Fit Pregnancy For Dummies

Tips for safe and healthy exercise Understand how a fit pregnancy helps with delivery and postpartum shape–up Want to stay fit during pregnancy? From yoga and swimming to weight training and aerobics, you’ll see how to get started with a fun, step–by–step fitness routine that will make your entire pregnancy easier to manage. Plus, you get expert advice on activities to avoid, eating well, and staying motivated during and after your pregnancy. The Dummies Way Explanations in plain English "Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear–out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Discover how to: Dress comfortably for your workout Develop a plan with your health provider Choose the right equipment Modify your routine for each trimester Eat well for nine months and beyond Stay fit after giving birth

Introduction. Part I: Fit Pregnancy: Isn’t That an Oxymoron? Chapter 1: Making Your Pregnancy a Fit Pregnancy. Chapter 2: Recognizing the Benefits of a Fit Pregnancy. Chapter 3: Designing a Safe Prenatal Fitness Program. Chapter 4: Knowing Which Activities Are Best (And Which to Avoid). Part II: Getting Up and Moving: Fit Pregnancy Basics. Chapter 5: Never Exercised Before? No Problem! Chapter 6: Exercise for Fitness Buffs and Competitive Athletes. Chapter 7: Dressing for Success: Finding Workout Gear. Chapter 8: Stretching the Truth: An Honest Look at Stretching. Part III: Eating Well for Nine Months—and for Life. Chapter 9: Fueling Your Body with the Right Foods. Chapter 10: Healthy Weight Gain during Pregnancy. Part IV: Fun and Healthy Activities for Pregnancy and Beyond. Chapter 11: Balls, Bands, Bars, and Mats: Simple, Inexpensive Workouts. Chapter 12: Fitness Walking and Running. Chapter 13: Swimming and Water Aerobics. Chapter 14: Yoga, Pilates, and Low–Impact Aerobics. Chapter 15: A Bicycle Built for Two. Chapter 16: Weightlifting and Indoor Machines. Chapter 17: Mixing It Up: Combining Different Exercise Routines. Part V: The Tenth Month and Later: Staying Fit for Life. Chapter 18: Recovering from the Labor Marathon and Getting Up and at ’Em. Chapter 19: Finding Time for Fitness and Motherhood. Chapter 20: Starting Your Kids Off on the Right Fitness Foot. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 21: Ten Ideas for Staying Fit without Leaving the House. Chapter 22: Ten or So Ways to Get Family and Friends Involved in Your Quest for Fitness. Chapter 23: Ten (Plus One) Resources for Pregnancy Workout Gear. Index.

Catherine Cram is an exercise physiologist who specializes in prenatal and postpartum fitness. Her consulting company, Comprehensive Fitness Consulting, LLC, provides maternal fitness certificate training courses for health and fitness professionals. She’s an expert advisor to and writes for Baby Years, Pregnancy, Women’s Health and Fitness, and iparenting.com. Catherine has been featured in prenatal fitness articles for Fit Pregnancy, Parenting, Glamour, Babytalk, and The American Journal of Medicine and Sports, and is a contributing author of Women’s Health Care in Physical Therapy: Principles and Practices for Rehabilitation Specialists (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). You can contact her at compfc@aol.com. Tere Stouffer Drenth is both a full–time writer and a semiprofessional runner who works, trains, hikes, and lives in northern Michigan. A former crosscountry All–American, Tere (which rhymes with Mary) writes about fitness and the outdoors in the hope that people of all ages and backgrounds will challenge themselves physically and reap the many rewards of exercise. She is the author of Marathon Training For Dummies (Wiley) and several other books. You can reach her at tdrenth@earthlink.net.

“…this comprehensive book is for you…all aspects of exercise in pregnancy are covered…” ( Health & Fitness , October 2004) “…practical advice on all aspects of pregnancy…” ( Yoga & Health , September 2004)