Can you ride a stationary bike when pregnant

Aerobic exercise is beneficial to your health and it is an important type of exercise to get when you are pregnant. Again, you probably don't want to push yourself on a regular bike due to the risk of falling.

Mindfully increase either your speed or your resistance to boost your benefit from a stationary bike workout if you feel like you're not pushing yourself enough to get the cardiovascular exercise you need. Biking is a low-impact aerobic exercise, but external factors like rough terrain should be considered when you are expecting.

To keep your baby and yourself safe, Keller says, "Make sure you feel in control of your body at all times and avoid pedaling so fast that you bounce in the seat.

Keller notes that making sure your bike fits properly and is well maintained can help keep prevent falls or muscle stiffness from riding in an awkward position. Warming up and cooling down, as well as pacing yourself throughout the ride are also important parts of safe bike riding, but these factors are even more important to take into account during pregnancy. If you are uncomfortable when you ride or for any reason biking just doesn't feel right, you may want to stop biking. You can always start riding again when you are no longer pregnant.

If you still want to get the positive physical benefits that riding a bike provides, you can switch to another form of low-impact aerobic exercise for the duration of your pregnancy. Swimming , walking, and yoga all offer the same positive benefits as biking. Riding a bike is a good way to get exercise when you are pregnant, but you may not feel comfortable with the fall risk.

If you love zooming down trails on your bike and indoor cycling just does not make you feel inspired, take heart. You can always get back into outdoor biking after your baby is born, and depending on where you live, you may be able to take your little one along as early as 1 year old. A stationary bike can help keep you in shape until then.

Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Enhancing energy expenditure and enjoyment of exercise during pregnancy through the addition of brief higher intensity intervals to traditional continuous moderate-intensity cycling.

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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Bike Riding While Pregnant. Safety Precautions. Other Considerations. In general, this is usually not greater than beats per minute.

Taking your cycling to the street or trails is a bit more dicey than exercising indoors. Given the potential dangers, Robles advises against cycling outdoors while pregnant. Taking a spin class is similar to cycling on an upright bike at home or the gym. Modifications will likely be necessary when taking a group spin class, especially as you progress through pregnancy.

Ideally, you should take a class from an instructor who has prenatal exercise training. This may allow them to identify any signs of distress. Consider staying in the saddle for the majority of the class. Early on, it may feel OK to stand up and ride, but as your belly grows, your center of gravity shifts, making it more challenging to maintain a standing position.

Also, you may notice more pain in your lower back and joints if you stand while riding. Staying seated is safer and will feel a lot more comfortable. During the first trimester , Jeffcoat says to make sure to avoid knee hyperextension with all jumps and standing positions. If you have a history of pubic symphysis dysfunction , also known as pelvic girdle pain, Jeffcoat says you should avoid quick maneuvers, such as 2-count jumps, as they will put additional strain over this area.

In addition to following cycling-specific safety recommendations while working out, you should adhere to the general precautions and safety guidelines from the ACOG. These include:. Stop exercising and call your healthcare provider if you experience any of the following symptoms while exercising:.

Additionally, your healthcare provider may advise you to avoid exercise if you have a high-risk condition, such as placenta previa , a short cervix, or history of preterm delivery. Talking to your OB-GYN about any questions or concerns you have is key to staying safe while cycling. If your favorite classes don't come in the prenatal variety, it's fine to keep going, as long as you pay attention to how your body feels, limit your intensity, and stay within the normal range of motion.

Just make sure the instructor knows you're pregnant and is knowledgeable about modifications you can make, Jeffreys advises. Also, if your instructor hasn't worked with pregnant women, find one who has. Do you want to start working out while pregnant? Here are the most common classes you'll find at the gym:.

Pilates helps maintain your abdominal muscle tone , which will support your growing belly, minimize back pain, and give you more oomph for pushing during labor. But mat classes can be problematic after the first trimester because so much work is done lying on your back. Either opt out of these exercises or use an angled foam spine support found in most Pilates studios but not many gyms ; this will keep your head higher than your belly.

You can still do the side-lying leg work, upper-body exercises, and stretches. Prenatal yoga not only strengthens your core and improves flexibility, but with its gentle movements and emphasis on breathing and meditation, it also fosters a sense of calm.

In the second half of your pregnancy, avoid exaggerated twists and movements that tug on your belly, moves that require you to lie on your back or belly for prolonged periods, and inversions like headstands and shoulder stands. You can't trip and fall; you won't overheat; and for once you won't feel like a big clod.

No wonder water aerobics is a third trimester favorite. Your joints will thank you! Wear aqua shoes so you don't slip on the bottom of the pool. Worried that resistance strength exercises will cause joint injury? It's true that pregnancy floods your system with relaxin, a hormone that loosens ligaments to prepare your body for delivery.

But a University of Georgia study found that a low-to-moderate-intensity strength program is safe, even for novices. Though the study mostly involved machines, free weights and body-weight exercises such as push-ups and squats are safe, too. No, squatting won't trigger labor. O'Connor notes that the women were supervised and recommends that anyone who is new to weight training should be as well or consult videos to learn proper technique.

If you want to train your core, know that doing crunches or other exercises on your back is a no-no after the first trimester: Your growing uterus can compress the vena cava, the major vessel that returns blood to your heart, potentially reducing blood flow and making you feel dizzy or nauseated. O'Connor's study included an ab exercise performed while standing: The women exhaled and then drew in their navel toward their spine "as if they were trying to button up pants that were too tight in the waist," he says.

If you weren't, now is a good time to become active. Treadmill : Walking on the treadmill is ideal since you can control the terrain. Add moderate hills when you're up to it; go flat when you're not or if hills trigger calf cramps. If you're a runner, let your body tell you when it's time to switch to walking; nearly everyone does. And don't worry about "shaking your baby loose," since she's plenty safe swimming around in amniotic fluid while you jog at the park.

Elliptical : The elliptical trainer places little stress on your joints. However, the motion may feel uncomfortable if you're experiencing symphysis pubic dysfunction SPD , a pain in the front of your crotch. Stationary bike :The recumbent and upright bikes are both good options. Many women like the back support the recumbent offers, though in the third trimester your belly might get in the way of your knees. During pregnancy you'll need to scale back on the intensity.

Gauge your intensity using the Rate of Perceived Exertion RPE scale from 0 to Aim for an intensity between 3 and 5 you should be able to talk but not belt out show tunes. Ignore heart-rate readouts on the cardio machines; since your blood volume increases during pregnancy, and your resting heart rate is considerably higher than normal, heart rate isn't an accurate gauge of intensity.

While there are some things to avoid, such as scuba diving, horseback riding, or any contact sport that could cause blunt-force trauma to the abdomen, there's relatively little that pregnant women can't do.