Swimmers- what strokes do you do?

[RabbitMomma]

I used to swim competitively and have been trying to get to the pool at least a couple times a week throughout my pregnancy. I sort of find myself at a loss for what sort of strokes and exercises to do once I'm in the pool though! Usually I just do free style, breastroke, and then streamline kicking. But sometimes I don't know if I'm doing too much, or if I'm not doing the right sort of strokes for pregnancy. Basically I'm doing the sort of workout I used to do when I was swimming competitively, just minus the butterfly and backstroke and taking more frequent breaks. I'm not really sure how to make it more pregnancy friendly!

What do you do when you're at the pool, and do you have any suggestions?

[Big D]

I think you just need to listen to what your body tells you.  If you start to feel tired, take it down a notch.  There's no reason you can't keep using a lot of the same workouts, just modify them according to how you feel.  I like to use the kickboard more for a nice relaxing workout, or I will just vary my strokes every few laps between back, breast and freestyle (I never could do the butterfly).  You may also want to do a longer warm up and cool down and maybe cut out the "race the clock" sprints, but otherwise swimming is a perfect pregnancy exercise!

[LuminosaJane]

Former competitive swimmer here too.  I swam last pregnancy pretty regularly--haven't swum much thus far with this one because I feel so crappy and lap times aren't coordinating with times that I have someone to watch my dd.

Anyway, I think your workout sounds fine.  Also, I did backstroke throughout my pregnancy without problems, so not sure if you're avoiding it because you're not supposed to lie on your back on the ground.  I found it hard to "steer" because I would get distracted watching my belly pop up above the water :)  but it felt completely comfortable the entire pregnancy.  I started avoiding breast as I got bigger because I felt it put too much pressure on my low back and I also had some pubic symphasis stuff going on, so the kick didn't feel great.  I feel like the kickboard also puts stress on the low back, so I did mostly streamline kick, especially dolphin on my side.  (FWIW, I have some significant low back issues and am particularly aware of what stresses the area for me--you know, aside from having a huge stomach and sway back;) 

Being in the pool is a great opportunity to get some good stretching in using the wall.  And, if you have a few minutes at the end of your workout, I suggest grabbing a noodle, tucking it under your arms and floating while you do some kegels.  By the end, just floating will feel so good that this might become the extent of your workout!  I found it annoying to swim swim the last month of my pregnancy because I had no core anymore and my hip rotation just felt silly. 

Good luck mama!