Best Workout While Pregnant??

I actually went online to amazon and looked up different workout videos specific to pregnancy. One of them was a yoga and it was pretty decent, the other was a strength and toning video that some cirque de soleil person did. It was tough but not in the sense where I was pushing myself.

I did a ton of walking and as others mentioned, swimming would've been a great option too. I also did a regular workout video that was a dancing video that I could easily modify. It was more hip swaying than jolting around like aerobics. Just do a generic search on amazon or something and tons will pop up with reviews. Kudos momma!

There aren't any good pregnancy workout videos. At least not that I've found these last 8 months. I've just kept doing what I've been doing.

1st trimester,,,not much different. Your body is doubling up the iron right now. You need your oxygen and water. Keep your heart rate at 140 or lower. This is the case with the rest of your pregnancy as well.

2nd trimester- you can still work upper abs and sides, rule of thumb is to leave the belly where the baby is alone. Lower your kicks ( if kickboxing) don't lay on back too long, and obviously keep off of laying face down. Yoga- don't bend towards baby. Cardio- no jumping and twisting

3rd trimester (where I am now) take it real easy on exerting yourself during cardio, stay off tummy completely. Yoga can be your best friend during this time.

Basically you can do any video as long as you alter it with basic rules, common sense and special attention to your body's signs. I've gained only 15 lbs this pregnancy, I work out everyday. My baby and me are Healthier than ever.I'm looking forward to having my boy and not having much to lose for the first time ever. My first two pregnancies I gained over 50 lbs. this pregnancy I can only assume I lost weight and merely gained baby. It's tricky but it can be done.

Just know that no exercise or routine is good for everyone, although a lot of people will say "theirs" is good for everyone.

Some people, like me, end up on modified bedrest and can't.
Other people have back problems and a lot of things make their back worse
Other people have knee problems
hip problems
headaches
incontinence
hemorrhoids
edema (swelling)
blood pressure issues
separating abdominal muscles
sciatica
pubic symphasis issues
extreme sensistivty to hot/cold
inflamed/ weak/ ripping (pick a softening connection, any softening connection)

the list goes on.

I bring this up because ESP with the hormonal overload it gets very easy to concentrate on what "should" be blah blah blah.... but in reality, every pregnancy is different, and we have different challenges. Yoga might be the best thing in the world, or it might be the worst. Swimming, ditto. Walking ditto. Weight lifing, biking, riding, soccer, dance... ANY activity can feel like the most wonderful thing in the world, or it can put you in the hurt locker and make you miserable.

<grin> So don't be miserable!!! Do what you like AND makes you feel good. And know... some things you think "should" make you feel good will not. Listen to your body.

My doctor advised me that I could do all of the things I was doing before I got pregnant but to pay attention to my body. So I still bowled up until 7 months when baby didn't like it. I still jogged up until 7 months when baby really didn't like that either. From 7 months to birth I went to swimming. Which was great it was the only place I didn't feel like a beached whale even though I was huge like one.

Next pregnancy I will be doing some kind of Yoga or Piliates for pregnant people. Yeah can't wait.

I use the workout ball when I'm pregnant. I'm just a few weeks along now, but for both of my pregnancies it helped keep my pelvic muscles strong. I don't have the bladder problems some people have (and I've had twins).

I agree with swimming, but also just walking. Good way to clear your mind, take your iPod if it helps motivate you and just take a 30 min walk every day. I also bought a prenatal workout video . . . Summer somebody... Sanders, Summer Sanders. I liked it, it wasn't too tough and it had variations for different trimesters. For me it was definitely a motivation thing, I was SO tired all the time. But once I got going I felt great. And luckily I craved fruit like crazy so that helped me to not gain too much.

check out www.bellynkicks.com or google belly n kicks or erika boom

Do whatever you were doing before you got pregnant.
I, personally, never found pregnancy workouts challenging or beneficial at all.
I'm a fitness person - heavy weights, HiiT, circuits, kickbox, step aerobics..
all of which I continued doing while preggo. Some moves had to modified as the belly got bigger, but apart from that, I didn't modify at all.
First preg: 26lbs
Second preg: 32lbs

All of which were off by the 6 week mark after delivery...again I didn't wait for "clearance" by my doctor. I went with how I felt.

If you were working out before, pick back up with what you were doing. And try not to stress too much. If you mind your diet, your body will gain what needs and no more.

I am 24 weeks along right now. I started out at 195 and I am currently 196. I have to stress, I am not opposed to gaining baby weight (but I do know that I should only gain 10-15 lbs), I just wanted to not be drained all the time and I really needed me time to destress from 3 other kids and a husband. ;)

With my OB's support and approval, I have been Zumba'ing 3 times a week (sometimes at the gym, sometimes from a video in my living room)and doing water aerobics 4 times a week (twice a week, the H20 classes are scheduled right after Zumba so I use them to cool down). My OB really did stress the benifits of the Zumba though, whether structured or DVD.

With my third baby, I bought a prenatal bellydancing vidio from the Belly Twins's website. I really liked it! It was low impact and made me feel sexy, even at almost 200 lbs.

As far as diet goes, I'm not the best. About the best I tend to do is a homeade fruit smoothie that I make tons of and freeze so that I can just have a scoop or two for breakfast or mid afternoon snack. Then, when I make it home from the gym famished, instead of reaching for the oreo's, I'll have a bowl of Crispex. Other than that, I cook as healthy as I can get my 1, 4 and 8 yo to eat (which definitely has it's limitations).

SWIMMING! You are 3 weeks behind me which means you will be very pregnant when it's hot. I also love riding bikes, I have a bike trailer for my kiddos so I can take them with me-I even do my grocery shopping on my bike:) And last but not least WALK! Do it now even though it's chilly-you may not feel like it but get off the couch-I promise you won't regret it!

I worked out regularly (3x a week) at a local gym on the weight machines, doing zumba and cardio.

I quit when I got pregnant b/c I was soooo sick. Now that I'm 5 months and feeling better, I'm back at the gym and it feels so good. I went back around 4 months, and am still weight lifting and doing everything else, just not as heavily as I was before.

There are a lot of prenatal yoga, walking groups and exercise classes at local gyms, even zumba is a good choice. There are also tons of prenatal workout dvds, go to a local bookstore or check on amazon.com or even ebay.