Pregnancy Fitness: Debunking Myths and Benefits of Weightlifting for Moms-to-Be

Why you should be lifting weights during pregnancy

There are a lot of health-related myths floating around out there. Most of them come from stupid physician groups, staffed by doctors who rarely see patients—the type of doctor who needs to pump out academic research every few months to justify their salary.

Anyway… I assume that’s where the myth that women shouldn’t lift weights during pregnancy came from.

The reality is, it’s not only safe to lift weights during pregnancy, it’s preferable.

Staying active during pregnancy, in any form, is an undeniable benefit. Exercise has extensive benefits we’ll get into later in this article but suffice it to say, you should be staying active when you’re pregnant.

Before we start, let me be clear that this is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor.

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Benefits of Exercise During Pregnancy

Gestational Diabetes

Exercise in any form reduces the risk of gestational diabetes. Exercise induces the expression of GLUT4 receptors. This allows the transport of glucose directly into the cells, without requiring insulin release. This in turn reduces insulin resistance and therefore gestational diabetes.

Furthermore, lifting weights helps gain muscle and maintain existing muscle. This increases the amount of glycogen within the body, which increases the total ability of the body to store glucose. This means less glucose in the bloodstream and less glucose converted to fat.

Mental Health

Exercise is one of, if not the best, mood elevators out there. Exercise has been proven superior to every drug on the market at improving mood. Being pregnant is stressful. Even more stressful if you’ve got other young children running around already. Take every advantage you can get when it comes to improving your mood.

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