Fitness influencer Kayla Itsines responds to claims her pregnancy workouts are "unsafe".

Since falling pregnant, fitness blogger Kayla Itsines’ exercise routine hasn’t missed a beat.

Despite being 24 weeks along, the 27-year-old trainer has continued to post regular fitness videos to her 10 million Instagram followers.

But while the SWEAT trainer has received thousands of positive comments from fans, others have slammed the fitness guru for lifting weights while pregnant.

“Isn’t lifting heavy weights risky when pregnant?” one follower commented.

“I’ve read that you shouldn’t work out your core or do excessive lifting after the first trimester,” another wrote.

“I feel the baby crying,” another person added.

Before long, Itsines quickly responded to the trolling and criticism with a lengthy Instagram post.

After admitting she had seen the dozens of negative comments from her followers, Itsines wrote: “I want to put this into perspective for you. The weights I’m lifting are rarely over 5kg per hand. I want you to keep that is mind as you read this story.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

So I was looking at the comments on my last workout video. Firstly, I want to thank you ladies for your support it’s been amazing????????. For the ladies who are writing things like “you are not allowed to lift weights while pregnant?!”, “is that safe??”. I want to put this into perspective for you. The weights I’m lifting are rarely over 5 kgs per hand. I want to you keep that in mind as you read this story…. Yesterday, I went to my friends house who had JUST finished vacuuming and mopping. She is VERY pregnant. I watched her pick up her 2 year off the ground and playfully lift her above her head 5-6 times while they laughed together. She then rested her 2 year old on her baby bump as she walked to the car. She put her child in the car AS WELL as a pram (which she had to fold down and then lift into the car) PLUS two other heavy bags. She then drove to a cafe, took the pram OUT of the car, assembled it, took the two heavy bags out of the car AND her child and went to breakfast. No one batted an eyelid, no one said anything, no one helped. I asked her SO MANY times, “can I help you, let me help you, I want to help!!” She said “babe, I do this EVERY DAY, I don’t need your help haha”. Ladies, my point is, working out safely while pregnant is a wonderful thing. I have been active my whole life. As long as you have clearance from your doctor, you CAN workout and you can use weights. Just because I’m standing in a gym with a crop top and shorts, doesn’t make it any less safe to lift something. I do not lift heavy weights, in fact I’ve cut the weight in HALF that I usually use. ✅ For the mums who have had kids… you would be the first to agree that there are PLENTY of things heavier than 5kgs in your house that you would have to lift or move daily (including other children) So in answer to your questions on my videos… no, the weight is not too heavy, it actually feels too light for me. No, I am not hurting the baby. No, my heart rate is not over 150(for the ladies asking) and YES, you can use weights while pregnant ???????? Ladies, you just need to follow pregnancy safe exercises (which I am posting on my page) AND you must first have clearance from your doctor ????

A post shared by KAYLA ITSINES (@kayla_itsines) on Jan 20, 2019 at 8:22pm PST

Itsines went on to explain that she had watched her heavily pregnant friend lift her two-year-old off the ground and above her head multiple times before carrying multiple heavy bags to and from her car.

“She drove to a cafe, took the pram OUT of the car, assembled it, took the two heavy bags out of the car AND her child and went to breakfast,” she continued in the post.

“No one batted an eyelid, no one said anything, no one helped. I asked her SO MANY times, ‘can I help you, let me help you’. She said, ‘babe, I do this EVERY DAY, I don’t need your help’.”

“My point is, working out safely while pregnant is a wonderful thing,” Itsines concluded. “I have been active my whole life. As long as you have clearance from your doctor, you CAN workout and you can use weights.”

Itsines also clarified that she has cut back to lifting half the weight she would usually lift during her pregnancy.

“Ladies, you just need to follow pregnancy safe exercises (which I am posting to my page) AND you must first have clearance from your doctor.”

 

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A post shared by KAYLA ITSINES (@kayla_itsines) on Jan 14, 2019 at 1:23pm PST

Last year, Medical Director, Fertility Specialist, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Demeter Fertility Dr David Knight explained the types of exercise pregnant women can do.

“Health practitioners agree that exercising during pregnancy, if you have a normal and healthy pregnancy, is not only safe – but has many physical and mental benefits,” Dr Knight told Mamamia.

“Physical activity in pregnancy has minimal risks and has been shown to benefit most women, although some modification to exercise routines may be necessary because of normal anatomic and physiologic changes and fetal requirements.”

For women looking for safe exercises to do during pregnancy, Dr Knight recommends swimming, walking, yoga, pilates and low impact aerobics.

He also recommended weight training.

 

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#24weekspregnant #bbg2019 #sweat12wc MONDAY in Australia ????????Time for LEGS !! #pregnancysafe leg workout ???????????? www.kaylaitsines.com/app

A post shared by KAYLA ITSINES (@kayla_itsines) on Jan 20, 2019 at 12:41pm PST

“Depending on where your fitness level was at when you started exercising, weight training while pregnant can be a great way to maintain fitness level and increase strength,” he explained.

Exercising while pregnant is a proven way to maintain a healthy body weight, aid in stress release, lower the risk of gestational diabetes and prepare the body for birth.

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