Many women who are pregnant shy away from doing any weight training at all as they firmly believe that doing so will cause harm to them or their baby. But, this isn’t the case at all.
In fact, weight training can offer numerous benefits during this time, so is one form of exercise that you don’t want to drop from the picture.
Let’s take a look at what some of these benefits are so that you can see exactly why it’s a must in your overall workout program.
Creates A Larger Placenta
The very first benefit of weight-training during pregnancy is that it will help you develop a larger placenta. This is important because the placenta is the structure that is going to supply the baby with nutrients, so in turn, this can help your baby grow maximally throughout the pregnancy and be less at risk for deficiencies.
Decreases The Chances Of Excessive Fat Gain
The second reason why weight-training during pregnancy is a good idea is because it will decrease the chances that you suffer from excessive fat gain. Weight-training helps to produce a higher metabolic rate over the entire 24 hour period after a session is completed, therefore this will allow you to consume more calories while still keeping body fat levels under control.
While there’s no question you will gain some body fat during pregnancy, it is really best to keep fat gain minimized as much as possible as it will mean less weight to lose later on.
Helps Prepare The Body For Stress Induced By Delivery
Moving along, the next big reason to do weight-training during pregnancy is because it will prepare the body for the stress that can come about during delivery.
Giving birth is a very stressful time for the body and by subjecting the body to stress on a regular basis through weight-training, you cause it to become more equipped to handle stress with ease.
Reduces Your Chances Of Developing Varicose Veins
One big concern of some women as they move through the pregnancy period is the development of varicose veins.
If this is a concern for you, take comfort in knowing that weight-training can reduce your risk of these developing. Weight training will increase the strength of the capillaries and blood vessels, so that you stay looking great throughout your pregnancy as well as afterwards.
Gives You Better Self-Esteem During Pregnancy
Finally, the last primary reason to start adding weight-training into your pregnancy program is because it’s going to give you much better self-esteem throughout the pregnancy period.
Weight training will help you feel better about yourself, not only because you’ll look better, but also because you’ll feel prouder of what your body is able to accomplish for you.
This in turn makes you enjoy the pregnancy period more and will reduce the chances that you get down on yourself because you’re gaining some body weight.
As you can see, the benefits of doing weight-training during pregnancy are numerous, so make sure that you don’t overlook what this training has to offer. Get past your fears and start including it in your workout routine.
Mommies…did you exercise while being pregnant? Tell me about it
