Doing exercise routines during pregnancy might be challenging. Some would say pregnant women should restrict themselves from exerting physical effort. If you love biking, you might have thought, can I ride a bike while pregnant?
You have nothing to worry about because it is safe to ride a bicycle during pregnancy. Although changes are visible in your body, it does not necessarily mean that you should alter all aspects in your lifestyle.
Table of Contents
Is Cycling Safe for Pregnancy?
According to experts, cycling is a safe exercise option to enjoy while pregnant. Beyond the risk associated with the regimen, biking while pregnant has positive benefits that could help you achieve a healthier lifestyle.
Bike riding while pregnant improves your well-being by producing feel-good hormones like dopamine, endorphins, norepinephrine, and serotonin. All while enhancing your body’s balance and coordination.
The advantages of pregnant bicycle riding are equally significant for the mother and children. It makes cycling one of the best low-impact exercise choices during pregnancy.
You can always consult your doctor to know until when you can still bike comfortably. Just make sure there are safety measurements during cycling.
Things to Know When Riding a Bike While Pregnant
Since pregnancy involves you and your baby’s health, addressing your physical needs is necessary. Here are some of the things that pregnant women who ride bikes should keep in mind:
1. Take an assessment
Before starting any exercise regimen, it is essential to ask your obstetrician. Doing so ensures your body and baby’s safety – helping you gauge the riding level to follow.
Make sure you offer the doctor all the information about your current habit and cycling frequency so they can advise you to lower or maintain it.
Meanwhile, assessing your ability would help you choose the type of terrain and biking difficulty to perform. It also gives you the freedom to move according to your body’s needs.
2. Hydrate yourself
Increasing fluid intake for pregnant women is necessary to aid vital body processes required to support gestation.
Since bike riding while pregnant is arduous and demands extensive physical force, replenishing yourself through hydration is a need. Drinking plenty of water will help you actively engage in the exercise regimen while ensuring you are keeping your body in check.
3. Gear up
One of the safety measures to take when riding a bicycle is the use of protective gear. It minimizes the likelihood of an incident occurring and the risk of injury when an accident happens.
For mountain biking pregnant enthusiasts, wearing suitable protective gear and biking clothes are a priority whenever you plan to take the mountain roads. It will allow you to enjoy the ride comfortably, guaranteeing that you are safeguarding your body and baby sensibly.
Wearing apt cycling clothes maximizes your biking experience if you are on your exercise bike while pregnant. Although in a stationary position, a gear fit for your bump will help you sustain your cycling pace freely.
4. Keep your balance
Balancing on the bike is no easy feat with the added weight of pregnancy.
You might find yourself in a difficult position while trying to find your posture to sit on a bike during pregnancy. Experiencing this is normal since bodily changes happen after the first trimester.
With so, you need to find your new body balance; otherwise, you should look for alternative exercise workouts due to the possible risks of such changes.
5. Take it easy
Always listen to your body. The first thing to note is your body’s physical capability.
If you are doing the routine as an exercise, a moderate performance would be safer when cycling while pregnant.
You can gradually increase your pedal intensity after birth. Bike riding is a beneficial low-impact workout you can do for postnatal care.
Can Ride a Bike Cause Miscarriage?
Like any other physical workout regimen, there are risks associated with bike riding while pregnant. However, the benefits of cycling repress the low possibility of such an instance.
As experts answered, riding a bicycle when pregnant does not pose any hazard of miscarriage. Therefore, pregnant bicycle riding for the first trimester and second trimester is recommendable.
A dirt bike is still safe to ride for 6 weeks pregnant women.You can continue driving on rough terrain in the first trimester, mainly if you are accustomed to doing so before child-bearing.
Doing a stationary cycle workout is the best option in your third trimester. Considering the risk of mishaps like losing momentum or falling off, women at 32 weeks pregnant should keep their exercise bikes in a fixed position.
It will provide ease with your biking posture while limiting the risks of unlikely incidents from happening.
Changes in balance and coordination are discernable for 9 months pregnant women. During the last month of pregnancy, exerting physical work should be minimal.
It is why halting the cycling workout while preparing for childbirth is a reasonable choice.
Duration of Bike Riding While Pregnant
Pregnant women ride bikes for various purposes, often related to health and wellness, that supports fetus development during pregnancy.
Gauging your body’s capability will help determine if you should continue biking during pregnancy.
Several factors are to consider to find out how long can you ride a bike while pregnant. However, it typically depends on their body’s ability and level of expertise.
For starters, the usual cycling routine lasts for 30 minutes. While for more experienced enthusiasts, pregnant bicycle riding can last up to 2 hours.
Conclusion
Cycling is one of the best exercise options to work on for your daily exercise regimen. For pregnant women, bike riding has invaluable benefits to prep your body throughout the pregnancy.
So if you are asking if ”can I ride a bike while pregnant?” the answer is this:
As experts said, pedal exercises such as bicycle riding is a safe alternative for your pregnancy workout regimen. Taking note of your vitals while ensuring that you follow your physician’s advice will help you appreciate this conditioning practice more.
We hope that you found the answer you’ve been looking for here!
“I ride my bike to work for years, but is that enough? Our carelessness towards our surroundings has taken a toll on the environment. And now, everyone is responsible for changes; even the most minor contribution is counted. With this hope and spirit, I started with my partner to establish Biketoworkday to help more individuals commute to their work sites on their bikes.”