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Preggo Fit
By workoutmommy | June 12, 2008
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This is a guest post from Alice, a busy mom with 2 kids and one on the way. She describes herself as a “Frenchie trying not to lose her mind while raising two children, working full time, being pregnant, having a relationship, maintaining a figure and an education.” She can be found blogging over at I am not from your country.
I am in my 6th month of pregnancy with baby#3. I am showing quite a bit: just by looking at me, you would think that I am already 7 months along, alas.
A few days ago, I went to the gym located just a couple of floors down from where I work, as I usually do. I came out of the dressing room and settled on the treadmill getting my iPod’s playlist where I wanted it to be. I started to run. One of my coworkers was there too, using the elliptical machine. He gave me a concerned look and said:
“Don’t hurt your baby”
I about fell flat on my face at that comment and felt like replying in less than kind words. I had heard other fit mamas talk about similar occurrences, but I had never been confronted with one yet.
I knew exactly what to say however…
“Well, my obstetrician says it’s okay”.
That stopped the conversation right there, people usually know better than try to tell you they know better than your doctor, but I was plagued with a sense of ‘doing something wrong’ for the rest of my running session.
And for the record, yes, my OBGYN has indeed cleared me for running, so there. Ha!
Any pregnant woman or new parent can attest that there is an army of well meaning givers-out of advice. You can fully expect them to come out of the woodwork the minute you are showing. Everybody and their dog seem to want to tell you what not to do, how to go about things, and how to conduct your life in general. And sometimes, that can be very overwhelming.
Many myths surround pregnancy -myths such as crossing your legs causing the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby’s neck… you know… intelligent things like that…- There still is a firmly held belief that one should not exercise. It is not uncommon to hear that working out can cause miscarriages, premature labor or will cause the baby to have a low birth weight. Hence my coworker’s concern. None of those things however has been proven to be true.
WHAT DO I DO FIRST?
If you just found out that you are expecting, the best thing to do is to make an appointment with your health care provider and get his/her okay to exercise. As you know, there are circumstances which can prevent a woman being active while she is pregnant, but in general any healthy pregnant woman can and actually should exercise. If you’ve had babies before, you know full well that delivering that little bundle of joy is quite the feat of endurance and strength. And let’s not even talk about the sleep depravation afterwards, so being fit is actually quite important and will make the whole process much easier.
WHAT KIND OF EXERCISE?
So, now that you’ve got your doc’s blessing to work out, you might be wondering what kind of exercise you can and cannot do.
As a rule of thumb, anything that might cause you to fall is probably better left alone for now. Good bye wake boarding and downhill skiing! Horse back riding and scuba diving are also out along with Ultimate fighting, aerial trapeze, rock climbing and sky diving. Use common sense when determining if a specific activity has potential for harm. Even if you are skilled in a specific activity requiring balance, keep in mind that your center of gravity will shift forward as your pregnancy progresses and make you a little (if not a lot) clumsier than usual. If you, like me, are already clumsy to begin with, by the 8th month, you will rival Bozo the clown. I kid you not.
Amongst some of the best form of exercise for pregnant women are prenatal yoga, swimming and walking. They are all low impact and can help build your endurance, stamina or flexibility. I have actually never been much of a swimmer… come to think of it, since it usually takes me a couple of times to figure out how not to get water in my nose, I think I qualify as “not a swimmer at all”, but I nevertheless started hitting the pool more and more. Being in the water provides an extremely pleasant feeling of weightlessness, one I seldom come about these days. It also is a fantastic cardio work out; you hardly can overheat in a pool.
Finally, make sure to remember your Kegels, for the sake of your pelvic floor… And you know you love doing Kegel exercises!
According to my OBGYN, it is generally fine to keep doing any exercise you were doing before getting pregnant, though you might need to include some modifications. Happily, that includes running. For added entertainment value, wear tight fitting outfits and run in your neighborhood. The looks you will get are priceless.
Make sure to incorporate some resistance training. Pregnancy can do a little number on your bones and resistance training will help maintain a healthy bone mass. You might want to scale down the weight you use to lift if you were used to lifting heavy. As you know, the hormone Relaxin allows your joints and ligaments to loosen during pregnancy in order to prepare for the delivery of your child. Because of this, form is more important than ever. Make sure your resistance training includes safe form to help prevent injury.
You probably have also heard that pregnancy is not a good time to start a new exercise routine. Not so fast! According to the Mayo Clinic, pregnancy is an excellent time to become active. And if it’s good enough for the Mayo Clinic, it’s good enough for me. Of course, you will not be training for a marathon, though it has been done, but there is a broad range of activities you can engage in, as a beginning, pregnant exerciser. The following article from the Mayo Clinic can give you an idea on how to safely get started.
HEART RATE CONCERNS
For some time the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was recommending not letting one’s Hear Rate go over 140 bpm while exercising. This was based on a small study linking higher heart rate to a slower fetal growth in utero. Since these guidelines were issued in 1983 however, the results of the study have been discredited and doctors agree that placing an arbitrary max bpm HR is inappropriate. Your HR is greatly affected by your size, age and fitness level. Stick to the talk test: when exercising, are you able to carry a conversation or are you sucking for air after every sentence? If it is the latter, you are probably going at it a little too hard, and definitely not having a meaningful conversation with your exercise buddy.
LISTEN TO YOURSELF YO!
The important thing is to stay in tune with how you feel. It is easy if you are a very active person to push yourself beyond what is reasonable. Pregnancy is not the time to do this. Be aware of your heart rate, discomfort or any pain you might be feeling. Let your healthcare provider know if you encounter anything that does not feel right: he/she is here to answer your questions.
Pregnancy is a time where you are likely to slow down a bit, but you are not sick and bearing children is completely natural; your body knows how to handle it. Enjoy being pregnant, you don’t even have to suck your tummy in anymore. Do something good for both yourself and your unborn baby by becoming or remaining active. The benefits are many for both you and your child, starting with the lessening of many of the unpleasant pregnancy symptoms.
Personally, I have reduced how much running I do and try to maintain my cardiovascular fitness by swimming. I also sometimes run in water at the deep end of the pool. I go hiking a lot more than I used to, I also incorporated stationary biking and, heaven forbid, I also get on the elliptical machine from time to time. When I do Turbokick, I avoid jumping up and down too hard, which being my usual little spaz, is difficult to resist. I have maintained an altered weight training routine where I lift lighter weight and work a little more on my muscles endurance.
I feel I have been able to slow down, and enjoy being active while being pregnant. Now if only it were easier to find decent workout attire for pregnant women…
photo credit: Dra sick Love
Topics: just for moms, links |
June 12th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Great post! I’ve been really curious about the recommendations for health in regards to pregnant women. This is very informative:)
Sagan’s last blog post..Links: Sodium and Portion Sizing
June 12th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Very interesting how people think they can give you advise on the basis that you are pregnant…Each pregnancy experience is unique. This is coming from somebody who has never got pregnant
Souad’s last blog post..L’attente fait mourir
June 12th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I’ve never been pregnant, but when I was young, took ballet lessons for years and years. My ballet teacher taught us (by example, BTW) through her ninth month with both of her pregnancies! The woman was amazing, and I’ve never forgotten that.
Moderate exercise is imperative through pregnancy, in my mind. Sheesh, in the “good ol days”, they used to squat in the fields, squeeze out the kid and go back to harvesting, didn’t they?
the Bag Lady’s last blog post..Bags and Bells (Well, Bell Peppers…)
June 12th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Excellent post!
I worked out through both of my pregnancies, and the folks at the gym I belonged to at the time (the Hollywood Y) were wonderful! I swam and walked pretty much every day, and took prenatal yoga (which creates a feeling of much-needed space in your body,lol!), and when I came back after giving birth, everyone asked how I and the kids were doing. Very sweet.
(BTW, our dog became VERY protective of me during the pregnancies, and now she is like a private security detail for the kids. And not just ours, but EVERYONE’S kids, and any pregnant woman she sees. It’s pretty cute.)
June 12th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
BL: you crack me up. I’m so glad I didn’t have to have my kids in a field!
Alyssa: very cute about your dog. Mine is very protective of the kids too, even though they annoy him all day long.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Great post! I worked out through all 4 of my pregnancies and have heard every comment under the sun. Most were encouraging, some just ignorant and a few idiotic. But all of my kids were born healthy and huge (I have 10 lb babies) and my doctor told me after my last baby was born that I had the biggest placenta she’d ever seen. Totally a compliment in my book:) I think exercise helped a lot with the physical and emotional discomforts of pregnancy. Can’t say enough good things about it!
And thanks for pointing out the ridiculosity of the “140 rule.” Teachers still spout that one.
charlotte’s last blog post..Experimenting On Unsuspecting People
June 12th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
My mom played softball through her entire pregnancies with all 5 of us kids. My dear friend played racquetball (and still kicked my butt) 2 weeks before she delivered. I’ve played softball with plenty of women who were pregnant…they just had to be a little more careful. I plan on staying active when I get pregnant…I’m deathly afraid of turning into a huge elephant, and sitting around would probably guarantee that!
Alison’s last blog post..The camera is alive!!
June 12th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I think this post will probably help a lot of women who feel guilty when they encounter negative know-it-alls. Good job!
Merry’s last blog post..Swamped? Try the Okefenokee Diet
June 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Merry suggested I check this out– great post!!!
Heather’s last blog post..Any faith healers in the audience?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Thanks everybody! I am glad this post conveyed the intended message: pregnancy is a good time slow down, not get to a complete stop! Cheers to fitness and moms!