6 Best Exercises to Perform During the Third Trimester of Pregnancy

Throughout pregnancy, your body goes through plenty of changes, with distinct functional and symptom changes between the three trimesters. The third and final trimester can be uncomfortable due to things like leg cramps, indigestion, and Braxton Hicks contractions. You don't have to give up on getting out of bed for a few days or even a few weeks.

In fact, up until your due date, you can continue to be as active as usual and can safely perform a few recommended exercises in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

In general, it's not advisable to begin a high-intensity workout programme that you have not yet tried previously while pregnant.

However, the following workout regimens will be best, especially for your third trimester, taking into account your belly size, balance, and other physical changes. This is because exercise causes the release of endorphins in your brain, which has a number of other advantages for your health and well-being.

1. Prenatal Yoga

Yoga may aid in improving your quality of sleep, reducing stress and anxiety, and easing pregnancy-related symptoms like back pain, shortness of breath, headaches, and nausea. If you're looking for a useful class to enrol in, be sure to check for a pregnancy-specific program with instructors who are trained to teach prenatal lessons.

2. Walking

The easiest and most accessible workout during pregnancy is walking. For this, choose a pair of shoes that are both cosy and sturdy. Also, a walk or light jog can be an excellent workout, especially if you are new to regular exercise. Moreover, walking is a simple and quick cardio exercise that is gentle on your joints.

3. Body Exercises and Toning Work

Squats, wall push-ups, arm lifts with light dumbbells, leg lifts, lunges, and other basic exercises are fantastic for building strength and are one of the best pregnancy exercises in the third trimester. They can help tone your muscles as they are low-impact exercises and are also simple to do at home.

4. Swimming or Water Aerobics

Alongside feeling wonderful during pregnancy, swimming is an effective exercise because the water relieves pressure and weight from your ligaments and joints, allowing you to move with little to no pain. You can safely and easily increase your heart rate by swimming laps or participating in water aerobics, either individually or in a group setting.

5. Pelvic Floor Exercises

Choose to work out your pelvic floor if you only want to focus on only one exercise. Although pelvic floor exercises may not give your entire body a decent workout, they do help to strengthen your pelvic muscles, which is crucial for pregnancy, delivery, labour, postpartum, etc. Hence, these are counted as safe to perform exercises during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and are also recommended.

As the third trimester stage of pregnancy is crucial, you must understand that not all exercises can be helpful. So, you should choose your exercise wisely depending on your comfort. However, a few of the exercises that you must avoid are –

1. Lifting Heavy Weights

Although weightlifting is beneficial for women's health, starting in the second trimester, it is better to avoid lifting anything more than 10 to 15 pounds, including toddlers and older kids, as well as barbells. This is mostly because stability will vary as a baby bump grows, increasing your chance of falling and abdominal injuries or suffering head.

2. Holding Breath

Make sure to exhale while exerting yourself to prevent intra-abdominal pressure, which can lead to diastasis recti (DR) and pelvic floor dysfunction.

3. "Abs" Workout

Traditional "abdominal" workouts like sit-ups, crunches and leg lifts are a few examples that you should stay away from throughout your third trimester. This is due to the fact that these flexion-based exercises raise intra-abdominal pressure, which might not be beneficial for you.

4. Scuba Diving

Pressure rises as you descend into deep water. So, you might feel the need for special diving gear and suits. Additionally, even counterbalanced pressure can be harmful to a pregnant woman. Hence, it is better to avoid scuba diving.

5. Downward Facing Moves

The front of the abdominal wall is under a lot of strain when the belly grows big. Therefore, it is advised against spending time in downward-facing positions like push-ups and planks.

Exercising during the third trimester of pregnancy isn't always easy and can be difficult to execute. However, the best part is that there are several safe exercise recommendations you may use to keep up your programme and maintain your fitness.

So, whether you are in your third trimester or not, make sure to stay hydrated when working out. Also, to lessen your workload concerning exercises in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy, you should take a few pauses, but try to avoid remaining stationary for an extended period of time.