Is jumping rope okay?

[Randi77]

Hi, I have a quick question - is jumping rope okay during pregnancy? I used to jump rope regularly and now that I'm pregnant (11 weeks) I haven't in more than a few weeks, mostly b/c I'm so tired lately. That's easing up now and I was wondering if it would be okay to reintroduce it into my routine. It's such an easy way to get a good cardio workout in a short amount of time. Anyway, my dr. said that all workouts should be fine before 12 weeks and to try and lessen the impact thereafter, but I was reading in Expecting Fitness or Exercising Through Your Pregnancy (not sure which one) that jumping rope is considered a plyometric activity and should be avoided - since both my feet don't leave the ground at the same time when I jump rope do you think this applies? Sorry for the rambling post. I'm a little confused . Any advice/info anyone can offer will be appreciated. Thanks!

Randi

 

[Beets]

I would bag the jumping rope if I was you. Actually, both feet do leave the ground when you jump rope otherwise you would not get a revolution--the rope would get caught up on the foot on the floor. Even though many women run throughout their pregnancy, the impact with jumping rope is a lot different and is more jarring to the body in my opinion. Just my opinion. Maybe you will hear an expert opinion from Sheila or Cathe. Good luck with your pregnancy! I am at 8 weeks myself.

 

[Randi77]

Hi Beets,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Actually, both feet don't have to leave the floor when you jump rope - you can use a method that is like jogging in place when one foot is always on the floor, you just have to have fast feet. I'm going to jump rope once or twice a week until it's uncomfortable or I'm advised to avoid it. I've been roping for about 3 years now and I'd hate to lose all of my endurance. Thanks for your reply though.

 

[tchersue]

You may very well be okay... some women can continue with jogging or power moves throughout their pregnancies... but you should be aware that the hormone relaxin is making it's way into your joints more and more as your pregnancy progresses. The hormone's purpose is to help your pelvis, abdominal muscles, and ribcage expand to make room for the growing baby, but it is non-specific, and so it also affects your knees, ankles, etc... so you are much more prone to sprains and other more serious injuries during pregnancy than at other times. You might also strain the already stretched ligaments that support the uterus and baby and cause yourself to be quite uncomfortable in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

The baby is probably fine in his padded environment (if you drink lots of water, don't go anaerobic, etc.), but you run more of a risk of hurting yourself.

My advice to pregnant moms (and it comes directly from Sheila's training) is to have a plan for if/when a certain exercise routine is no longer working for you. Like, in my first trimester, in addition to teaching prenatal exercise classes (low impact aerobics & resistance exercises), I did some jogging, step classes, cardio machines (elliptical training is my favorite), and weight machines. In my 2nd trimester, I dropped the jogging but continued w/ the prenatal classes, cardio machines, weights, and step classes (minus power moves). I dropped the step classes in my 3rd trimester and began swimming laps... at the very end, I was only swimming and teaching my prenatal class... but I actually felt like I was getting more of a workout swimming than I had w/ the cardio machines because it incorporated all of my muscles.

I don't feel like I lost much endurance at all during my pregnancy even though I cut way back on the impact.

Susan (Healthy Moms Certified Prenatal/Postpartum Exercise Instructor)