Book Review: Fit & Healthy Pregnancy

Designed for everyone from veteran competitive athletes to recent fitness enthusiasts, the new book Fit & Healthy Pregnancy: How to Stay Strong and in Shape for You and Your Baby is the go-to guide for expectant women who want to stay active throughout pregnancy. It will answer all your fitness- and wellness-related questions down to what to look for in a jogging stroller.

In the book, running coach and developmental psychologist Kristina Pinto and ob-gyn physician and triathlete Rachel Kramer dispel the myth that moms-to-be can’t stay active throughout pregnancy—in fact, it’s actually healthy for both mom and baby. Using the most current research on pregnancy and exercise, the authors guide athletes from prenatal to postpartum while addressing physical, mental and nutritional health.

Organized into specific advice for each trimester, they explain how to safely run, bike, swim, stretch and strength train for two through illustrated stretches and exercises appropriate for each phase of pregnancy, plus run interval workouts, swim training advice (did you know breast stroke is best for the second trimester?) and the gear you’ll need as your body changes. They also address the often overlooked “fourth trimester”—helping new mothers transition back into their fit, pre-pregnancy body and scale their postpartum fitness goals.

And if you stick with exercise after delivery, you’ll find, as many mothers have, that “fitness is not an impediment to motherhood but rather a successful, fulfilling part of it.”

RELATED – Pregnancy And Tri Training: Tips From Nicole DeBoom

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