Pregnancy can be incredibly hard. Your body is going through huge changes, in order to sustain and grow a human baby inside you, causing you to often feel exhausted and nauseous.
You also have to often adapt different things in your lifestyle in order to ensure that the baby is healthy and well and that no issues arise.
It is no wonder, therefore, that many pregnant women worry about what they can and cannot do while making sure the baby is safe.
Can you jog during pregnancy? Is exercise good or bad?
To answer the question in simple terms: yes, you can jog while pregnant. In fact, a bit of exercise is recommended.
However, you need to be aware of your limitations, and you need to adapt your jogging and exercise to ensure you’re not exhausting yourself or over-doing it.
You also shouldn’t start jogging too much if you’ve never jogged before, you should remain consistent with your body’s capabilities and the new limitations due to your condition.
Exercise during pregnancy
Some people might worry about exercising during pregnancy, as they’re scared it might harm the baby in some way.
However, exercise during pregnancy is completely safe, and it is not dangerous for the baby whatsoever.
In fact, keeping active or engaging in a bit of exercise can be beneficial to pregnant women, as it will be easier for them to adapt to the weight gain and body changes, and might even help cope with the labor better.
That said, if you haven’t exercised regularly before the pregnancy, you shouldn’t start all of a sudden by doing too much.
Exercise should be gradual and controlled while checking that no limits are being surpassed.
Especially as pregnancy advances, you will likely have to reduce the amount of exercise, as you will become exhausted a lot easier.
You should also always check with your doctor, as some people with complicated pregnancies or underlying health conditions might have to take it even easier.
It is also best to avoid any exercise or sport that involves contact, as you might risk the baby being hit and something going wrong.
The best exercise you can do is simple physical activities. One of the best activities is therefore a bit of jogging.
Jogging recommendations for pregnant women
Now that you know that it is completely safe to jog and run while pregnant, we thought we would give you a few tips to ensure that you do so safely, without surpassing any limits.
Although jogging is safe, you still need to be careful not to end up exhausted and not to push yourself too hard.
Here are some tips:
- To ensure you’re not overexerting yourself, you can try the “talk test”. It basically means that you should be able to hold a conversation while jogging without running out of breath. If you do, then it’s an indication that you should slow down or stop to rest.
- Warm-up before jogging, and cool down afterward. You’re carrying extra weight with pregnancy and your body might be off-balance because of it. It’s a lot easier to strain a muscle or get hurt, so you need to take extra care with stretching before and after.
- Avoid jogging in very hot weather, and make sure you drink plenty of water. After all, you now have to stay hydrated for two rather than for one!
- Adapt your jogging routine so that you’re running less the more you advance into the pregnancy. It’s important that you never exhaust yourself or push yourself too hard.
- Keep a daily routine. It’s best to do less at a time on a more regular basis than to jog irregularly and try to make up for it by running for longer. The best way to do it is by combining a bit of jogging with some walking, staying close to home, and reducing the duration of your exercise accordingly.
- Contact your healthcare provider or doctor and ask for guidance. Especially if you have any doubts about what you should and shouldn’t do. Each person’s pregnancy is different, so you need to adapt things to what specifically works for you and your condition.
Other recommendations
Other things that you should keep in mind, is that you should avoid lying flat on your back for long periods of time (as the weight of your bump can press down on the main blood vessels and cause faintness), you should avoid scuba diving, and you should avoid exercising at heights above 2500m above sea level.
If you want to do something else other than jogging, you could try out some swimming! The water will hold up some of your extra weight, letting your muscles rest a bit while you exercise and keep fit!
You can also search up if any local gyms or sport centers are holding any fitness classes specially designed for pregnant women.
It’s a great way to keep fit and exercise in a controlled environment while bonding with other women in the same situation!
Conclusion
Can you jog while pregnant?
This is something very normal to be worried about, as pregnancy alters the body and limits the things that you can and cannot do, plus you need to ensure that you’re keeping the baby safe from any danger.
The good news is that jogging is completely safe while pregnant, and it is actually recommended to take part in some regular physical activity to keep fit.
To ensure that you jog in a safe way, you need to always make sure you’re not reaching a level of exhaustion. It’s important to reduce physical activity as the pregnancy advances, as the increased weight causes more of a strain on your muscles and body.
Warm-ups and cool-downs are key, as well as staying hydrated and keeping away from harsh weather conditions such as very hot days.
All in all, if you jog safely, taking into account your limitations and adapting your running routine accordingly, you can perfectly combine keeping fit and exercising with your pregnancy, and it will actually provide some benefits too!