exercise

[JamieB]

I think I am just being ridiculous but can we talk about core temp?  I keep reading confliciting info on whether exercise can raise your core temp enough to harm a fetus and/or which exercises to avoid.  This is just old school thinking right? 

Basically I am super out of shape and overweight and I started running (slowly, lol) a couple months ago and now I am pregnant and want to be sure it is safe to keep running.  I am also swimming twice a week and plan on doing weights/strength exercises.  The thing is that because I am overweight and out of shape I am worried that I am overdoing it during the runs.  I feel ok during them though, if that matters. I do get very sweaty though.   

Am I being paranoid?

[Chloe'sMama]

Everything that I have heard says you can continue doing whatever amount and intensity you did before you got pregnant.  I have heard that you can also increase intensity slowly, but make sure it is OK with your OB/ MW.  My midwife was very pro- exercise and I continued to work out until DD2 was born (running 10 miles a week, pretty high intensity stuff and weight training).  

I would OK it with your provider, but everything I have read or heard says it is OK.

Good luck and congrats!

[Lite]

Chloe's Mama, that is so wonderful to hear!  Althou i'm not pg yet, i worry that if i do i'll have to cut out my routine as i keep hearing, if you are out of breath your baby is out breath...  I like to do high intensity cardio classes etc and i do strength training.  I'm very paranoid that when the time comes i'll be worried that i'm harming my baby.....  I do see many other pg ladies at classes but you know the first timer will be worried about everything!!!

[lifeguard]

There is very little good information out there about exercise during pregnancy & I think our culture really overly coddles pregnant women as a rule. Just think of the hard, intense work women around the world do every day while pregnant because it is part of their every day lives & vital for their livelihoods.

I think the rule of whatever you were doing before is a good one, along with if something really doesn't feel right you might need to look into modifications. I am an amateur powerlifter & with my first pregnancy backed off too much too soon & regretted it VERY much. So far this time I've made no changes (actually I recently backed off my bench press a little bit but we think that is due to other factors) & even competed in a meet earlier in the pregnancy. I intend to continue until I find something to feel really off (which I could see happening with squats & lunges).

Listen to your body - it's smart.

[fertilemyrtle]

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

There is very little good information out there about exercise during pregnancy & I think our culture really overly coddles pregnant women as a rule. Just think of the hard, intense work women around the world do every day while pregnant because it is part of their every day lives & vital for their livelihoods.

I really agree with this.   I'm in my first pregnancy and a fitness/wellness professional.   I used a heart rate monitor at first to keep my rate at 140 bpm, as recommended.   I found that I could easily go higher, and I just *knew* everything was fine.   Because your heart beats faster in pregnancy by about 10-15 bpm, I noticed my heart rate increased quicker during slow jogging or spinning than it did when I wasn't pregnant.  So I quickly figured out that worrying about heart rate and core temp is kind of crap, imo.   If you're already used to exercising.

The thing that slowed me down is that I could feel as my pelvis changed, I really didn't *want* to pound the pavement (or the treadmill).   Spinning has been a great low-impact cardio, as is walking up hills (or steep incline on the treadmill).  I'll still jog here and there (28 weeks pregnant now), but it's slow and not for long. I will mention that I love jogging, but was not a hard-core runner.   Just a few miles, a few days a week. 

I have managed to be pain-free all pregnancy, which is my ultimate goal.   I know a lot of women who pushed too hard, injured themselves, and then were benched from any activity.   So I'm trying to tread that line.  I also agree that there are lots of women who are afraid to move at all, so finding that balance is really key.   My advice is, continue doing what you're doing, but be *willing* to stop if your intuition says so.   Be willing to spend longer exercising, also.   I used to do 30 minutes of high intensity interval training (sprints and then strength back and forth).   I can't work out with that intensity anymore, so I do at least 45-60 minutes of cardio/strength now.