Pregnancy Fitness Book Reviews

Pregnancy Fitness Book Reviews
August 1, 2018 Nicola
Pregnancy Fitness Book Reviews header
Pregnancy-Fitness-Book-Review by FittaMamma

Pregnancy Fitness Pregnancy Fitness Book Cover

Julia Di Paolo, Samantha Montpetit-Huynh & Kim Vopni

The authors are three highly qualified women’s health and fitness professionals, who are clearly passionate about helping women to improve their prenatal and postnatal fitness.
They tackle birth preparation in the same way you might prepare for a race or a big event saying ‘Training for a big event requires deliberate, intentional movement that prepares the body to perform, reduces the chances of injury and primes the body to heal once the event is completed.  Training for birth is no different.’
It’s sound advice and one they fully explore and explain throughout the book.
Most importantly this book gives a comprehensive guide to the physiological changes your body undergoes during pregnancy, helping you to fully understand, for instance,  exactly what happens to your abdominals during pregnancy or the impact of pregnancy on your pelvic floor.  The detailed information about how to look after and exercise your pelvic floor during and after pregnancy is exceptionally useful.
This comprehensive book is a clear and concise guide to pregnancy exercise, allowing you to tailor your prenatal exercise routine to your specific needs.

There are trimester specific workouts for differing levels of fitness during pregnancy, including the all-important and often overlooked fourth trimester, recognising that you need to time for your body to heal after the birth of your baby.
The chapter on functional movement for motherhood is invaluable, training your pregnant body to meet the demands of carrying and managing your baby.  How many Mammas are prepared for the awkward movements involved in manoeuvring a seat plus baby into the back of your car or lowering a sleeping baby into a cot?  And correct posture whilst baby wearing will do wonders for avoiding back ache!
If your goal is a fit pregnancy, a positive birth experience and controlled regaining of your postnatal fitness this is definitely one to add to your pregnancy reading list!
Published by Human Kinetics the book is available to purchase here.

The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Fitness Book Review

The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Fitness The-Complete-Guide-to-Pregnancy-and-Fitness-Book-Cover

Morc Coulson & Sarah Bolitho 

When it comes to judging a book by its cover (or at least it’s title!) this one fully fulfils your expectation – it is a very complete guide to pregnancy and fitness.
This excellent reference manual  should be on the reading list for any fitness instructor working with women.   It’s an invaluable guide that provides comprehensive information and relevant insight into pregnancy & exercise that would stand you in good stead if a regular class attendee should become pregnant and need special advice, or if an expectant mum has opted to join an existing class!
The book ably covers subjects such as planning safe and effective exercise programmes, motivation and goal setting combined with a comprehensive programme of more than 40 pregnancy exercises with detailed and easy to follow instructions that can be carried out with minimal equipment.
But whilst the book is aimed at fitness instructors it has much of value to anyone who might want a greater understanding about how to exercise during pregnancy, the benefits and the contra-indications to take into consideration.
The book provides well-presented information about the physiological changes to a woman’s body and in particular about how the changes affect exercise in pregnancy.  Simple, easy to assimilate tables list information about subjects such as thermoregulation, respiration and WHY women suffer from niggles such as heartburn in pregnancy or varicose veins!

A very useful reference book that is relevant to a much wider audience than the fitness professionals it is intended for.
Published by Bloomsbury ‘The Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Fitness’ is available from all good bookshops or click here.

Morc Coulson is senior lecturer and the programme leader of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Sunderland. He is the author of a number of books for fitness professionals including The Advanced Fitness Instructor’s Handbook (2008) and Practical Fitness Testing (2009).
Sarah Bolitho is Curriculum and Business Development Coordinator, Fitness Wales. She is the co-author of Exercise Your Way to Health: Stress (2010).