4 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Boxing During Pregnancy

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Doctors across the world emphasize the importance of exercising during pregnancy. Pregnant women interested in boxing may want to know if it is safe and whether they can continue boxing during pregnancy. Moderate and low-impact exercises such as aerobics, jogging, brisk walking, etc., have several health benefits for the mother and the fetus.Boxing is not a low-impact pregnancy exercise, and hence expecting mothers may have some apprehensions (1).Read this post to know about the health benefits, contraindications, and precautions while boxing when expecting.

Health Benefits Of Boxing During Pregnancy

Here are some of the crucialhealth benefitsof practicing boxing exercise during pregnancy:

1. Build Strong Bones And Ligaments:

Boxing strengthens your bones, joints, tendons, and ligaments.The strenuousphysical activityfacilitates improved metabolic rate and an easy removal of toxic wastes from your body.

2. Increases Cardiovascular Fitness:

Boxing involves using your entire body and promotes healthy weight gain through cardio training, which improves the function of your heart and lungs. In addition, this training provides enough blood and oxygen to support fetal development, making it beneficial for prenatal fitness and weight management while also improving cardiovascular health.

3. Improves Strength And Power:

Boxing is the ultimate full-body workout that can help core strength training. Punching against resistance strengthens the muscles in the hips, legs, glutes, chest, back, and shoulder. Therefore, including boxing in your prenatal workout would help prepare your body for the birthing process and facilitate smooth labor and delivery.

4. Stress-Relief:

Boxing is a stress relieving exercise that helps you remain active during pregnancy.However, it is advisable to avoid practicing hard kicks and punches after thesecond trimesterof your pregnancy (2).

Reasons To Avoid Boxing During Pregnancy

Doctors encourage the expectant mom to practice moderate physical exercises, but for boxing there are certain guidelines to follow.When the mother punches or kicks the punching bag hard, it imposes jarring effects into the uterus, posing risk to the fetus.

Here are some of the common reasons why boxing isn’t safe during pregnancy:

1. Higher Risk Injury:

Boxing increases the possibility of contact injury, and you are at greater risk to get directly kicked in the lower abdomen.

It is essential to protect your belly during pregnancy from blows and injuries. Avoid boxing the usual way during pregnancy. For instance, if you boxed with another person, switch to strength training, stretching, or boxing on a punching bag during pregnancy.

2. Losing Body Balance:

There is a real risk of losing balance and falling on the ground. The over-strained ligaments can easily get ruptured due to sudden falls and increase the possibility of miscarriage. There is a change in your center of gravity during later trimesters, increasing the risk of falls.

3. Overheating:

Boxing can heat your body quickly, which is extremely dangerous for the growing fetus.Remember to take frequent breaks when boxing during pregnancy.

When To Stop Practicing Boxing During Pregnancy?

Boxing during pregnancy increases the chances of sudden abdomen attack and membrane rupture. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should stop boxing and seek immediate medical attention:

• Vaginal bleeding
• Excessiveshortness of breath
• Pelvic orback pain
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Chest pain
• Painful contractions or any leakage of amniotic fluid

A Word Of Caution

There are some other things that you should remain careful about while practicing boxing while you are pregnant:

• Take care to not overheat during boxing. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids for proper hydration and avoid exercising in hot weather to avoid dehydration.
• Ensure proper nutrition and do not let your blood sugar level drop excessively. If you are practicing boxing or any other strenuousphysical activity,it is important to take in more calories than normal. These extra calories can help you regain enough energy and avoid overexertion.
• Wear appropriate shoes and clothing to practice the exercising regime.
• Monitor your breathing rate closely and adjust your intensity, according to your body’s capacity to ensure optimum prenatal care.
• Stop practicing boxing immediately if you feel dizzy, faint or suffer from severe heart palpitations (3)
• Practice breathing techniques to avoid shortness of breath.