Thinking about exercising during pregnancies? You are not alone.
Nowadays a lot of women are taking up exercising during pregnancies ditching the usual practice of indulging in all rest and performing non-stimulating activities.
Though yoga finds itself at the top spot for most practiced exercises, there are a lot of options for you to choose from, provided you are safe and under proper supervision.
Jumping ropes is one among them. Now, this might bring back to you the days when you could skip between the ropes for minutes straight giggling with your mates. Yeah, you can still do it, but with caution that you must usually take in your new daily routines.
Can you or can you not
Though exercising is good, there are certain areas where you must have your guard up.
Not all are fortunate enough to have a healthy pregnancy without complications or tons of morning sicknesses. If you are one of them, strenuous exercises are not recommended for you. You can gradually build your health around light-exercises to keep yourself engaged and healthy. It is important to answer to your body and do what your body allows you. Take a walk in the fresh air, and practice yoga, or indulge in other fun activities to keep yourself engaged and refreshed.
If you are pregnant and were never into exercising before, don’t start now. Exercising takes up a lot of stamina and more importantly grit. It is never easy. Even jumping ropes. It might take you at least a week of regular exercise to get your body acclimatized to the exercise without getting many results even in normal scenarios. Adding pregnancy to it might not help, as building stamina takes a lot of time. Hence, stick to what you normally do.
If you are a healthy pregnant woman who used to exercise, you can continue doing them. Yes, but you must take some precautions as not to hurt the baby.
But it is important to remember that you must remember when to take a rest. It is not a competition, neither you are doing it to go by the clock.
Before beginning
It is advised to consult your gynecologist to ensure that it is safe for you and your baby to take up the exercise.
This will serve two purposes. First, you can ensure safety. Second, you can know the limits and the signs you must observe when your body undergoes strain more it can handle.
If you know the whats and whatnots of the exercise, you can begin your exercises. But if not, then have supervision. You can also have a certified trainer to help you do that. But if it is limited to just jumping ropes, you do not need a trainer, but there are some added pointers you must keep in mind.
Things to keep a note of
- Jumping ropes require you to jump up and down, sliding the ropes through your legs. Depending on the stage of pregnancy you are in, you are advised not to jump up too high. Jumping higher up and down increases the force on the belly (i.e. uterus will weigh onto the cervix), hence impacting the baby. Hence, do not overdo it. Keep minimum distances off the ground when you jump.
- There are numerous ways to go about jumping. The normal ones, side-swings, crisscross…etc. It is important to remember, you must only strain yourself as much as your body allows. Don’t overdo it. Even if you could do magnificent jump rope tricks before pregnancy, don’t exert yourself trying to do it or get disheartened by not matching up to your past self.
- Not all pregnancies are the same. You know the best what your body is going through. Hence it is highly advised not to blindly follow pregnancy workouts you see out there. Don’t push yourself too much.
- Monitor your heart rate. A general rule says to keep your heart rate below 140bpm as a precaution. Of course, if you do not use the heart monitoring devices, then stop when you get too out of breath.
- Don’t raise your body temperature too high (another sign of exerting too much).
- Do it in intervals. Exercising while taking adequate breaks will help you continue for a longer period and will also not push you to the limits of exhaustion.
Benefits of jump rope or exercises in general during the pregnancies
Exercising has lots of benefits especially during pregnancies. And this very fact has helped it to break many myths surrounding ‘pregnancies and exercise’ pushing more women to consider it even if not fully adopt.
- First and foremost is it helps you have a proper sleep. During pregnancies, the body undergoes a wide change in terms of hormones. Many people find it difficult to have their normal hours of sleep. Exercising will help you here. Exercising will tire you and will help you have a good night’s sleep when you rest for the day.
IMPORTANT: this does not mean you drive yourself to exhaustion. If you face too much difficulty consult your doctor.
- It helps you be more relaxed and keeps you engaged. When your body is raging with different emotions it is good to keep yourself engaged. If you love exercising you will find it relaxing too. Hence, you can use it as a mood-lifters to cope up with your mood swings.
- It is good for you and your baby. Earlier it was advised that pregnant women should have complete rest to deliver a safe and healthy baby. But doctors now suggest mild exercises like brisk walking, swimming, aerobics during pregnancy healthy the pregnancy.
- It benefits by increasing blood circulation and hence keeping your body at its best.
- It helps post-pregnancy. If you regularly exercise during pregnancy, then it will help you keep your core strength and endurance level. This will be helpful for you if you want to return to exercise post your pregnancy.
The risk you might face
If you take adequate caution, there is a low possibility of you facing any risk. But you may never know because no thumb rule says that things will always go by this.
Hence, it is advised to have someone near, to help you out in case things go wrong somewhere.
It can induce premature labor. As stated earlier, while you are jumping you are pounding your uterus onto the cervix imitating contraction. Hence, try to avoid jumping in later stages especially towards the end of your pregnancy.
You might also face bleeding or some discomfort. If yes, then do not continue with jumps for your exercise but switch to some other form of exercise with lighter exertion.
Other forms of exercise you can try out
Yoga is a good option if you are looking for not so strenuous activity.
Another good alternative is brisk walking. You can go out somewhere with fresh air and walk around. It is easy and convenient.
Another best alternative is water exercise as it removes the weight from your body. You can try swimming or water yoga…etc. depending on your preference.
Some last-minute notes
It is important to prioritize and know your goals of exercising during the pregnancy. This is not a time for losing weight or building abs. Your goal is to be healthy along with being safe for the baby. hence be careful with the choice, duration, and rest period for your choice of exercise.
And last but not the least, respond to your body. If your body wants to take a rest, take a break. If you are feeling nauseous and cannot continue, don’t.
It is important to be safe along with healthy. Hence, don’t fret much over about it. But if you can, jumping ropes are fine as long as you know when to stop.