Starting Exercise after Being Off

[Alison]

Hello everyone. I am just starting week 9, and I've been very nausiated and exhausted since the start, although luckily, I haven't vomited too much. Before I got pregnant, I exercised regularly mostly to videos, but since I've been, I've only managed one step workout with low impact and intensity. I went back and read old posts and saw that I have lots of company in this situation.

My question is to other people who had to take time off early in pregnancy--when you started up again after the nausea ended, where did you start? Where you able to make it through a whole video or did you do short workouts? I still walk about a mile each way to my office from the train, so I'm at least moving a little, but I am anxious to get back to my videos.

Alison

 

[Sheila]

Starting back exercise after time off....

Hi Alison,

My advice would be to start back with the videos with the goal of doing just 20 minutes. (The research is showing that even 20 minutes will make a difference.) Then you can work yourself back up. I would start with little or no impact just to see how you feel.

Make sure that you eat a protein-carbohydrate snack about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before you exercise if possible. Always keep that water bottle nearby and above all, listen to your body.

Good luck. Let us hear about how you are progressing.

Sheila

 

[swhitney]

I sure did

Alison,
Oh man, did I ever!! I was intensely ill and didn't exercise from about week 8 until week 18. I tried a handful of times during that period, for only 20 minutes at a time, and without fail always threw up halfway through and after it was over. It really didn't help me feel better. So for the most part I didn't exercise for several months. I felt really bad about it, like I was going to lose every ounce of my fitness level.

The good news is, I didn't. Even after a few solid months of nonexercise, I still had muscle tone and when I had the strength to start up again, I found I could still do all my old tapes. I had to go down in weight a little bit for awhile. And I of course have to make some comfort modifications because of my changing balance.
I'm about 24 weeks now and have been back exercising 4 or 5 times a week and I'm pleased to tell you that any muscle tone I lost was regained within a matter of weeks and I'm still quite aerobically fit. I'm pleased you can see any muscle tone at all on me when I'm 5 months pregnant, much less be as strong as I was before. I'm back to lifting the same weight pre-pregnancy.
I look like the same toned person, with a big old belly. I'm glad I took it easy during the early stages-- I wasn't eating (keeping down) enough to sustain a decent exercise program anyway, and my body wanted to sleep 13 hours a night. Now I feel more like myself.

Don't feel guilty if you can't make yourself do very much. Don't push it. You're pregnant! There's a lot going on in your body right now. Try to take walks if you can and remain active by taking stairs, etc., and stretch. But if you can't handle doing tapes, don't beat yourself up over it. My husband told me the same thing in the beginning, saying, "You're pregnant, and constantly sick or throwing up! Don't feel bad about not being able to work out." It was good advice. Your body seems to know what it needs.
Good luck with your pregnancy and take good care of yourself.
Sara

 

[tralyn]

Me too

I too had to take a break from videos for awhile. I really didn't have morning sickness but was so fatigued I slept constantly. I'm in week 24 now and back to 4-5 days a week. Only last week did I actually use MIS and StepFit. MIS with light dumbbells and no risers for StepFit but I got through them. I've also been using the actual pregnancy videos (I even have both step tapes for preggies). I will probably only do Cathe 1-2 a week because of the length of the videos. 20-30 mins seems to be good for me right now. My heartrate sits 24-25 beats which is in the new ACOG guidelines of 150. I haven't found to have lost too much and I know that whatever I'm doing now will really boost me to recover postpartum.
Traci'

 

[Alison]

Thanks for the help

Thanks for the encouragement and advise. I was feeling better for a few days, but today is right back to where I was, so I am not going to push it. I think hearing the heartbeat made me feel good for a while, but that's worn off. I'm now at 10 weeks. I have been walking a lot, so at least I'm doing something, but I haven't done weights for a very long time. Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll be back to doing modified versions of videos.

Alison

 

[Rhiannon]

what pregnancy tapes are you referring to?

You mention you have both step tapes for preggies, which tapes are you talking about? I'd like to get them.

 

[Sheila]

Re: New ACOG guideline of 150 beats per minute heartrate???????

Hi Tralyn,

I was reading through the forum tonight and noticed that in your post you had mentioned that ACOG's new guideline for heartrate was 150 beats per minute during pregnancy. I am not sure where you received this information but it is innacurate. The latest ACOG Bulletin (No. 189, February 1994) does not mention heartrate at all due to the fact that research on pregnant women has shown that heartrate monitoring is not a valid indicator of intensity during pregnancy due to changes in mom's cardiovascular system. Perceived exertion and the "talk test" are the methods of choice for measuring exercise intensity during pregnancy.

Sheila