Pre and Post-Natal exercise and why its important

It is well known that exercising and eating healthily during pregnancy has profound benefits both tangible and hidden for both the mother and baby.

10 reasons to exercise for Pre and Post-Natal Women

1. Exercises such as Pelvic Tilts can offer relief from back pain experienced during pregnancy.

2. Lowered risk of gestational diabetes.

3. Ladies who exercise throughout pregnancy and also resume exercise post birth (once ready) report better moods than their sedentary peers.

4. Increased energy and vitality.

5. Less likely to need intervention during delivery such as forceps and c-section and labour may be less drawn out.

6. Exercising and activating the core muscles (especially the Pelvic floor muscles) can help with delivery and are crucial to avoid stress incontinence post birth. 

7. A structured exercise session can provide a little fun 'me time' for the post-natal mother that can help alleviate stress and fatigue. Happy mother = happy baby!

8. Exercise can be a wonderful sleep aid helping those to sleep more soundly.

9. Targeted exercises can help with abdominal recovery and those recovering from a c-section.

10.  Post-Natal exercise can help speed recovery from delivery, improves muscle tone, aids relaxation, reduced stress and anxiety and may help to initiate fat burning too!

There are so many reasons to incorporate exercise into your daily routine and that applies to all however, those that are Pre or Post-Natal can really reap the benefits and experience significant beneficial changes.   

If you would like to start Pre or Post-Natal exercise and would like to see a qualified Pre and Post-Natal Instructor who is also a Personal Trainer and Pilates instructor, please see our homepage or contact us for more details. Many thanks Red Hot Personal Training. 

Make 2018 the year to get fit and toned, here's how!

A new client came to Red Hot Personal Training in search of ways to improve upon her body shape and in particular muscular definition and asked why she had not seen her body change at all despite going to the gym 3 times a week and running on the treadmill for 30 minutes?  Now there are many answers to this question that would effect her results including diet, stress levels, hormones, sleep pattern etc however, our next question was very important. Do you incorporate the free weights, suspension equipment, medicine balls etc available or ever do bodyweight exercises? No she replied I just want to burn calories as quick as I can and go home as I really don't like running!

After explaining the benefits of incorporating all these other options into her exercise routine we set clear goals for her to reach that would utilise a variety of exercises equipment and also the addition of body weight exercises that would challenge her and force her body to adapt and change for the better.  

The take home message we really want to get across is please don't stick to the same exercises routine for every session.  Give the treadmill a break for a bit and explore other options. Mix it up and your body will always be kept guessing. Add in those bodyweight exercises including planks, pull-up, press-ups, squats, lunges etc and see your body increase in strength and muscle tone.