Kickboxing and de Belly

[Mandy Lee]

I fell in love with kickboxing last year and now that I'm pregnant, I am continuing my kickboxing and have had no signs of trouble. I was wondering how far along you did kickboxing Cathe or anyone else? When you balance on one leg and do a roundhouse kick, does your pregnant belly cause you to get off balance? Also is it harmful to the uterus? I always get so concerned about it getting unattatched. Even though it's not my first pregnancy, it's my first doing kickboxing Thanks so much!!

 

[Sheila]

Kickboxing during pregnancy

Hi Mandy Lee,

Again, congratulations on your pregnancy. Kickboxing during pregnancy has been addressed before on our forum. I have taken an exerpt from a very early post and hope that you will find it helpful. It will be very important for you to "listen to your body" if you desire to continue kickboxing during your early pregnancy. My concern for you as a mom who has experienced multiple pregnancies, is that the ligaments in and around your pelvis are going to "loosen up" quickly and kickboxing may become uncomfortable after a short while. Check through the threads for Cathe's pregnancy updates for her experience regarding kickboxing. Her pelvic ligament pain became a detriment to her continuing to kickbox in the latter part of her pregnancy. Keep in mind that this was Cathe's first pregnancy as well. You may experience this alot sooner since your body is in the "been there done that before" mode with regard to ligament loosening during pregnancy. We tend to see women experiencing this sooner with each pregnancy. Does that make sense? So, with that preface, here is what I posted last summer on the forum regarding kickboxing.

"I have had clients in my prenatal program who have continued their kickboxing classes through their first trimester. I have also had former "kickboxers" that have come into my program during the first trimester because they are too fatigued (as a result of early pregnancy) to "keep up" in their kickboxing classes. I would check with your healthcare provider to get the final "go ahead" before you continued this type of workout after becoming pregnant. Kickboxing's high powered movements generate tremendous force and momentum. I would be concerned about the effects of these moves on your hip joints, your sacro-iliac joint(low back) and your pubic symphysis (joint where the pubic bones meet in the front of the pelvis). These areas will be made less stable to begin with as a result of the "loosening" hormones of pregnancy. The punches would be fine to do if they are executed properly with control. You may be able to continue this type of workout for ~2-3 months into your pregnancy if you "listen to your body." If you get any lower back or pelvic discomfort you should discontinue the workout and engage in an alternate form of cardiovascular activity that would not be so demanding on your vulnerable joints.

Make sure that you are drinking water before, during and after your exercise sessions. It's okay to sweat as long as you put the fluid back in!"

 

[momincharge]

ligament loosening

This really made sense to me with multiple preg causing ligaments to loosen sooner. I found in my 5th preg that I had to modify much sooner. I actually pulled my broad ligament with the combination of a terrible cough (can you believe it!) and possibly exercise. I felt great and was exercising w/i the same guidelines that had worked for me b4. Of course I followed Dr orders and took the time to heal but was able to go back to exercising w/ more modification for the remainder of the preg.