Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : July 31, 2014 12:31 PM IST
The 34-year-old former girlfriend of George Clooney who is now seven months pregnant and expecting her first child maintains a strict fitness regimen to keep herself healthy and strong, and of course for the benefit of her unborn child. Her fitness regimen involves a combination of Pilates and tough strengthening exercises, reports Contactmusic.
Her Pilates teacher Nonna Gleyzer informs that Stacy chose Pilates to keep her body strong and aligned. She also adds that, 'Not much had been changed from her pre-pregnancy fitness routine, though the focus is more on strength training, corrective breathing, making the muscles of the back and lower abdomen stronger, all that will help in making the birthing process easy and gentle.'
Stacy, who was a former professional wrestler and is married to Future Ads CEO Jared Pobre, also maintains a strict diet plan too. Gorging on healthy food has helped her fight many pregnancy related issues and stay away from unhealthy cravings. Her instructor further informs, 'Stacy eats clean and quality foods. She prefers healthy food over French fries and milkshakes. She can splurge but still makes a healthy choice.'
How Pilates helps in pregnancy
Exercise in any form during pregnancy can present with a host of benefits to the mother and the unborn baby. Pilates in particular, if done during pregnancy can help in the following ways:
Maintaining optimum weight: Doing Pilates regularly can up the metabolism and restrict accumulation of fat in the body, hence helping to maintain an optimum pregnancy weight.
Combating pregnancy-induced fatigue: Pilates helps to increase stamina that takes a dip during pregnancy giving rise to fatigue. High stamina levels can help fight fatigue and make one feel more energetic throughout the pregnancy.
Dealing with leg cramps and swelling: Pilates improves blood circulation in the legs, this smooth circulation saves a pregnant woman from leg cramps, swellings or even varicose veins during pregnancy.
Correcting posture: A problem that most women face during pregnancy is backache, which happens often due to bad posture. The bulging abdomen just adds to the woes. Pilates helps in posture correction and to deal with such niggles.
Reducing pregnancy induced pains: As the abdomen grows and the uterus presses on the ligaments it can give rise to lower abdominal pains that can be very annoying and at times unbearable. Pilates helps to deal with the pains better by strengthening the abdominal muscles and that of the lower back.
Improving sleep: Pilates exercises improves circulation and helps in proper respiratory functions too, this helps the body to relax and unwind inducing a good sleep at night.
Reducing stress: Not only during pregnancy, regular Pilates exercises can help fight postpartum depression too as it lift moods and helps in intake of oxygen to keep the energy levels up.
With inputs from PTI news
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