Safe Pregnancy Exercise – How to Warm Up and Cool Down During Pregnancy

Safe pregnancy exercise of any kind - cardiovascular or strength training - require extra circulation of blood throughout your body.

As you move, your muscles require more oxygen and nutrients to keep them going. Your blood carries these essentials throughout the entire body. As your muscles begin to work harder, your heart needs to pump faster to keep up.

If you jump right into a workout with out warming up, your heart is not pumping fast enough to the oxygen and nutrients around in an efficient manner. This is especially important for expectant mothers because you need blood not only for your hard working muscles, but for your baby as well.

A good warm up ensures that your body is prepared well enough for both in advance, keeping you and your baby safe during your exercise session.

So, before you do anything - even before you stretch - get a light sweat going with 5-10 minutes of light to moderate activity. Walking, jogging, rowing and biking are just a few examples of activities that will start you off on the right foot.

At the other end of the workout, cooling down is just as important as warming up.

Your body required extra circulation in order to keep up with the demands of your workout, so you'll want to give yourself some time to return to normal before going back to your daily routine.

Using the same light activities as your warm up, take 10 minutes after your workout to let your heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature drop before sitting in your car to head home, hopping in the shower, etc.

Complete your safe pregnancy exercise session with these simple tips - your body and your baby will thank you!

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