What You Need to Know about Doing Pilates during Pregnancy
Pilates is a popular form of exercise, and if you are among its fans, you might wonder if you can continue it even while you are pregnant. For the average person, pilates is perfect for building strength, mobility, and flexibility.
However, pregnancy requires certain precautions to ensure your and your child's health. In fact, Pilates combines tens of exercises ranging from gentle ones to strenuous workouts. It is perfectly reasonable that you would wonder if it is suitable for you and your baby.
So, the question is, can you do pilates while pregnant? Read on to discover the detailed answer!
Pilates exercises involve the entire body, with a focus on strengthening the core muscles, such as the obliques and pelvic floor muscles. During the various trimesters of your pregnancy, you will do exercises appropriate for your trimester.
It’s important that the client is already a pilates practitioner prior to starting Pilates while during pregnancy.
First Trimester
In the first trimester, you should focus on gentle pilates and avoiding overexertion. During your lessons, you will practice breathwork that will calm your mind and energize your body. In addition, the strengthening of the glutes and hamstrings will help counter pelvic tilt.
These exercises will avoid pushing joints to their limits despite increased flexibility. This is because your body begins preparing for the baby, making you tired and nauseated.
Second Trimester
The second trimester is a comfortable stage, but balance and coordination are challenged as your pregnancy bump grows. To adjust to this change, your pilates lessons will focus on safe core work, using modifications.
Third Trimester
In the last trimester, you will have less energy, and your lessons will match your abilities. Therefore, the exercises, will focus on birth preparation. Moreover, you will practice strengthening your back. The exercises will be strictly for maintenance.
Is Pilates OKAY during Pregnancy?
Research indicates Pilates is a safe exercise during pregnancy due to its low-impact movements. Actually, injuries are rare for this kind of exercise.
However, it is crucial that your doctor approves the exercise and that you practice under the supervision of a trained Pilates instructor that knows your body and oyour work.
If you were doing pilates before pregnancy, you will need to inform your instructor for proper modifications. This will ensure that your lessons do not overexert you or cause excessive stretching.
Top Benefits of Doing Pilates during Pregnancy
As a low-impact exercise, pilates is a great choice during pregnancy. Taking part in this exercise has the following benefits:
Enhances Adaptation to Physical Changes
To begin with, pilates helps your body adjust to the changes happening to your body. So, you can do pilates while pregnant to maintain core muscles and correct your posture.
Plus, it improves your balance, muscle coordination, and stability, which pregnancy can affect. It also prepares your body for labor.
Decreases Pain
Pilates can reduce common pregnancy aches and pains. This is because it targets areas like the back, hips, and pelvic floor. The gentle stretching and strengthening steps in your pilates lessons help in releasing tension.
Meanwhile, the low-impact nature of pilates minimizes strain on your joints. Also, this exercise improves circulation, reduces swelling, promotes relaxation, and eases discomfort.
Strengthens Muscles
Another reason why Pilates is advantageous is that it targets and strengthens key muscles needed during your pregnancy. It does so by strengthening your muscles, which ensures a better balance.
In turn, this helps improve body alignment and overall strength and prevent discomfort and injury. Even during your labor, it will help with your endurance.
Improves Flexibility
Improved flexibility is yet another benefit of Pilates for pregnant ladies. It enhances flexibility by stretching muscles gently.
Furthermore, flexibility helps with your mobility and reduces muscle stiffness. The exercise also supports muscle lengthening and elasticity, reducing the risk of injury. This is especially beneficial as your body changes shape during pregnancy.
Improves Postpartum Recovery
Lastly, pilates speeds up postpartum physical recovery. After you give birth, you will have more strength, especially in the core and pelvic floor.
Pilates also supports muscle tone restoration and the realignment of your body after childbirth.
Interestingly, gentle pilates movements promote relaxation and improve mental well-being. According to studies, it can also reduce weight gain and the need for a cesarean. This leads to a faster recovery.
Top Tips for Safer Prenatal Pilates
Being afraid that an exercise might be too rough for your pregnancy is completely normal. To help you keep you safe as you grow your baby, you should use the following tips:
Use professional services: You should work with an instructor trained in prenatal pilates. Additionally, you should consult a healthcare professional or pelvic floor therapist before starting.
Stay cool and dry: During your lessons, you should stay cool and dry. Wearing comfortable, light clothing will help you with that.
Take water breaks: You should regularly have water breaks.
Let your body recover: After your pilates lessons, you should fully recover to avoid overstretching.
Looking to Get Lessons for Pilates While You Are Pregnant?
If you want safe pilates lessons during your pregnancy, LifeSpan Pilates is your best option. Based in New York, our studio is headed by expert pilates instructors with over 40 years of experience.
Our team will help you complete control of your body through exercises, eventually leading to suppleness in all your movements.
Among our services, we offer reformer, mat, stretch, and gymnastic sessions in the following formats:
Group classes
Private sessions
Drop-in classes
Pack classes
The Bottom Line
The crux of our thorough discussion on “Can you do Pilates while pregnant?” is that Pilates is beneficial in all stages of pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery.
Pilates helps your body more easily change as part of the pregnancy process. In addition, it improves your strength and flexibility and helps manage or alleviate common pregnancy-related aches and pains.
If you are seeking out Pilates lessons, LifeSpan Pilates is your best solution. Our trainers ensure safety and provide an effective challenge while you reap all the benefits discussed above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you not do in Pilates when pregnant?
When pregnant, you cannot do exercises while flat on your back, especially after 20 weeks into your pregnancy. Also, you should refrain from abdominal work, except when targeting obliques in side-lying positions. You should even avoid any exercise whereby you squeeze your legs together against resistance.
Is yoga or pilates better when pregnant?
Doing either yoga or pilates is equally good when you are pregnant. In fact, you can even practice both of these types of exercises. You can practice both of these exercises so long as the instructor adapts your lessons to the needs of your stage in pregnancy.
Who should not do Pilates?
Anyone experiencing a high-risk pregnancy should not do pilates. In particular, you should avoid it if you are at risk of preeclampsia or placental issues. In addition, you should avoid this exercise if you have experienced vaginal bleeding, preterm labor, or ruptured membranes.
