Pregnancy: Recommended Exercise DVDs

It is an acknowledge fact that it is important to keep healthy during the course of your pregnancy. That means to eat well and to stay active within the recommended guidelines. Exercising during pregnancy can be beneficial not only during the course of the pregnancy but also when it comes to labour.

One of the issues that many pregnant women run into is finding the time to exercise. If you are a working mother with other children, simply finding the time to put your feet up is a challenge, let alone finding the time to exercise. One great way to exercise is to do pregnancy workout DVDs at home. Working out at home offers many advantages - you don’t waste time travelling, you don’t have to find a babysitter for your other kids, and you can elect to do it on the spur of the moment whenever you find yourself with a bit of extra time on your hands.

Regardless of whether you were a regular gym-goer or a regular couch potato before you got pregnant, there are plenty of ways to exercise safely. The question that arises is: what exercises are safe to perform during pregnancy? When you are pregnant, there are limitations to the type of exercises that you can and cannot do. Your limitations will also be affected by how active you were before becoming pregnant.

By selecting workout DVDs specially recorded for pregnant mothers by qualified instructors, you can ensure that you only do exercises that are safe for you to do. These workouts also offer options you can take if you suffer from any pregnancy-related problems. The exercises on pregnancy workout DVDs are usually choreographed to take into consideration the limitations that pregnancy women have when it comes to exercising – such as not working out too hard and risking overheating, stretches that help to relieve certain pregnancy aches, frequent reminders to stay hydrated, not to overstretch, avoiding exercises that require you to lie on your back for extended periods during the later stages of pregnancy, and so on.

As with everything else in life, not all pregnancy workout DVDs are equal. It is important to select workouts recorded by qualified instructors who know the limitations of pregnant women. You need to be sure that the workout offered is appropriate for pregnant women. The following are some recommended pregnancy workout DVDs:

Pilates is a great exercise for pregnancy because it targets the tummy and pelvic floor muscles which are often weakened during pregnancy. It is gentle and easily modified for any level of fitness. Pilates stretches can also help to relieve certain aches and pains that arise during pregnancy. Many of the exercises are performed on a “hands and knees” position which helps to take the stress off your back and pelvis. This position is also good for helping to position your baby for delivery.

Pregalates is a great pilates workout DVD for pregnant mothers because it is divided into four workouts – one for each trimester and one postnatal workout. Each workout contains important adjustments tailored for each trimester of your pregnancy, for instance, limiting the time spent on the back during the second and third trimester, and taking into consideration changes in energy levels and range of movements as your pregnancy progresses. The instructor, Tasha, is also pregnant at the same stage of pregnancy in each of the workouts giving her a better insight into some of the issues that pregnant women face.

One of the best features of the 10 Minute Solutions workouts is the flexibility to mix and match workouts or to complete the whole workout. This allows you to workout according to the amount of time and energy you have. The DVD is broken up in to five 10 minutes workouts concentrating on various aspects: Buns & Thighs, Standing, Core, Flexibility, and Total Body, so you can choose which area you wish to specifically target. This DVD also comes with a bonus workout for postnatal mothers looking to get back in shape after the delivery.

Another great way to stay fit during pregnancy is to practice yoga. Yoga offers the benefits of breathing, stretching and relaxing. The stretches can help with certain pregnancy aches and pains, the breathing helps prepare you for labour, and relaxation helps you to adjust to the physical demands of labour, birth and motherhood.

Postures for Pregnancy is a basic yoga workout for pregnant women that teaches you the proper body alignment, increases flexibility, improves circulation, strengthens your body to relieve pregnancy-related discomforts and offers breathing techniques to help relieve shortness of breath and stress.

This DVD has two segments comprising a 50 minute prenatal and a 30 minute postnatal workout. Produced with consultations from three childbirth experts, you can rest assured that the exercises in this DVD are safe for pregnant women. The DVD also includes an in-depth question and answer segment with top physicians covering commonly asked questions by pregnant mothers. The exercises include warm-ups, stretches, aerobic routines, and toning exercises for the whole body.

This is a terrific series of pregnancy exercise DVDs that is suitable for mothers of all levels of fitness. Each workout offers exercise variations to cater for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The series comprises of four DVDs – one for each trimester and one postnatal. Each of the prenatal workout DVDs comes with two total body workouts and one bonus prenatal yoga workout.

The exercises for each trimester are designed to help you deal with specific pregnancy-related symptoms. For instance, the first trimester DVD helps to increase energy levels and decrease common first trimester symptoms, like nausea. The second trimester DVD helps to ease back pain, decrease swelling, improve digestion, ease emotions and avoid excessive weight gain. The third trimester DVD targets to improve circulation, decrease fatigue and ease back pain. The entire series helps to prepare your body for labour and regain your pre-pregnant shape more quickly after the delivery.

The postnatal workout is fully programmable so you can design your own personalised workout program from six 3-minute core workouts and ten 10-minute weight loss workouts. The variable workout helps to keep the program fresh and it allows you to gain the maximum results in the minimum amount of time.

These DVDs are just the tip of the iceberg on pregnancy workout DVDs. These days, there are so many terrific pregnancy workout DVDs available to choose that you will never get bored working out at home.