Unfit moms-to-be, get moving

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A new study in the March edition of Preventative Medicine, a preventative medicine and public health journal, found the majority of mothers-to-be in the United States are unfit. Three out of four are not getting the daily recommended 30-minutes of exercise. Here is a list of exercises and how-to videos that are ideal during pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Health Guru recommends these pregnancy-safe workouts: brisk walking, light jogging, swimming, yoga, Pilates, stationary cycling, stair stepping and bowling and snorkeling in shallow water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075jnWl3FMs

StrollerStridesFit shares three core exercises:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075jnWl3FMs

Yoga for each trimester by MomsIntoFitness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K07RyUBOFFI (pre-pregnancy and First)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqClZktujn4 (Second)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npiYdOK2-P4 (Third)

Swimming and water exercises with Aqua mom aerobics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbWVL9Fg74E

Here are some highlights from the pregnancy fit survey, to help inspire all those expecting to get fit:

22.8% reported any to/from work/school activity
54.3% reported any moderate to vigorous household activity
56.6% reported any moderate to vigorous leisure activity, all in the past month
15.3% of pregnant women reported watching over five hours of television daily

Additional findings included those in their first trimester reporting that they were more active than those in their third and mothers-to-be that were uninsured and Hispanic survey participants were less likely to take part in physical activities.

For more information on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, visit http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm or "National trends in self-reported physical activity and sedentary behaviors among pregnant women: NHANES 1999-2006": http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20053370