Top Tips for Working Out While Pregnant!

You love to workout and now you have found out that you are pregnant! Congrats! 
What happens next? Do you tell the sweet girl behind the SoulCycle counter "see you in 9 months" ? Nope! If you worked out before, then chances are working out while your pregnant should be no problem, of course, you should always check with your doctor if you are continuing to work out or want to begin a workout regiment while pregnant.
Working out while your pregnant has so many incredible benefits. Not only can it make labor and delivery easier, it will also help to elevate your mood and help you to increase your energy overall. There are also studies showing that babies of mothers who exercised while pregnant have a lower chance of adult obesity. 
We spoke with Dagmara Lometti, who is currently 6 months pregnant with baby #1, a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Rumble, in NYC, about working out with  baby on board and here is what she had to say. "I personally credit working out during pregnancy with the reason why I have felt so great the whole time."

She also gave us some great moves that will help any pregnant mama feel her best! 

1. Squats: starting with feet shoulder width apart, feet parallel, think about sitting back, move your butt backwards as you descend and feel the weight shifting to your heels. knees will travel slightly outwards, open chest, relax shoulders- looking straight ahead.

Benefit: Strengthens the pelvic floor muscles which could make labor and even recovery easier. 

2. Single Arm Rows: These can be done either on a workout bench or on the hands and knees. on a bench, bend at the hips and place one knee and the same-side hand on a flat bench. Keep the other foot on the floor beside the bench, holding a dumbell or light weight in the free hand, letting it hang straight to the floor with a loose elbow. Pull the weight toward your hip, keeping your elbow in close as you flex your back, bend your arm and bring your shoulder upward. At the top, your elbow should be pointing towards the ceiling, as you squeeze your shoulder blades together, then lower and repeat and then switch sides. 

Benefit: Keeping the back strong is important in helping to improve posture as the belly gets bigger and pulls the body forward.

3. Overhead Press: It can be done in either a sitting or standing position, and with dumbbells held horizontally at the shoulders or rotated in a hammer grip. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the shoulders with an overhand grip. Thumbs should be on the inside and knuckles facing up. Raise the weights above the head in a controlled motion while exhaling. Pause at the top of the motion. Return the dumbbells to the shoulders while inhaling.

Benefit: Helps build core stability as well as arm and shoulder strength lending itself to so many areas of daily life, not to mention, as Dagmara pointed out, "as your baby gets bigger you will be doing a lot of overhead pressing as you lift the baby up to make it laugh so it only makes sense to maintain and develop that strength during pregnancy"

Let us know if you plan to continue your workout throughout your pregnancy, or if you already have comment below on how it helped you either before or after labor. 

Dagmara Lometti has been featured at Self Magazine’s UpNOut Studio, Well + Good’s Fitness Biathlon, Wealthily and Bandier’s Summer Wealth Series and Athleta’s Summer Sweat Series. She frequently posts new workouts on her IG account which you can find @dagmaralometti.