Swimming is a great exercise choice for pregnancy. It’s low impact and cardiovascular. Exercising in the water helps prepare your body for giving birth. Swimming stregnthens and tones the body. Water Exercises also stretch the muscles, which helps prepare you for labor.
You can take a class or exercise on your own. Any exercise that can be done on land can be done in the water. You can walk, jog or do any other motion exercise while in the pool. The water level should be above the navel for the best movement. Before you begin any exercise routine you should talk to your doctor. Swimming is one of the safest forms of exercise, but you should still get the go ahead from your health care provider.
Prenatal aquatics classes offer some benefits. You will follow the instructor through a work out designed for pregnant women. The instructor should have training in exercise and pregnancy. Look for classes at your local community pool, YMCA or swim club. Ask the instructor about the class and his or her experience in this field.
If you can’t find a class or don’t have time to attend a class, there are books written about exercising in the water that may be helful. A good one to check out is Water Fitness During Your Pregnancy
by Jane Katz. The author has been in the field of aquatics for 30 years and offers expert information on water fitness.
The exercises in the book are illustrated and described in detail. The book also contains work out plans for each of the three trimesters. There are forty four work outs in the book for all fitness levels. Beginners as well as experienced swimmers will benefit from the information in this book. You can find Water Fitness During Your Pregnancy on Amazon.
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