Tips For Training a Pregnant Woman

By Kim Fischer

For those of you reading this who are massage therapists, you were probably trained in your massage programs to massage pregnant women.

Working with a pregnant woman on an exercise program has its own precautions. Often times, whether massaging or training, we have to "do" our research to determine an appropriate course of action.

Probably the best place to start as a resource for exercise and pregnancy is through the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists or ACOG. There is also helpful information in the ACSM Fit Society Page that is a free publication to non-ACSM members (acsm.org). Look in the fall 2006 issue for an article entitled "Physical Activity During Pregnancy and Postpartum Period."

The American Council on Exercise has numerous online classes related to this topic including pregnancy and strength training, prenatal and postpartum exercise design, and mom and baby exercise.

A trainer might want to use the PAR MedEx to determine the physical activity readiness of a pregnant woman. This form can be found by doing a Google search for PAR MedEx for pregnancy.

The health benefits of being physically active during and immediately after pregnancy are numerous and include potential deterrence of gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and musculoskeletal complications such as pelvic tilt and low back pain. A consistent cardiovascular program can help with postpartum recovery let alone help with mental well-being.

The ACOG recommendation is that pregnant women engage in moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week. This is assuming that a normal healthy pregnancy is being experienced. Cross training is especially encouraged with an emphasis on non-weight bearing exercises such as cycling and swimming. When aerobic activity levels are decreased during pregnancy even the highly trained and competitive woman will return to pre-pregnancy aerobic fitness several weeks of training after delivery.

When working with a pregnant person, one should be aware of the warning signs to terminate exercise including vaginal bleeding, dizziness, nausea, headaches, preterm labor, decreased fetal movement, shortness of breath before exercise, and cramping. Activities that should be avoided include those with a risk of blunt trauma like water skiing and most contact sports and activities that have a high risk of falling. Temperature regulation is an issue so frequent breaks and exercising in a cool environment is important.

There isn't much research on resistance training during pregnancy. Most would agree that general resistance training will not cause harm especially if the load is less and the repetitions are higher. It is advisable that resistance bands and weight machines be used rather than barbells and heavy dumbbells. Powerlifting activities are not suggested during pregnancy.

Because the benefits of exercise are greater than the costs/risks, it is highly recommended that women going through healthy pregnancies continue to exercise with some modifications and lots of common sense! Our challenge as health and fitness professionals is to properly educate pregnant woman about the health benefits of remaining active during pregnancy and get them to do so during this time.

Kim Fischer, Ph.D., ACSM cPT and owner of Empowered By Learning LLC, created the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer Exam Preparation workshop and accompanying Study Guide and Action Plan for Passing the ACSM Personal Trainer Certification Exam to support people in reaching their goal of becoming a certified personal trainer by the "gold standard" organization in the industry. Kim guarantees that workshop participants will pass the exam or their next workshop is free. Learn more about how to simplify and organize the process and the content for the ACSM Certified Personal Trainer Exam by getting a free excerpt of Kim's step-by-step Action Plan when you subscribe at [http://www.EmpoweredByLearningLLC.com]

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