut. Everything you do directly impacts someone else.

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February/March 2008
Ann Wycoff, lifestyle editor of VIV Magazine and West Coast editor of Golf for Women, writes for a variety of publications and is also a produced screenwriter. Wycoff lives in Park City, Utah, with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Read more at this site http://www.fitnessonline.com