Power To Your Pregnancy

A host of body benefits can fuel your workouts with baby on board.

- Mary Anderson

You often hear about the downsides of pregnancy — morning sickness! swollen ankles! backaches! — that can make the prospect of sticking to exercise seem like an uphill battle. But the big changes your body is going through during those nine months also include some motivating health bonuses. “Most of the changes are due to alterations in hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and relaxin (a hormone secreted by the placenta),” says sports scientist Michele Olson, a uS Shape Brain Trust member. Those hormone shifts lead to more blood flow and other domino effects that can actually improve your workouts. Check out three of the biggies.

EXERCISE OOMPH EARLY ON