Bootcamps for Pregnant Women – Safe or Not?

It may not occur to many people, but in fact pregnant women need to exercise as much as anyone else! Possibly, when all is taken into account, more! But there are precautions to take when helping pregnant women with their exercise, and I’ve had a fair few attend my classes. Is a bootcamp suitable for a pregnant woman? Below I’ll be looking at what we can do to make sure a bootcamp helps the expectant mother to be, and what should be avoided. First, it might be best to define a bootcamp!

What is a Bootcamp?

It’s a widely used term, bootcamp, and not always used correctly! Ask a reputable personal trainer and they will tell you a bootcamp should be a high-intensity workout, one that is designed to burn calories, and that is intended to work on the endurance, agility and strength of the participant.

Typically, my bootcamp would include the following:

• High-impact exercises such as burpees, sprints, jumping
• Strength-training such as squats, lunges and similar
• Core exercises
• Cardio exercises

Now, reading the above, it’s clear that some of those included may not be suitable for a pregnant woman, so how do we modify a bootcamp session to suit? My first priority is for the safety of the participant, and in this case we have both the woman and the child she is carrying to consider, so it is important we look at everything very carefully.

While the benefits of exercise for pregnant women include such as improved fitness and overall well-being, better sleep quality and improved neurodevelopment in the child, there are clearly some things that are safe, and some that are not. Let’s look at why a bootcamp may not be safe for a pregnant woman.

Not Safe for Mother to Be

The first thing to ask a potential pregnant bootcamp participant is if she has been give the OK from her doctor to exercise; if not, I would not even entertain having her in my classes. It’s not worth it for her, or for me. I would also have to be certain the room is cool enough and airflow is sufficient, as a pregnant woman will be susceptible to either not being right. Further, I would be extremely reluctant to take on a woman who is entirely new to exercising, and would certainly not subject them to a program that includes high intensity interval training (HIIT), and as this is a part of a bootcamp routine it’s clear that things need modifying.

Safe for Pregnant Women

One of the advantages of the bootcamp set-up is that more than one trainer can be involved, with different groups performing various routines. This is how I make my bootcamps safe for pregnant women, by eliminating the parts that they must not do, and devising a modified version.

There is much more I could add here but suffice to say, safety is the priority, so if you are pregnant and want to exercise, talk to a trainer with experience and they will be happy to help.

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About Paul Wallace

Personal trainer of 15 plus years and creator of FT-Fit one of Glasgow’s largest fitness classes