Before you start, pregnancy

Important points to remember when exercising:

• Correct breathing is essential throughout your workout. Always exhale through your mouth, remembering to exhale on the stress. For example, when lifting your leg in an exercise, it always helps to breathe in first and then exhale as you lift your leg into the working position.
• Concentrate on the part of the body on which you are working. For example during a waist exercise, when lifting your leg out to the side, even though using your leg, you should concentrate on the muscles on your waist.
• Try to wear comfortable attire such as a leotard and always keep your feet covered with socks, which should not only help with the possibility of cramps, but also enable your feet to slide easily during certain exercises.

For most of these exercises, unless otherwise indicated, you should assume the pregnancy exercise posture. Your knees are slightly bent, your buttocks tucked in and your stomach pulled in.

The following two graphics outline the difference between a normal posture and the pregnancy exercise posture.

(Mandy Borrain, Health24)