Sweat Funk: Cardio Dance Workout For Pregnant Women

Cardio For Pregnant Women

Pregnant or not, cardio dance is one of my all-time favorite ways to get fit and stay fit. With the right moves, you have the opportunity to work almost every muscle in the body and the nonstop movement is one of the most fun ways to get your cardio in.

Clearly, including dance cardio in my pregnancy workout was a no-brainer. My Sweat Funk is a 30-minute dance routine that will leave you sweaty and smiling.

Stomp It Out

• Begin with your feet together. Alternate stepping forward into a lunge (like you are stomping a bug). Your legs should be far enough apart so that your back heel lifts up. Bend your knees and get your lower body down but keep your chest lifted. Then slide the front leg back in. .
• The farther out you step and the lower you get, the more you’ll work the legs and butt. If you want to get your upper body involved a little more, you can pretend to look at your watch on one arm while you row back towards your hip with the other, which will also work your back and shoulders.
• Channel your inner dancer, by playing with the tempo of your stomps. Some can be quick and others can be slow. Alternate at least 8 times

Tips on how to achieve the healthiest pregnancy 

Step Away

• Begin with your feet together. If it makes you feel more comfortable, put your hands on your baby. Step one foot out to the side at a time, while you allow your opposite knee to invert, Michael Jackson-style.
• During pregnancy we get so tight in our chest and shoulders due to our growing bellies, so open up the opposite arm (as you Step Away), and allow your chest to get a little stretch.
• Once you bring your foot back in and your hands back to baby, bend your knees, squeeze your inner thighs together, and then do a little heel lift to check your balance. Repeat on the other side. Alternate at least eight times.

Also see: Yoga positions for pregnant women

Swing Away

• Take your feet wide and just rock your hips right to left. Remember, you want those hips to be open and ready for childbirth, so use them! Allow your arms to swing side to side, like you’re doing the twist. Don’t take yourself seriously on this one. Just work those hips! Alternate at least 8 times.
• Now it’s time to put on your favorite tune and dance it out with Stomp It Out, Step Away, and Swing It. Feel free to mix them up with some of your own unique moves or just combine these three to make up your own little dance.

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