Can You Play Disc Golf While Pregnant? (Safety Tips)
It has been a well known fact that exercise is good for pregnancy. It can help build stamina, reduce the occurrence of gestational diabetes, as well as stop backaches and fatigue.
Can you play disc golf while pregnant? The short answer is yes you can. Disc golf is a good sport to get the exercise you need to remain healthy throughout your pregnancy. How intensive your disc golf rounds are should be left up to you and doctor to decide.
To learn more how to play disc golf while pregnant just continue to read. Our article is filed with the information you need to know to have safe disc golf rounds while pregnant.
Disc Golf and Pregnancy
There are lots of sports and other active games you can play while you are pregnant. What disc golf offers you is that it is not a very intensive game. It is a good light workout that helps keep you fit, trim and ready for birth.
According to the CDC, pregnant women should get up to 150 minutes of light to moderate exercise every week. Disc golf is not a heavy exercise and the most you have to do in the sport is twist, throw and walk.
The good thing about twisting as you play the game is that it helps keep your abs in good working order. Twisting in disc golf can replace doing crunches, which can be harmful to your unborn child.
Also, if you have a little difficulty throwing a backhand shot, disc golf is very flexible. You can always change to a forehand method to relieve any discomfort you may have when throwing backhand. Learning to throw forehand is not that difficult and will help you be ready for those post pregnancy matches.
Is Disc Golf Safe While Pregnant
Disc golf does not involve a lot of physical interaction between players. Nor does it require a lot of intense physical maneuvers to get your shot off. These factors make disc golf a very good and safe exercise to participate in while you are pregnant.
What playing disc golf does for you is give you lots of opportunities to walk. Walking helps lower your blood pressure as well as your blood sugar levels. The latter works to keep gestational diabetes away and protects your child.
Another benefit you get from playing disc golf throughout your pregnancy is that the walking keeps your muscles toned and active. Then walking for the sake of walking can be boring at the best of times.
Disc golf gives you something to concentrate on as you walk. This helps keep your brain functioning at top levels and makes walking a lot more fun. Also, you get to exercise your whole body keeping you in top shape for when the delivery time arrives.
Tips to Play Disc Golf While Pregnant
You don’t just go out to a disc golf course and start playing a round. There are tips you need to follow to make sure you do not hurt yourself or your unborn child.
- Warm up- to get the most benefit out of the game and protect yourself from injuries, properly warm up. Stretch your muscles. A pulled muscle will make your pregnancy a little more difficult. Take 10 to 15 minutes to warm up so you are ready for action
- Cool down- after you have finished your round, take about 5 to 10 minutes to do a little stretching or light walking to rest your body. This will help keep your body from becoming sore after a game
- Cut your twist down- you will want to make slight changes to your form and only twist about 80% of your normal twist.
- Keep your balance- try to remain on the balls of your feet throughout each disc golf match. Your body is changing and you need to make adjustments to maintain proper balance
- Don’t stray off the path- well used paths are safer than unknown territory. You do not want to step into a hole and injure your ankle or leg.
- Watch your arm movements- you do not want to use jerky arm movements that may bring some impact to your body. Keep them short and smooth. Distance is not the issue here. Fun and exercise is more important
- Stay hydrated- make sure you drink a lot of healthy fluids during your match. You do not want to dehydrate yourself or your baby
Before You Play Disc Golf
While playing disc golf is safe when you are pregnant, there are always exceptions to the rules. There are some pregnancies that won’t benefit from the rigors of the sport. Before you play talk with your doctor first.
He can let you know if your pregnancy is normal and can handle large amounts of walking, twisting and throwing. One issue you need to watch out for is any trauma to your stomach region.
That means you will have to make adjustments to your form and watch how you walk as you play. Another thing you can change is to have someone carry all your discs for you as you go through your round. A caddy can relieve yo of the weight and let you walk a lot easier.
One benefit of disc golf not mentioned above is that the game can help you control your weight gain. If you were fairly active before you were pregnant, then cutting that activity off can subject you to a lot of weight gain.
Regular rounds of disc golf can help you stay active and manage your weight.
Some Final Comments
To some people it may seem odd to go out and play disc golf when you are pregnant. It is not a sight many people see every day. Even though those people are not used to seeing it, don’t let their reactions stop you from getting the exercise you need while pregnant.
Disc golf is a low impact,low intensity sport that can provide you with a lot of healthy exercise and benefits. Playing regular rounds will help you throughout your pregnancy as well as the delivery.
All you have to do is make a few modifications to make sure you do not hurt yourself or your unborn child.
