Pregnancy Workouts: Safe Core Strength Tips & Exercises

Social media can be very unrealistic when portraying pregnancy exercises. Masaba Gupta is not the first to showcase her supposed self-care. In her recent workout video, she is seen on a treadmill, stretching, and doing sit-ups. Anushka Sharma also shared her version of caring about fitness during pregnancy in 2020. She posted a picture showing her doing a headstand with Kohli’s support. Deepika Padukone’s trainer recently revealed the actress kept up with yoga and other exercises during her pregnancy to stay fit mentally and physically. All of these women make caring about fitness during pregnancy look easy, but every pregnancy is different, and so is the care that comes with it.

Working out during pregnancy can improve a woman’s energy levels, overall mood, and even speed up recovery after childbirth. It is important that the necessary precautions are taken before exercising.

After consulting fitness experts and doctors from across the country, Indiatimes has summarized everything these professionals had to say.

“Proper nutrition comes first regardless of whether it is their first time. A pregnant woman can perform a lot of core focused exercises without putting pressure on the belly. They can do hip thrusters and plank. Leg press should be avoided and instead working on the legs should be done. The major focus should be strengthening the body so that post baby delivery workouts can be initiated and good shape can be attained quickly” Prashant Sawant, Bollywood fitness trainer for Srk, Priyanka Chopra, Varun Dhawan, Mumbai told Indiatimes.  

As we know gynecologists recommend a specific amount of calories to be consumed, he stated that for expected ladies they must stick to the number and avoid forward bending exercises.

Why beginners must be extra careful with physical exercises

“All of this is absolutely fine if one is used to it and if the person has experience with it which includes running, jogging, playing tennis or doing lunges and even each and every form of exercise in the world like doing shirshasana for as long as nine months, but try and seek a professional trainer’s guidance for all nine months.” Said Ruju Desai another fitness expert from ahmedabad gujarat.

“Shirshasana, headstand, yoga, headstand was done by Anushka Sharma while she was pregnant, but summarizes and draws the conclusion everything that is done falls within ‘the body is used to it category’ and headstand wasn’t done by a beginner,” added Desai.

The proficiency and difficulty level of workouts relies on a person's medical background along with their fitness level, and any complications that may arise during pregnancy. Exercises that involve too much effort like overexertion, wrong postures or with too much force can be quite dangerous. Stretching and walking are considered safe and do not pose life threatening risks to the majority of people, however headstands and weight lifting do require trained supervision.

Workouts during Pregnancy: No workout should go past the eyes of a doctor

“Just because you see someone doing it doesn’t mean that you can go ahead and do it because you may have complications. Only your doctor knows the history and the complications, especially the first trimester. So for the beginners, it’s extremely important to be under supervision,” shared Sonali Swami, an international athlete, coach, and Asian bronze medalist who resides in Bengaluru.

“If somebody has been training for quite some time then they can very well go ahead and continue with the set exercises, provided there are no complications and they have a knowledge or are under a knowledgeable trainer. If it’s their first trimester they have to be extremely careful and ensure that they keep to low intensity workouts. Warm up is extremely crucial and hence they must thoroughly ensure warming up their body before proceeding further with exercises. These exercises can include simple shoulder rotations to a gentle stretching, depending upon the kind of pregnancy,” added Swami.

Pregnancy workouts should never be focused on following upto celebrities but rather focus on the internal feelings.

Based on the advice given by Dr Chandrima Dasgupta, a gynaecologist with a private practice in Kolkata, claims ‘it is safe for women to exercise during pregnancy as it enhances the joints, blood circulation, and alleviates back pain which contributes to well-being.” ‘A non pregnant woman’s routine is not to be compared with that of a pregnant woman, these guidelines are only meant for an uncomplicated pregnancy’.

‘The exercises must be allowed by the gynecologist. After 16 weeks, a pregnant woman must avoid any position requiring extended supine lying as the uterus compresses blood vessels posing a threat to circulation’ said Dr Dasgupta.

‘There are several factors at play such as an individual’s unique physiological makeup. That said, exercise during pregnancy is instrumental in controlling weight, alleviating mood changes, and providing stamina during childbirth’, added Yash Agarwal, a fitness trainer based in Kolkata who previously worked with Karanvir Bohra and Neha Bijlani.

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