Baby on board: here’s why stand-up paddleboarding is great exercise for new and expecting mums
- The water-based sport offers pregnant women and those who have recently given birth a low-impact, full-body workout
- It helps restore balance to the body, strengthens core muscles, and brings back a social aspect to a person’s life when they might need it most
Over the past five years, Sian Hooper has increasingly incorporated strength training alongside high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and cardiovascular workouts to keep in shape. She was not prepared to sacrifice her achievements, even when she found out she was pregnant.
“After working hard to build up a good baseline of strength over the last few years, I didn’t want to let this go,” said Hooper, who works in commercial sales at Bloomberg LP in Central, Hong Kong’s financial district. “I was eager to maintain a level of strength training throughout my pregnancy.”
That’s when she chanced upon Esther Bland’s company, Aqua Terra Performance.
Bland is a pre- and postnatal exercise specialist and personal trainer. Her company provides training and water sport exercise to clients from a studio in Stanley Bay, in the southern part of Hong Kong Island. She is also trained as a swimming instructor.
