Walking Hills

My Husband took me out this morning for a speed walk. We sped walked down and up a hill. This is a great exercise because it let me get my cardio up without having to worry about my bouncing belly getting to annoying.

How Far and How Often?

If you already walk, keep up your regular program. To get started, walk 20 -30 minutes a day three days a week and build from there to 30 - 60 minutes most days of the week. Walking for exercise can continue into your last trimester and right up until birth as long as it is comfortable for you.

How Fast and How Hard?

Moderation is the word during pregnancy, don't push yourself to the extreme. The chemical byproducts and raised body temperature of overexertion are bad for the fetus. Your pulse rate should not be above 140 beats per minute at any time during your walk. You may also use the "talk test" -- you should be able to speak in complete sentences without having to huff and puff and gasp out only short phrases. A pulse more than 100 beats per minute five minutes after a workout means you have worked your body too hard. Drink water before, during, and after your walk to help regulate your core body temperature. The fetus cannot get rid of excessive heat, so avoid exercising in hot weather and keep your walking workout moderate. Consider mall walking as an alternative during hot weather.

Posture!

A good walking posture is essential and can help prevent backache.
Stand up straight: Think of being a tall and straight, do not arch your back.
Do not lean forward or lean back: Leaning puts strain on the back muscles.
Eyes forward: not looking down but rather 20 feet ahead.
Chin up (parallel to the ground): This reduces strain on neck and back.
Loosen the shoulders: Shrug once and let your shoulders fall and relax, your shoulders slightly back.
Suck in your stomach
Tuck in your behind: Rotate your hips forward slightly. This will keep you from arching your back.

Other Helpfull Pregnancy Exercises

• Pelvic Tilts: These can be done in nearly any positions. For beginners, I'd recommend standing, my personal favorite is hands and knees. To get started in a standing position, place a hand on your abdomen and a hand on your lower back. Bend slightly at the knees. Concentrate on moving only your pelvis only. You should not get a lot of body movement from this exercise. It should be done slowly. Do this often through out the day.
• Squatting: Try this first with a partner or a chair back. Slowly go down into a squat, stopping as low as you can go but before your heels come up off the floor. Practice this several minutes a day.
• Tailor Sitting: Basically it's sitting with your legs crossed at the ankle and knees out, much like you used to do in kindergarten. It helps stretch your inner thighs.

Kegels

The "wonder exercise of pregnancy", kegels are something every woman, pregnant or not, should learn how to do. Though you may be sick and tired of people telling you to exercise during your pregnancy, kegel exercises require so little effort from you, yet give you so much back in return, you really have no excuse not to do them.

Little Pain, Lots of Gain

Kegels are named after their inventor, Dr. Arthur Kegel, who suggested them to his female patients in the 1940s. Kegel exercises target your pelvic floor muscles, helping to strengthen your urethra, bladder, uterus and rectum. Both women and men can become a kegel exerciser, although men won’t gain the childbirth benefits that women do.
Pregnant women are encouraged to do kegels because strong pelvic floor muscles help make childbirth, specifically pushing, easier. Plus, the exercise can lower your chances of tears happening during labor. During the postpartum period, doing kegels can aid in your healing from an episiotomy as well as prevent postpartum incontinence and tone your stretched out vaginal muscles, thereby making sex better.
But the benefits don’t stop there! Kegels can also:

• Prevent incontinence from happening later in life
• Make your orgasms better
• Reduce your chances of hemorrhoids (the exercise aids in circulation to the rectal area)
• In men, kegels can help with erections since kegels encourage increased blood flow to the genitals

Become a Kegel Master
Easy childbirth? Better sex? What are you waiting for? It’s time to get that kegel technique down! Thankfully, instructions for kegel exercises are very simple and easy to follow:

• Contract your muscles as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine
• Hold this contraction for a count of three
• Slowly release and relax

That’s it. You’ve just done your first kegel. To begin with, try to do three to four sets of 25 repetitions several times throughout the day. As your pelvic floor muscles get stronger, increase the length of time you hold the contraction for, working your way up to ten seconds.
When you contract your pelvic muscles, though, be careful not to squeeze your buttocks and abdominals. These muscles aren’t needed to do a kegel. You may also find that you squeeze your rectal muscles. As you get better, you should be able to focus on just your pelvic floor muscles. To make your workout harder, and more effective, try changing your contractions. Do some quickly, like little flutters, while doing others more slowly.
Do It Anywhere!
The best part about kegels is the fact that you can do them anywhere at anytime. Whether you are watching TV, standing in line at the grocery store or are driving in your car; fitting kegels into your busy schedule is easy. Once you’ve had your baby, though, don’t neglect these muscles that you’ve just built up. Make kegels are regular part of your fitness routine for life.

This article from: http://www.pregnancy-info.net/exercise_and_well_being_kegels.html