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      The 15-Minute Pregnancy Workout You Can Do At Home

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      Joanie Johnson, certified personal trainer and founder of Fit Pregnancy Club in New York City, says these exercises are safe for most pregnant women—provided you get your doctor’s okay.

      Time: 10 Minutes | Equipment: 2-4.5 kg Dumbbell | Good For: Total Body

      Instructions: Start with a five-minute warmup to get your heart rate up (march in place, step from side to side, etc.) For each exercise move, perform the reps as directed. Then continue to the next move. Repeat entire circuit more than once for a longer workout. Finish with a five-minute cool-down and stretches.

      READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About Working Out While Pregnant

      Pump and kegel

      How to do the exercise: Stand up straight, with your hands over your belly. Slowly inhale using your diaphragm and release your core muscles. Then, use your ab muscles to hug the baby towards your body (imagine you’re trying to zip up a pair of pants that are too tight). gently lift your pelvic floor muscles at the same time. Inhale and release your abdominals and pelvic floor muscles. That’s one rep. Perform 20 reps, continue to the next move.

      Dancer’s triceps

      How to do the exercise: Stand with your feet spread out, wider than hip-width. Point your left foot away from your body, and right foot forward. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, arms bent, dumbbells near your shoulders. Slowly bend your left knee as far as you can, without letting your knee go past your foot. As you do, extend your right arm to the ground, then away from your body, engaging your triceps. Return to start. That’s one rep. Perform 20 reps on each side. Continue to the next move.

      Biceps Curl

      How to do the exercise: Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides, palms facing forward, and keep your back straight and chest up. Without moving your upper arms, bend your elbows and curl the weights toward your shoulders. Slowly lower the weights back to the starting position, straightening your arms completely. That’s one rep. Perform 10 to 15 reps, continue to the next move.

      Lunge pulse with overhead press

      How to do the exercise: Stand with your left foot forward and your right foot a couple of feet behind. With a dumbbell in each hand, press your arm overhead as you drop into a lunge position. Return to start and repeat on the right side. Perform 10 reps on each side, continue to the next move.

      Squat

      How to do the exercise: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold a dumbbell in front of your chest, elbows pointing toward the floor. Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat. Lower the dumbbell to the floor at the same time. Push yourself back to start. That’s one rep. Perform 10 to 15 reps, continue to the next move.

      Side-lying leg extension

      How to do the exercise: Lie on your left side and place your left forearm on the floor. Bend your knees and stack your right leg on top of your left leg, with your left hip resting on the ground. Extend your right leg straight and behind your body. Return to start. That’s one rep. Perform 15 to 20 reps, then repeat on the other side. Continue to the next move.

      Clamshell

      How to do the exercise: Lie on your left side and place your left forearm on the floor. Bend your knees and stack your right leg on top of your left leg, with your left hip resting on the ground. Rotate your right knee towards the ceiling, keeping your feet together. Lower your leg, keeping your hips raised throughout. That’s one rep. Perform 20 reps, then repeat on the other side. Continue to the next move.

      Triceps Dip

      How to do the exercise: Sit with your hands stacked directly under your shoulders, fingers forward. Place your feet on the floor, knees bent. Keeping your arms straight, hover your butt above the ground. Bend your arms and lower your butt, stopping when you nearly reach the floor. Push yourself back up to starting position. That’s one rep. Perform 10 reps. Repeat entire sequence two to three times, as preferred.

      This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com  More

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      in fitness and body

      “I’m Fit But Had A Rocky Pregnancy — Here’s How I Stayed In Shape”

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      Being pregnant is a journey with its ups and downs. That’s how it was for fitness influencer Ophela Mhlauli, who kept up her workouts throughout the journey. Here’s how she adjusted her fitness while pregnant.

      Ophela Mhlauli’s first trimester

      When Ophela, 25, found out she was pregnant, her first trimester didn’t go as easily as she’d hoped. Instead of feeling blissful, she spent most of her time resting because of morning sickness that lasted most of the day. “I need people to know that there is the good and the bad to that, you know, and we need to just stop sugar-coating it so much,” she says. “It is a wonderful journey. However, it also has its own obstacles.”

      One of those obstacles was her difficulty keeping any food down. For the first trimester, she subsisted on ice, frozen drinks and a little fruit. “I could not stomach anything. That was what was so frustrating,” she recalls.

      Added to that, her energy levels were low and her workouts, which she’s so well known for on Instagram, took a knock. Instead, Ophela turned to light swims in the pool. “I would go for a swim, for forty-five minutes, maybe an hour, depending on how I felt,” she says.

      The second trimester

      By the time her second trimester started in November, Ophela’s energy levels started coming back, along with her appetite. “From then I just really started enjoying my pregnancy because I could eat anything and everything that I wanted,” she says.

      “Pregnancy just changed everything. It just took me back,” she says. Ophela would find herself wanting to eat foods from her childhood, like Maltabella, masi, meat and potatoes and infuse it with her usual healthy foods, like broccoli, brown rice and asparagus. She also loved to mix potatoes with spinach and cabbage, as she had in her childhood.

      For her workouts, her energy levels and doctor gave her the go-ahead to train the way she’d been doing before pregnancy. She returned to cardio and weighted workouts. “ I would do some squats, weighted squats. I would do walking lunges. I would do single-leg deadlifts,” she says.

      The third trimester

      By the third trimester, her baby was growing and so was she. She kept at her workouts, but scaled them down to keep her heart rate in check. “I told myself that I’m just going to go with the flow, whatever it is, that is within my control,” she says. This involved light, simple weighted workouts, like squats with a Bosu ball and simple dumbbell presses. She’d also stick to swimming with her flippers on and did walks on the treadmill.

      Looking back, Ophela thinks of her pregnancy with mixed feelings. “I can overall describe my pregnancy as a little both rocky (in the beginning because of the sickness) and a walk in the park (after the sickness),” she says.

      To others, she advises to take things as they come and listen to your body. “My approach to health and fitness during pregnancy is to block all the noise, people’s opinions and experiences, social media (especially Google) and listen to your doctor and body and you’ll have the most blissful experience,” she shares. “When you feel like training, go and when you feel like resting, take that rest.” More

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      in lifestyle and culture

      Lindsay Lohan shares her pregnancy news via a heartfelt post on Instagram

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      Lifestyle

      by Sarah Joseph
      4 hours ago

      Lindsay Lohan is soon going to be a mother and we couldn’t be more excited.
      Taking the news to Instagram, the actress shared the news with her 12.5 million fans in a sweet post that read “coming soon.”

      The caption said, “We are blessed and excited! 🙏🤍👶🍼,” she captioned a photo of a white baby onesie with the words “coming soon…” laid out on a bed.
      Lohan is married to businessman Bader Shammas with this baby being their first child together. The couple, who met in Dubai, have been incredibly private about their relationship and Shammas is not in the public eye.
      When did they tie the knot?

      Lohan revealed she secretly wed Shammas back in July in an Instagram post to mark her 36th birthday, where she referred to the financier as her “husband”.
      Lohan shared a photo with her now-husband, saying she was the “luckiest woman in the world”. The star also appeared to be wearing a diamond wedding band paired with her engagement ring.
      “You found me and knew that I wanted to find happiness and grace, all at the same time,” she said in the caption. “I am stunned that you are my husband. My life and my everything. Every woman should feel like this everyday.”
      The couple had first made their red-carpet debut in New York City for the screening of her highly anticipated Netflix release Falling for Christmas in November, 2022.
      Congratulations to the lovely couple for this joyous news!
      – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram
      Images: Supplied More

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      in health and weelbeing

      5 Simple Ways To Tell Exactly When You’re Ovulating

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      There are two reasons you’ll want to know when you are ovulating: if you’re trying to fall pregnant or if you’re trying not to fall pregnant. In previous years, you’d have to rely on an old-school calendar to track your menstrual cycle. But with technology comes major perks that allow you to tell when you’re ovulating. Here are a few of the methods.

      Menstrual Tracker

      You should be ovulating about 14 days before the start of your next period. If you are not sure how long your cycle is, start marking the days of your cycle in your menstrual tracker — starting with day one on the first day of your period. Once you have established a pattern, the app can predict ovulation reliably.

      READ MORE: Everything You Really Need To Know About Irritable Bowel Syndrome

      Pay Attention To Your Body’s Signs

      You might get a slight pain over your ovary at the time of ovulation. Also, The cervical mucus changes a few days before you ovulate, making it easier for sperm to get into the uterus and to the egg that was released. The volume of your discharge will increase and it becomes almost elastic. Your temperature also rises by about half a degree.

      Ovulation Sticks

      These work just like pregnancy tests — detecting a surge of hormones in your urine. You start using them at the same time of day from about day twelve of your cycle or about 16 days before you think your next period will start. If two lines appear, it means that you will ovulate within the next 24 hours.

      Clicks Ovulation Test

      This kit tests for the luteinizing hormone, present during ovulation.

      READ MORE: 10 Tips To Keep Your Vagina Happy And Healthy

      Fertile Focus

      This is a little device that can be bought from pharmacies. You put a drop of spit on a small microscope lens and then look for a fern pattern forming on it when it has dried out. It costs a few hundred rand, but is worth it if you’re going to be using it every month.

      Fertile Focus

      Fertile Focus uses your saliva to detect ovulation.

      Blood Tests

      This is usually only used in fertility clinics if you are having problems conceiving. Very important to remember: the natural or rhythm method of pregnancy prevention (not having sex around ovulation) is not very reliable. If falling pregnant will be a catastrophe, try something more reliable!

      READ MORE: How To Use Genetic Testing To Improve Your Health

      Get a Fitness Tracker Watch

      Fitness trackers do so much more than measure your BPM during your workout. Using your body’s temperature, they can now detect ovulation. Make sure you buy a fitness tracker that has menstrual cycle capabilities, since this is the functionality you’re looking for.

      Apple Series 8 Watch

      Temperature sensing works with menstrual tracking to detect when you’re ovulating. More

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      in health and weelbeing

      Flying Pregnant? Get These Health Checks First

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      While once we thought of taking to the air as a supernatural event, catching flights is now as routine as Zooming your therapist.
      During your pregnancy, the health risks of flying are considerably low, depending on what kind of pregnancy you’re having (low or high risk). Before 36 weeks, you’re considered good to go – but there are other factors at play. Here’s what you should keep in mind before jet setting, says Wilson Tauro, Air France-KLM Country Manager Southern Africa.
      Pre-travel advice and immunisation
      Depending on your destination, advice about vaccination and malaria prevention may be different if you are pregnant. That’s why it is extremely important to be properly informed, especially when visiting countries where infectious diseases such as malaria are prevalent. In some cases, travel to a country could even be discouraged because of the risks. Pregnant women or women who want to get pregnant should also avoid travelling to countries with outbreaks of Zika.
      READ MORE: 6 Surprising Signs You’re Stressed Out (And Need A Holiday)
      How far into your pregnancy can you fly?
      KLM recommends that women who are more than 32 weeks pregnant should not fly. The airline also discourage flying – for you and your child – during the first week after birth. If you are expecting a multiple birth, the airline recommends that you consult your doctor before any flight. If you have had complications in the past, you should get your doctor’s permission to fly. Additionally, it is recommended that you carry a recent pregnancy statement with information about the due date and other relevant information. In many countries airline staff may want to see that. Regulations differ from one airline to the next, so always check before you travel.
      READ MORE: Apparently 35 Percent Of People Think It’s Totally Fine To Drink During Pregnancy
      Cosmic radiation
      In a normal situation, the cosmic radiation exposure of a return trans-Atlantic flight can be compared to the same amount of exposure as when you have a chest X-ray. As with X-rays, any radiation can cause damage to genetic material inside a cell. However, there is no evidence that a trans-Atlantic flight increases the risk of abnormalities. To be on the safe side it is recommended to avoid frequent air travel when pregnant. For KLM flight crew there are special regulations regarding exposure to cosmic radiation.
      Increased risk of thrombosis
      If you are pregnant, you already run a greater risk of developing thrombosis. Flying will increase this risk. Deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) is a potentially life-threatening disorder in which blood clots can form in the deep veins of the body, particularly the legs. In an aircraft, the dehydration caused by the dry air may thicken your blood. In addition, the relative immobility of sitting in a confined space for a long period can cause blood to collect in your legs.
      READ MORE: Exercising While Pregnant: How One Flitfluencer Scaled Down Her Approach
      There are a few things you can do to prevent or reduce the risk of thrombosis:

      During long flights, walk around the cabin every 15 to 30 minutes, if possible
      Do some simple stretching exercises while you are seated
      Only sleep for short periods – up to 30 minutes at a time
      Move around after every nap
      Drink plenty of water
      Avoid alcohol and caffeine

      Wearing compression stockings can also help.
      If you are worried about DVT during the flight, consult your doctor beforehand to discuss how to best reduce the risk. More

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      Apparently 35 Percent Of People Think It’s Totally Fine To Drink During Pregnancy

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      Listen: It’s totally normal to want a glass of wine after a long day at work—yes, even (or, honestly, especially) when you’re pregnant.
      And many people—pregnant or not—still think it’s totally fine to have a drink during pregnancy.
      That’s according to a new survey from Cameron Hughes Wine, an online wine brand in the States. Of 1,032 people polled, 35 per cent said that it’s okay to drink wine on occasion when you’re pregnant. The other 65 per cent said you definitely shouldn’t do this.
      So…which group is correct? Some very preliminary research suggests that low levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy might not be linked to bad health for the baby—and many women get mixed messages from the media and even their doctors since it’s tough to say how much booze during pregnancy is too much (scientists haven’t come anywhere close to nailing this down yet and most current research suggests that recommendations should be on a case-by-case basis).
      But it’s important to keep in mind that Dr Christine Greves, a board-certified gynae at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies—along with most medical organisations — say you should totally skip the booze while expecting.
      “A safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy has not been determined,” confirms Greves. “That’s why we recommend complete abstinence.”
      And sorry, but the theory of drinking at the very end of your pregnancy (you know, because the baby is already “cooked”) hasn’t been proven legit. “Alcohol impacts foetal growth at all stages of pregnancy,” says Greves, who notes that it comes with some pretty scary potential consequences, including fetal alcohol syndrome (a condition that causes brain damage and growth problems due to alcohol exposure during pregnancy), structural issues with the baby’s body, and even issues with the baby’s heart, kidneys, or bones.
      Women’s health expert Dr Jennifer Wider, agrees. “The latest research tells us that the safest choice is not drinking anything during your pregnancy,” she says.
      So, uh, if you want to drink during your pregnancy, maybe just don’t. You’ll be able to kick back with a guilt-free glass of wine after the baby has left the premises.
      The bottom line: Drinking during pregnancy definitely hasn’t been proven to be safe for baby, so it’s best not to risk it.
      This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com

      READ MORE ON: Health Health Advice Pregnancy More

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      What Exactly Is Considered “Light Drinking” During Pregnancy, And Can It Harm The Baby?

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      For a long time, many of us have believed that a woman can have the occasional glass of something alcoholic during pregnancy, but researchers from the University of Bristol suggest/advise otherwise. They released a study that warns against any alcohol consumption at any stage of one’s pregnancy. The study, which is now the most comprehensive […] More