TRAINING FOR PREGNANT WOMEN: DO'S AND DO'S

In previous articles, we have already discussed many issues related to pregnancy fitness: the most important thing that an instructor should know, and what exercises can and should be performed during pregnancy.

Today we’ll talk about what should be avoided when training in an interesting position, what you should pay special attention to. Consider the most frequently asked questions on different muscle groups and types of training.

ABDOMINAL TRAINING DURING PREGNANCY

With increasing gestational age, the center of gravity shifts further and further due to the growth of the abdomen, which leads to an increase in lumbar lordosis (a deflection in the lower back) and to the possible appearance of pain in the back. The abdominal muscles during pregnancy must be strong to help the back muscles maintain a close to vertical body position and minimize discomfort.

This is absolutely correct. Only this does not mean that exercises for the rectus abdominis are mandatory during pregnancy to make her stronger than she was. This also does not mean that it is necessary to start "pumping" the abdominal muscles for those who have not done this before. In reality, if the abdominal muscles were trained before pregnancy, then their “strength” margin would be enough for all 9 months for the most comfortable state. If there was no good press before, then, most likely, it will no longer be possible to achieve it during pregnancy.

To understand why this is so, you need to understand what happens to the stomach during pregnancy in terms of physiology.

In the first half of pregnancy, the size of the abdominal cavity practically does not increase, because. the uterus itself does not yet become noticeably larger. During this period, the formation of the child's body systems takes place without active growth of the fetus in size.

In the second half of pregnancy, every week the fetus significantly increases in height and weight. The uterus becomes larger, the size of the abdominal cavity increases, the stomach begins to actively "bulge" forward.

The rectus abdominis must lengthen so as not to impede this process. This requires its high elasticity, the degree of which depends on three main factors:

To train the abdominal muscles, various modifications of the two types of exercises are most often used.

Dynamic option - flexion of the spine in the lumbar and lower thoracic regions;

Static option - different variations of movements / holding legs on weight in the supine position.

Let's analyze what happens when using these exercises during pregnancy:

- flexion of the spine in the lumbar and lower thoracic regions is possible, but only in the early stages of pregnancy, while the abdomen is not yet pronounced. At later stages, it becomes more and more difficult (and then almost impossible) purely mechanically - the size of the abdomen simply does not allow you to bend in these sections of the spine. When pregnant women are offered these exercises, everything is limited to moving the head in the cervical region in an attempt to raise the body above the floor.

- holding the legs (moving the legs) on the weight in the supine position is theoretically possible throughout pregnancy, tk. these actions do not use flexion of the spine (the abdominal muscles tighten to fix the position of the pelvis so that the lower back does not bend), and the growing stomach does not interfere with movements in the hip and knee joints. The abdominal muscles must exert a high enough force to hold the pelvis in place. However, as the gestation period increases and the abdomen grows, the rectus abdominis lengthens, and the longer the muscle, the less force it can exert. It becomes almost impossible for pregnant women to keep their back and pelvis on the floor, there is an excessive deflection in the lower back, which, with a high vertical load on this area, can lead to severe discomfort (at least) or injury to the lumbar region. This exercise is quite difficult to perform even for a non-pregnant woman!

It turns out that in the second half of pregnancy, exercises on the abdominal muscles are either practically impossible (dynamic option), or fraught with a high risk of negative consequences of their implementation (static option).

In the first half of pregnancy, it is, in principle, possible to train the stomach in the expectation that the muscles will have time to become stronger to provide greater comfort at a later date. But there probably won't be enough time for that. But muscle tone may well become higher if you force the load too much - for example, “pump your stomach” every day in large volume. Increased tone prevents normal muscle lengthening, which is necessary at this moment. As a result, the diastasis described above occurs (this is quite often observed in athletes with “cubes” on their stomachs). Of course, there is always a risk of diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles, but with increased training, it increases. This is not to say that “abs” exercises are strictly prohibited during pregnancy. But when planning your classes, you need to evaluate the potential benefits of training the abdominal muscles and correlate them with the possible risks.

Ideal for women: Abdominal training combined with pre-pregnancy posture training will help you feel more comfortable throughout the 9 months. And during pregnancy, it is better to focus on doing other exercises.

If the ideal option did not work out, the stomach was not trained before pregnancy, then instead of ambiguous twists and other exercises for the press, it is better to focus on posture and exercises to relax the back muscles.

TRAINING THE BACK MUSCLES (EXTENSIONS OF THE SPINE) DURING PREGNANCY

The main function of the extensor muscles of the spine is to hold the trunk in a vertical position and maintain balance. These muscles are constantly used in everyday life - almost always when we are not lying down. During pregnancy, the load on the extensor muscles increases due to natural changes. With the course of pregnancy, the center of gravity shifts forward due to the growth of the abdomen, the lower back sags more and more. Along with this, the size and weight of the chest increase, and this leads to the lowering of the shoulders forward and the appearance of a stoop in the upper body. As a result, changes in the initial anatomical position occur immediately in two sections of the spine: an increase in lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis. This simultaneous "over-curvature" can cause discomfort and pain in the back. The task of the extensor muscles of the spine is to compensate for changes in posture associated with pregnancy, to help avoid soreness. To do this, the muscles must be strong enough.

The common logic of many fitness instructors is to make sure to do exercises to strengthen the spinal extensor muscles (hyperextensions) to maintain their strength or have time to make them strong during pregnancy.

We do not recommend doing this. Let's explain why.

If a woman has strong enough spinal extensor muscles because she trained before pregnancy, then these muscles will be able to counteract excessive curvature of the spine and posture, because. will be able to keep the torso in an upright position. At the same time, the discomfort will be manifested to a lesser extent. They may not even exist at all.

However, additional exercises for the extensor muscles will be superfluous. After all, these muscles during pregnancy will constantly strain in everyday life, receiving a natural additional load that they previously received during training.

If a woman did not train before pregnancy, then for her muscles every day additional effort will be a greater load than before pregnancy, i.e., in fact, training. When the muscles are constantly tired, it is not advisable to additionally load them. Rather, they need to recover from the daily unaccustomed stress.

In both cases, we would advise focusing on relaxing and stretching the ever-tiring spinal extensor muscles.

Exercising the extensor muscles may be relevant at the beginning of pregnancy, while the daily load is low - before the growing belly and chest begin to change posture. But even during this period, in our opinion, it is better to focus on exercises aimed more at forming or maintaining a correct posture than on strength exercises for the back muscles. Performing special exercises for posture, in any case, we use the extensor muscles, which can be a sufficient load for them. And besides this, we form such a necessary skill at this time to maintain an even vertical position of the body.

Power load

Strength exercises and power loads should also be selected taking into account the ongoing physiological changes. It is not necessary to exclude strength training, but the methodology must be adjusted.

Load intensity

Those for whom power loads are familiar, who worked out "before", should gradually reduce the intensity of the loads. Indeed, even though the muscles themselves are quite capable of withstanding the usual level of load, and a woman may feel ready to continue training at the same intensity, it should be remembered that the state of the joints and ligaments is fundamentally changing. Due to the effect of relaxin, they are not ready to continue to safely resist the load that they previously coped with.

And for those who didn't exercise before pregnancy, it can be even more dangerous. Therefore, power loads for them should be selected especially carefully. It is better to limit yourself to minimal impact, so as not to lead to overwork and injury.

Optional equipment

Any additional equipment may be an additional power load. In addition, the use of various items in training requires the ability to handle them in such a way that it is safe for a person.

The equipment can be used (remember the difference between the words “can” and “necessary”), but do not abuse it. And it’s better to think in advance - is it really so necessary that you can’t do without it?

Additional equipment (dumbbells, body bars, barbells, rubber shock absorbers, etc.) is often used to increase the degree of load. Given what we wrote above about intensity, it is worth thinking before using it. You can likely do without equipment using only your own body weight. Especially with those who did not do strength exercises before pregnancy. Often, coaches do not realize that in the second half of pregnancy, a woman already carries an ever-increasing weight. Sometimes more than the weight of the bar from a bar, for example, or a body bar. Therefore, the weight of the additional equipment, together with her own increased weight, can become an excessive load, especially in the initial standing positions when performing exercises on the muscles of the lower extremities.

If you have done strength training before, if you have developed the skill of working with equipment, then there is no reason to refuse it completely. You just need to gradually reduce the working weight and reduce the complexity of the exercises.

If a woman has never trained with equipment and does not know how to handle it, then she must first be taught this. However, do not get carried away and spend a lot of time on something that is not a task of paramount importance. Moreover, the period of pregnancy is far from the best time for mastering new skills. And, any. The head of pregnant women works in a completely different way, nature has made sure that most of the body's resources (including the brain) are spent only on the successful bearing of the fetus. That's why pregnant women become so distracted.

The only thing that may be worth focusing on is exercises with additional weight for the muscles of the arms. A dumbbell of 1-1.5 kg for isolated training of the biceps of the shoulder, deltoid muscle, pectoral muscles may well be useful, since the expectant mother after childbirth should be ready to carry more weight in her hands.

Starting positions

The longer the gestation period, the greater the body weight and the higher the load on the joints of the legs. It is increasing every day. Performing exercises in a standing position are becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, in training, you should gradually replace them with exercises in a position on the floor. This is especially true for untrained women, whose joints are not used to high loads.

In addition, during pregnancy, blood often stagnates in the lower body. This occurs in particular due to prolonged immobility in a standing position. As a result, edema, varicose veins, hemorrhoids may occur. Therefore, we need exercises that improve blood circulation in the lower extremities: normal walking, foot rolls from heels to fingers and back, various (including circular) foot movements. Many of these exercises can be performed not only while standing but also in any other position (sitting, lying down), they do not require additional equipment. Such movements should be performed not only in the classroom, but they should also be recommended in any situation where you have to stand or sit still for a long time: at work, in the car, on public transport, inline, or in front of the TV.

The starting position lying on the stomach, for obvious reasons, must be eliminated as soon as the stomach begins to increase in size.

The supine starting position is often forbidden to be used in class (most instructors who come to the seminar are absolutely sure of the correctness of this prohibition). It is widely believed that this position should be excluded from training, because. there is a risk of compression of the inferior vena cava, which leads to dizziness, fainting, and even loss of consciousness.

Yes, it can happen. But not with everyone, and not in every case - many women are not even aware of such a problem, they rest and sleep all pregnancy, lying on their backs, and nothing terrible happens. However, forewarned is forearmed.

To do this, instead of excluding the supine position from the training process, without telling anything about the possible unpleasant and even dangerous consequences, it is better to do things differently. Ask if the woman has experienced the situation described above in her daily life or in other activities. Explain why this has happened or may happen in the future. Teach how to behave when the first symptoms occur: stop doing the exercise, roll over to the left side (to reduce pressure on the inferior vena cava, because it runs to the right of the spine), maybe even sit down (but not abruptly). Offer to perform the exercise lying on your back and carefully monitor your well-being. If everything is in order, then there is no reason to exclude such exercises. They should be abandoned only if the symptoms that were described above appear.

For the future, it is necessary to advise a woman in everyday life to pay attention to the slightest discomfort when she lies on her back. If discomfort appears, then you will have to rest and sleep so that the torso is in an elevated position.

Using this tactic, we not only retain the ability to use a fairly wide range of exercises but, most importantly, help a woman feel as confident and comfortable as possible outside of our classes.

Aqua aerobics

There is a general opinion that aqua aerobics is shown to absolutely all pregnant women because it is the best and safest form of physical activity for them.

What is true in this statement? Indeed, being in the water is very pleasant in terms of sensations, because. its own weight "reduces" compared to the actual weight of the body "on land" due to the buoyant action of the water. At the same time, the vertical (shock) load is reduced, the joints of the lower extremities and the spine are “unloaded”. Additionally, there is a natural micro-massage of the skin, etc.

But it's one thing to just be in the water. And quite another thing is to move. If we compare the resistance force of the air and water environment when performing movements, then a clear difference will be visible. When you move on land in different directions (to the sides, back and forth), the air resistance is practically not felt, because. it is too small. If the same actions are performed in the water, then they will be much harder to perform, because. the water-resistance force is much higher. Try simply raising your arms forward to horizontal on land and in water and compare which is heavier.

Therefore, any actions in the water for joints and ligaments can be even more traumatic than on land. This should be remembered when doing swimming or aqua aerobics. The principle is the same: if you did this before pregnancy, continue by reducing the speed of swimming, reducing the amplitude and pace of exercises during aqua aerobics, doing everything very smoothly, and being in control of your movements.

If you have not practiced, but really want to start, be extremely careful. Follow all the nuances, control the amplitude and speed of the exercises, since it is very easy to “pull” a softened joint in the water (especially when using additional equipment: a swimming shoulder blade in the palm of your hand will greatly increase the load on the elbow and shoulder joints).

HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT EXERCISE IS POSSIBLE AND WHAT SHOULD NOT BE OFFERED TO PREGNANT WOMEN

We have considered only some of the options for exercises, it is impossible to make out everything. But if you need to decide for yourself what to offer or not offer in training with pregnant women, then we recommend using the logic below.

Do not raise the question: "what should not be done when pregnant." Consider any exercise, first of all, from the standpoint of expediency, first answering two questions.

First: can this exercise be performed by a pregnant woman? In most cases, this question can be answered positively, provided that the course of pregnancy is normal and there are no obvious pathologies (only a doctor detects pathologies, a fitness trainer does not have the right to make a conclusion about the course of pregnancy). And also, when it comes to what a woman did in the period before pregnancy, and what is familiar and natural for her.

The second, much more difficult question: how much does a pregnant woman need this exercise? How useful it will be, given her position and individual condition. This issue is inextricably linked with the goals and objectives of training during pregnancy.

For example: is it possible for a woman during pregnancy to offer a highly coordinated load? Basically, you can. There are no definite categorical contraindications. But is it necessary? .. Especially considering that this load is given to a woman more difficult due to changes in the functioning of the nervous system. In addition, due to the shift in the center of gravity during complex exercises, there is a greater risk of losing balance, stumbling, and h, hurting yourself. If you choose between coordination and power load, then it would be more appropriate to offer, for example, strength exercises for the muscles of the hands. Strong arms are very useful after childbirth. And it is better to leave the development of coordination capabilities for later.

Another important filter for choosing or excluding some exercises: individual condition and whether a woman exercised before pregnancy. What would be perfectly normal for a pre-pregnancy exerciser may not be acceptable and/or simply impossible for another pregnant woman. For example, if a woman is a master of sports in alpine skiing, then skiing is as usual for her as ordinary people walk. Therefore, it would be illogical to forbid her from this occupation. Moreover, the natural instinct of caring for a child will most likely protect her from riding too extreme. And the usual human logic allows you to gradually abandon this hobby as pregnancy develops. However, you should not “get up” on skiing for those who are not professionals in this matter. The experience can be deplorable...

In general, decisions on such issues should be made based on an understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the pregnancy process, as well as knowledge of training theory. If you hear somewhere categorical “this cannot be done / possible/necessary”, always analyze this statement, trying to get an answer to the question “why”, based on the knowledge of these sciences.

We study in detail the physiology of pregnancy and the methodology of training for pregnant women at the seminar Methods of Fitness Training for Pregnant Women (4 days).