working out during pregnancy

[DebbieD]

Cathe,

I need your help! I just found out that I am 6 weeks pregnant with my first, although this is extremly exciting, I am also very nervous about my workout schedule. I have been doing your tapes religously for years. I won't even look at anybody elses tapes! The problem now is, I am getting so many different opinions on working out that I am too scared to do anything in fear that I might cause a miscarriage. I have been walking vigorously on my treadmill, which is boring. I would much rather still be working out with you. I have given up weights so far because I'm not quite sure what is and what is not safe. I love weight training with a passion and would hate to have to give it up for the next 9 months. I usually lift about the same amount of weight that you recommend on your tapes. Should I just continue working with weights only go lighter? Are there any moves that are unsafe to do during pregnancy? Your response would be so helpful to me. Oh, also, If your recommendation is to lift lighter, how much lighter? Thank you so much for your time and I hope to hear from you soon!
Debbie

 

[StaceyDeLapp]

Debbie:

I just found out I'm about 6 weeks pregnant too! Only this is my third, and it was unplanned. When I was pg with my 2nd, I had been exercising with Cathe for 2 years. I continued to do her tapes on a 6" board throughout my entire pregnancy and felt great. I listened to my body and did the talk test. I also read Eric Clapton's book that is talked about a lot in various threads within this forum. I also know that Cathe kept a journal during her pregnancy letting others know what types of exercising she was still doing. There are a lot of wonderful posts regarding ab variations and weight lifting variations. I'm sure if you just take a couple of hours you will find the information you are looking for.

Congratulations!

Stacey

 

[Jennine]

Hi Debbie,

Congratulations! I just wanted to reiterate the previous poster's suggestion to look around on this list of other threads dealing with your questions. I'm sure Cathe and Sheila will respond to you, but I remember how urgent I was feeling at 6 weeks, and I wanted all answers immediately! (I'm now almost 37 weeks).

Another suggestion is to get a book called "Expecting Fitness" by Birgitta Gallo. The previous poster suggested the Clapp book, but apparently it is very difficult to find because it is out of print. The Gallo book relies upon research from the Clapp book and has very specific suggestions about what types of exercises are and are not good to do during pregnancy. I got my copy on sale at www.babystyle.com. I'm sure Amazon carries it as well.

Good luck with staying fit and with your pregnancy!

-Jennine in Baltimore

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Debbie! Congratulations, how exciting. As others have already mentioned, you will learn so much from just reading through all of the posts that have been asked over time. Remember that there are far more than the first 25 questions that appear before you. At the bottom of the page you can click on the #2 and get the next 25 questions and soon and so on. I will answer some of your questions briefly and then paste an answer that I wrote to someone else a while ago since the information for you will be the same. Let me start by saying Expecting Fitness, as someone has already posted about, is excellent and I feel that you should get this book to help ease much of most first time moms-to-be anxiety. Also, you need to always get the go ahead from your health care provider regarding exercise. Once the clearance is given then you are free to workout and do pretty much the same workouts that you always have during the first trimester with the main difference of never letting your heart rate get too high and modifying the impact. Helpful Hint: You should always be able to say 2 to 5 word sentences during the peak of your cardio workouts. You may find yourself modifying more than you anticipated if you are very sleepy and/or queazy during this time (and thats perfectly fine). Water is so very, very, important. You must keep well hydrated before, during and after your workouts too. You may find that certain cardio activities are not as comfortable while others feel completely fine. Go with your instincts and only do the ones that feel comfortable(be sure to constantly modify whenever needed).

Now I will post my answer from a while back and that should answer the rest of your questions. Good Luck and keep us informed of your progress. Take Care!


Past Post:

"Congratulations on your pregnancy. You should be fine continuing with strength training throughout the duration of your pregnancy as long as you note the following:

At this early stage in your pregnacy, your strength training workouts are fine to do as usual. My only suggestion is that you go for strength maintenance and NOT try to lift heavier than usual weight at this time. The main two reasons for this are 1) You don't want to work in a very high heart rate zone, which can happen when lifting heavy weight. 2) You want to be be careful to not over stress your joints and ligaments since they gradually become softer and softer as your pregnancy progresses(due to relaxin hormone). By the way, this softening process is very normal and is the body's way of naturally preparing for childbirth. As a matter of fact, toward the end of your pregnancy you may find yourself having to lift even lighter weight since your balance and joint stability will have altered quite a bit.

I would also strongly recommend that you begin to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles by doing kegel(internal contraction) exercises throughout your pregnancy(even forever after is great). This will not only help to keep you from leaking urine when you sneeze, cough, or jump (since the baby puts more pressure on your bladder as he/she grows), but will keep your pelvic floor stronger overall(a big plus) since it will become stressed from holding the weight of the baby.

As you get into your fourth month of pregnany, it is no longer recommended that you work flat on your back. For this reason all flat bench work (ex. bench presses) should be done in an incline position and abdominal work is recommended in an all fours position. I'll provide you with ab examples if you need them.

As you end your second trimester and enter your third, you may find your center of gravity shifting, causing you to be a bit off balance at times. During these times, you may have to be more creative finding more comfortable positions to do certain exercises(or eliminating them altogether, if no safe modification is available, until after the baby comes). This is the time to especially take advantage of that spotter if you have one available.

You can continue to exercise right to the end of your pregnancy(of course, modifying more and more as you get closer to the end)as long as you are having no complications. Good Luck"