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Home › Articles › Fitness › Going to the Gym?

Going to the Gym?

Health Clubs and Pregnancy Do Mix

By Lisa A. Goldstein

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If your health club membership is collecting dust in your purse, take it out, brush it off and use it with confidence. Being pregnant is no longer an excuse to avoid the gym – even if you haven't exercised regularly before.

In fact, according to Brooke Correia of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association in Boston, Mass., 17 percent of clubs belonging to the association offer prenatal programming and 15 percent offer postnatal programming. "Special programs aside, I think most club operators would encourage pregnant members to follow their doctors' advice as it pertains to exercise," says Correia. "If they are permitted to engage in an exercise routine, health clubs offer such a wide variety of exercise options, it's easy for women to exercise throughout pregnancy."

If you have an uncomplicated pregnancy, a regular activity program can enhance your quality of life. There are many benefits to be obtained from regular activity, says Healthworks Fitness Centers' Regional Fitness Director Maria Shea from Boston, Mass., who cites several of them:

  • Improved aerobic and muscular fitness.
  • Facilitation of recovery from labor.
  • Enhanced psychological well-being.
  • Establishment of permanent healthy behaviors.
  • More rapid return to pre-pregnancy weight, strength and flexibility.
  • Less weight gain.
  • Reduced back pain.
  • Social activity – opportunity to meet other new moms.

Exercise has also been recognized as an effective alternative to insulin therapy for treating gestational diabetes and as a means of preventing the disorder, writes Raul Artal, an internationally recognized expert in exercise during pregnancy and the lead author of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) guidelines on exercise for pregnant women.

"With ample evidence to show that regular, moderate exercise in women with healthy pregnancies results in no adverse maternal or fetal effects ... obstetricians should make exercise recommendations a top priority," says Artal.

Safeguards should be followed, of course, before starting an exercise regimen. First, a clinical evaluation is recommended, and "physicians should consider the type and intensity of exercise – as well as the duration and frequency of [the] sessions – for each patient based on her level of fitness and familiarity with various activities," Artal says.

The obvious ones to avoid are contact sports and exercises with a high risk of falling or abdominal trauma. If something is uncomfortable, it should also be avoided – like lying on your stomach after a certain point in the pregnancy, says Shea.

Some recommendations Shea passes on from the American College of Sports Medicine and ACOG include:

  • Avoid exercising on your back after the first trimester.
  • Be aware that the lack of oxygen available will affect you; you may get tired sooner and have an increased heart rate at lower exercise levels.
  • Take care to balance properly, especially as pregnancy increases, to avoid injury. Exercises in which loss of balance can occur should be avoided in late pregnancy.
  • Remember proper nutrition, as the pregnancy alone will require 300 additional calories a day.
  • Pay attention to how your body feels with exercise, listen to your body, talk to your physician regularly about any changes and adjust activity accordingly. Every woman will respond differently to exercise, which is why the continued communication with health professionals is critical.
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