Human beings need to exercise regularly. Regular exercise was not a big problem a century ago because the average person’s daily life required physical activity. Times have changed. Our survival no longer depends on the same physical demands of our ancestors, yet our bodies still require regular exercise to maintain optimal health.
Numerous studies and years of research has revealed that it is equally important for pregnant women to remain active throughout their pregnancies and engage is regular exercise. Knowing that exercise should be an important part of every pregnant woman’s daily life is one thing. Committing to a regular exercise routine (pregnant or not) is never easy. There are countless obstacles that hinder most people, especially pregnant women from exercising daily/regularly. We can come up with a number of excuses why we cannot commit to exercise daily/several times a week.
While the reasons for not exercising are largely universal, the reasons may vary a little for pregnant women. Some common reasons for not exercising include: nausea, fatigue, and pregnancy induced aches and pains. Ironically, exercise can actually minimize or even eliminate these reasons. Like most adults, many pregnant women work full time, whether it be inside the home as a homemaker and/or employee etc., or outside the home; many pregnant women find that they do not have time to exercise. When we add all the other commitments the average pregnant woman might have, it really seems like there simply is not enough time in the day to exercise. This is where hard core commitment comes into play. There will always be something, some commitment that might hinder one’s ability to exercise. We MUST find the time. We have to make the effort to set aside thirty minutes to an hour several times a week or even every day to exercise. Sometimes this means NOT doing something that we think we need to do. Sometimes we have to say no and put our need for a regular exercise routine first. It could even be as simple as giving up one favorite television show a day.
The bottom line is that we have to make time to exercise. There will always be some sort of obstacle to exercise. We have to make the commitment to exercise for ourselves and our growing babies. In all honesty we are the only ones that can truly motivate ourselves to exercise regularly!