Best Exercises For The Third Trimester Of Pregnancy

Out of all the pregnancy trimesters, the pregnant woman considers the third one as long an eternity. This happens because in these situations brain speeds up to register a lot of changes happening simultaneously.

And during the third trimester, the body is getting pushed to extreme limits. Fatigue, back pain, sleep deprivation, frequent urination, swelling, shortness of breath, round ligament pain, heartburn, and Braxton-Hicks contractions, all happens during the third trimester.

Luckily certain best exercises for the third trimester can make the pregnancy easier and alleviate some symptoms. However, the misery is that only 40% of women understand this and take the initiative to stay healthy.

Is it Safe to Exercise in the Third Trimester?

Not every exercise can be the best exercise for the third trimester. But still, it doesn’t answer the question and you are left pondering whether it is even safe to exercise during this trimester.

The answer to satisfy this thought generated in your mind is YES. It is safe to continue exercising as long as you feel comfortable and you fulfill these 2 criteria: 

• You are doing only low-impact exercises which don’t put excessive strain on your body.
• You are doing gentle stretches as well to reduce aches and pains.
   

The goal of exercising during pregnancy is to improve fitness without skyrocketing the risks for yourself and your baby. And your decision of whether you can exercise in the third trimester should be based on your exercise routine prior to pregnancy. The 2 types of pre-pregnancy exercise routines are:

Previously Inactive: Under this routine, women used to do no exercise or only performed low-intensity exercises. In such cases, it is recommended to gradually progress from mild to moderate exercise. It is better to start the exercise with simple walking.

Previously Active: The other group of women falls into this category who have been following workout routines prior to pregnancy. It is safe for these women to exercise during pregnancy. The only thing to keep in mind is to avoid those exercises that put pressure on the abdomen.

Now, we will share with you the best exercises for the third trimester. You can pick which exercises you can and cannot do based on your pre-pregnancy exercise routine.

4  Best Exercises for the Third Trimester You Can Do

In general, low-impact exercises are known to provide comfort amidst all the annoying problems of the third trimester. But, in the beginning, you need to be slow and gentle, irrespective of whether you have been previously inactive or active.

Though these are the safe and best exercises for the third trimester, it’s better to get a green flag from your doctor/gynecologist first. Now, let’s move on to the exercises you can do during the third trimester.

Walking

Walking is the best exercise an expecting woman can do during the third trimester of pregnancy. Walking during this period helps to improve the baby's movement and maintain weight gain. If you’ve kept up with the walking habit, don’t stop it unless you feel any discomfort.

Slow Dance

During the third trimester of your pregnancy, dancing or low-impact aerobics is good for you and your unborn baby. Before doing it, ask your doctor and get their approval to do it. The benefits of dance and aerobics are:

• Reduces stress
• Relaxes your mind
• Improves depression
• Maintains muscle tone
• Strengthens hearts and lungs

Yoga and Meditation

Prenatal yoga helps increase flexibility in your body, and meditation is also very helpful to reduce stress during pregnancy. There are many ways to manage your stress like listening to soothing garbh sanskar music and other activities.

The benefits of yoga and meditation include:

• Flexibility
• Enhances relaxation
• Maintains blood pressure 
• Strengthens body muscles
• Stimulates blood circulation

Breathing Exercise

Doing breathing exercises correctly is very important for a pregnant woman. You can do this breathing exercise throughout your pregnancy; the reason is that your body needs a good amount of oxygen for the baby's development. It provides all the nourishment required for the fetus.

We have shared the best exercises for the third trimester which you can start doing as per your comfort or after discussing with your doctor/gynecologist. Yet there are a few additional tips to keep in mind when following your exercise routine.

4 Additional Tips to Follow if You Want to Exercise Safely

After considering certain things, we are sharing these tips with you to keep you safe in the third trimester:

• Don’t push your workout time to more than 40 minutes. This duration is beneficial for low-risk pregnancy cases. But, anything above this time period might cause issues like a decrease in maternal glucose levels.
• Be sure you're staying hydrated at all times. Dehydration can activate Braxton-Hicks contractions. Thus, drink plenty of water to avoid such trouble.
• Pregnant women in their third trimester should always avoid activities with these risks:
   
• High risk of falling
• Excessive exertion
• High heat or humidity
• Undue pressure on the stomach area
   
• And above all, you must cease the exercise at once if any of these signs show up:
   
• Steady contractions
• Calf pain or swelling
• Vaginal bleeding or leaking fluids
• Dizziness, headache, or chest pain
• Muscle weakness that affects balance

5 Fascinating Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy

As we mentioned before, exercising during pregnancy has benefits like stress reduction, mind relaxation, muscle strengthening, etc. You must have heard them before, but the following benefits are too fascinating to know:

• Regular exercise during pregnancy can do wonders and lower the risk of developing problems like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and cesarean delivery.
• If you are already having gestational diabetes, with exercise you can control blood glucose levels. 
• Exercise during pregnancy can help reduce instances of excessive gestational weight gain and gestational hypertension. 
• By performing exercise regularly, you can actually decrease labor time. And it also doubles your odds of progressing from 4 to 10 cm dilation —opening of the cervix for the baby to pass through the birth canal— in less than 4 hours. Your length of the second stage of labor can also reduce from an average of 60 minutes to 16 minutes.
• Exercise has also postpartum benefits such as shortened recovery time, less risk of postpartum depression, and better heart health of the baby after birth.

5 Not-So-Best Exercises for the Third Trimester That You Should Avoid

Every exercise is not necessarily good for you during the third trimester. What if certain exercises helped me before pregnancy?

It’s amazing if they helped you earlier. But they may not work for you now. During pregnancy, you have to select or avoid your set of exercises as per your baby. Not every exercise is good for the baby. It might cause harm to your baby.

Thus, it’s best to avoid exercises like jumping, skipping, bouncing, any high-impact exercise, planks or push-ups, crunches, or those exercises that require you to hold your breath, do sudden twisting movements, intense bursts of movement, hold your breath, and lying on your back or right side for long periods.

Conclusion

These were the best exercises for the third trimester that can give you a healthy, active, and stress-free pregnancy. Exercises done by you will impact the baby’s growth and development.

If you were not habitual to exercise before pregnancy, the above-mentioned exercises are best to start your workout journey and stay healthy and positive during pregnancy.

But, along with exercises, there is another way to supercharge your body’s health meter during pregnancy. And that way is Garbh Sanskar. Ancient India’s Vedic practice Garbh Sanskar can help you stay mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy during pregnancy.

To immerse yourself in the pool of positivity and stay healthy during pregnancy, download the Krishna Coming Garbh Sanskar app right now.

FAQs on the Best Exercise for the Third Trimester

Q1. What are the best exercises for the third trimester?

Exercises that are appropriate during the third trimester include: 

• Brisk walking 
• Indoor cycling
• Yoga for pregnant women
• Low-impact aerobics under the guidance of a certified instructor.
• Special exercise for preparation of labour and delivery.

Q2. How much walking should you do during your third trimester?

This trimester is all about staying comfortable, so focus on staying active. If you're starting when you're in the third trimester, start out walking for 5 minutes each day and slowly increase that time.

Q3. How much should I exercise during the third trimester?

Most pregnant women should do at least 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise on most, if not all, days of the week during the third trimester.