Body Pump and pregnancy
<center><font size="1" color="#ff0000">LAST EDITED ON Dec-23-99 AT 02:47AM (EST)</font></center>
Congratulations to you. At 7 weeks along, you should be ok doing Body Pump for now without any major changes. Just remember that relaxin, a joint loosening hormone, is released when your pregnant. This hormone effects every pregnancy differently. Sometimes it can effect you during all of your pregnancy or perhaps only in certain stages of it. In any case, you need to be aware that relaxin actually loosens your ligaments, and therefore, can make you more prone to injury.
Remember to listen to your body and always modify when needed. Also, never try to lift any heavier than you are currently lifting now and never lift to failure(which is not as much a concern with Body Pump since this is more of a high rep/lighter weight endurance workout).
At about 4 months into your pregnancy, you will want to change all flat on your back exercises to an incline position. You will also want to discontinue traditional abdominal crunches at this time. After four months and right to the end, you will need to modify exercises due to structural changes which will shift your center of gravity. It is important that you continue to work your low back to give the spine additional support since it is under much greater stress as the baby grows bigger. You'll need to modify push ups to either hands and knees position or doing them against the wall. Squats should not be as deep because you center of gravity will be altered and your groin area ligaments will be more tender in advanced stages of pregnancy. You may find that you need to alter deadrows because you can't bring the bar into the navel area the way you used to. Clean and presses are pretty much out of the question because you can not keep the bar close to the body as you transition from the dead lift into the overhead press. I suggest just sticking with an overhead press during that exercise. Deadlifts will become very uncomfortable because of the forward lean involved. You may want to eliminate them at some point. Lunges will be more comfortable using the option that calls for putting the bar in front of you on the floor in a vertical position.
I think that about covers everything. You'll pretty much know when its time to modify certain things towards the end of the pregnancy. You simply won't be able to do things even if you try. For instance, lying belly down in the cool down stretch. YOUCH!
On top of these recommendations, I would also like to suggest that you skim through this forum and read about other questions that you have an interest in. There are ab questions, aerobic questions, and numerous types of weight training questions. If they are not listed on the main page, then click number 2,3,4, or 5 (located at the top of the main page of the pregnancy forum)to get to the other questions. Good Luck!
