HARPER'S BAZAAR: THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF PREGNANCY FITNESS
This is an excerpt and image from this article by Harper's Bazaar, in which Barrecore featured.
Prenatal exercise can have endless benefits for both mother and baby – when done correctly. At six months pregnant, Niki Rein - the founder and creative director of Barrecore, London's most leg-tremblingly arduous fitness studio - shares her definitive dos and don'ts of pregnancy workouts with Bazaar. Over to the pro...
"A 30-minute brisk walk is enough, but try to also do body-weight strength exercises at least two or three times per week."
"Each day is different and it's imperative to your health and that of your growing baby that you take breaks more often, and only do what feels right for you."
"Your body is working extra hard with extra weight and therefore maintaining strength if you are still exercising."
"As you gain weight on the front of your body, focused exercises on the back, glutes and hamstrings are key for good posture, better energy and avoiding back pain – a common pregnancy ailment."
"Your pelvic floor is constantly worked throughout your pregnancy and is stretched and often traumatised during labour. Make sure you are both fully releasing and fully lifting during your pelvic floor squeezes. A supple pelvic floor is just as important as a strong pelvic floor."
"…and watch how quickly you bounce back post baby! These three types of exercises keep your core engaged which is more likely to make your labour easier and recovery faster. Plus, they all focus on pelvic floor engagement – bonus."
"The hormone relaxin is released during pregnancy which loosens joints and makes them less stable, so you are more likely to twist an ankle or lose your balance, causing other injuries when doing high-impact exercise."
"Things like horse riding, football, boxing, mountain biking and scuba diving are all best avoided."
"In the first trimester, your baby cannot regulate its body temperature, so it's important that you stay cool and hydrated. It's best not to overheat in the later stages of pregnancy too, despite the fact that you still may sweat."
"At this stage, it just puts extra weight on your already stretched pelvic floor."
"This is the time to maintain strength and fitness, not progress."
"Growing a human is hard work and your body is already working out every moment of the day, not just during your exercise class. Give yourself a break!"
Our unique Barrecore Method is recognised as one of the fastest, safest and most effective body transformation exercises, and has been publicly endorsed by Claudia Schiffer, Pippa Middleton, Rita Ora, Vogue, Elle, Women's Health, Condé Nast and Vanity Fair amongst many others. We have physical studios as well as online workouts accessed by Barrecore fans in over 100 countries. Barrecore is suitable for all fitness levels, and can easily be done from home without special equipment. Try our workouts through the free trial of Live Streamed Classes, or the free trial of our Videos On Demand.
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TRY OUR ONLINE WORKOUTS FOR FREECreating your own personalised playlists on Barrecore is easy - to start, simply find a video you like, then click the button that looks like this:
You can name your playlist, add as many videos as you'd like to it, and remove/reorder the videos in your playlist to suit your training needs.
To remove a video from a playlist, simply click the 'x' on the video in the playlist view that you no longer want to watch, and confirm to remove.
To re-order it, just click the left '<' and right '>' arrows of the video in the playlist, to swap it with the video next to it.
You'll find your favourite playlists saved for you once you have signed in.
