Aqua Mama: Prenatal Fitness with Aimee Sanders-Krause at Orem Family Fitness Center

All of the pregnancy books recommend swimming as an excellent exercise during pregnancy. The water's buoyancy helps support your belly while minimizing swelling and supporting your joints. And it's a great workout! It always sounded so good in the pregnancy books, and I tried it out a few times... Only to remember why I've never loved lap swimming. Something about inhaling a face full of splashy water just erases the charm for me.

Enter prenatal water aerobics!

I first heard about this class when a doula client, who was taking the class, mentioned that she'd been attending it. It sounded like a great class and something I wanted to check out for myself and tell my clients about. I finally got around to attending class a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed myself.

The other class members were welcoming and friendly, even to me in my non-pregnant state. :) As we got into the water, we got to know each other a bit, and then we started with some gentle warm-up exercises in the water. I was surprised by how much difference water resistance made in doing simple exercises like kicks and steps. I could feel that my muscles were engaging, yet the workout was gentle on my joints. Later in the class, we used pool noodles for added resistance, and I was again surprised to find that a super-lightweight pool noodle acted like a light dumb bell in the water! They also made fun flotation devices for other exercises.

In pregnancy, water fitness classes have many benefits. It reduces swelling, is low-impact, carries little risk of falling, alleviates spinal and pelvic pressure, and helps to improve mobility and range of motion. It also encourages increased amniotic fluid production--so discuss this exercise option with your care provider if you have low fluid levels! This class is adaptable for people with all fitness levels and can be done throughout your entire pregnancy--from first trimester through the end of third trimester! Non-pregnant participants who are looking for a gentle workout are also welcome.

The class is taught by Aimee Sanders-Krause. She's a lovely, warm person and a clear, yet flexible, instructor. Aimee is a mom of three and has a bachelor's degree in exercise science. In addition to teaching this class, she teaches other fitness classes at Orem Family Fitness Center and is also a personal trainer.

Interested? Class is held on Fridays from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. It's free with a membership to Orem Family Fitness Center, or non-members can pay a $5 day pass fee. Childcare is offered on-site! For more info, visit the Orem Family Fitness Center website.