How to exercise everyday

Everyone feels overwhelmed at some point by all the recommendations on how much exercise you should do.

My recommendation:
Start with 10 mins a day!

• walk or jog the stairs
• make up your own circuit (30secs x 4 exercises and repeat 5 times or 30 secs x 5 exercises and do 4 times); include stairs or jump between narrow and wide squats, a core exercise, an overhead press and a posture exercise using your shoulder muscles to pull shoulder blades flat onto the ribs, also try lunges. Use some of the exercises from this blog and i'll be adding more soon.
• walk uphill and include 10 mins of heart raising inclines (or do the same on the treadmill)
• shadowbox using jabs (front and back arm), hooks, uppercuts and some simple kickboxing and evasive moves like a bob down and back up.  Again i'll upload some pics so you can see what to do.
• If you walk the family pet try to run and keep up for 10 secs at a time and do this 5, 10 or as many times as you can during your walk.
• Do some simple exercises while waiting for the microwave or something cooking on the stove.

If it seems too difficult to make up 10 mins then combine the cardio with some of the resistance exercises you know and keep watching this post for exercises to try.

Benefits of exercise during pregnancy on your unborn child

Most people are aware of the benefits of exercise during pregnancy for Mum's.

• decreased pain and improved posture
• decreased stress and a better self-esteem
• decreased nausea and varicose veins etc
• Better sleep patterns 

I personally can say this was all true for my pregnancy and exercise was my saving grace so many times.

But what about the effects of exercise during pregnancy for the unborn child? Here are the main benefits:

• Decreased body fat deposit in the last trimester (lower birth weight)
• Better ability to cope with stress during labor and usually they are less stressed throughout labor
• Newborn babies tend to be more alert and adjust more quickly to the outside world
• lower body fat deposits have been sited up to the age of 5.

All aspects of growth and development are the same in exercising mothers as those who don't and may even be better.

This not only means your bub may be born healthier but there is evidence to suggest that your child maybe healthier in general throughout the crucial early years of development so if this doesn't motivate you to get moving I don't know what will.

ref:  "Exercising Through Your Pregnancy" James F Clapp M.D.

Note: He was part of the movement of MDs in the 1970s who proved the safety and benefit of exercise. We owe a great debt to medical professionals who put themselves on the line in the name of controversial issues.