Pre-baby exercise half question, half rant

michaela080

I have been an on-and-off exerciser my whole life, but since my wedding in June it has been off. Now we are trying to have a baby, and I want to be healthy during my pregnancy (and hopefully afterward) but now I'm scared to exercise since I haven't been. I know walking would be fine, what about the elliptical? I have one, and I really have no excuse not to use it. I really need to quit playing head games with myself and just do something!

IncogNeato

Why are you scared? Because you think it would be dangerous if you started and then found out you were pregnant?

Just start gradually, which is good advice for anyone. Walking on a treadmill, using an elliptical, some light weights and work up to higher weights. All of these things are fine to do even if you are pregnant. Then if it takes a while to get pregnant you will already have worked your way up to more strenuous exercise and it's fine to continue what you're doing when pg. I mean, really, exercise is rarely a problem for pregnant women anyway, so even if you started running today and found out you were PG in a few days it wouldn't be harmful. Just don't start training with Jillian Michaels tomorrow if you haven't broken a sweat in a while!

michaela080

Yes, I'm scared because I think I should exercise, but then I think what if I'm pregnant and I haven't been exercising, and they say you can keep the exercise regime you've been doing before getting pregnant, but that's nothing! But you're right, I might not get pregnant for months. That happened to me last cycle, and once I found out I wasn't pregnant I told myself I would start exercising and of course I didn't. I need to quit making excuses and just do it.

laurapalmer

Definitely start now. I agree with PP, just start gradually and you'll be fine. It took me almost a year to get pregnant and I spent most of that time ramping up my exercise so I could continue it at that higher level while pregnant. I'm so glad that I did! This is the perfect time to start a routine that you can continue throughout pregnancy. Focus on feeling strong and healthy and don't worry about whether you might be pregnant or not. Good luck!

IncogNeato

I wouldn't worry about hurting the baby with exercise. After all, you would probably find out pretty early on that you were PG if you are paying attention to your cycles and you'd have to be going pretty nuts with the exercise- like sprinting until you couldn't breathe, etc, in order to even possibly cause a problem. I mean, really, you don't even share much blood flow with a fetus until a few weeks after your missed period and it's very rare for exercise to cause problems. Unless you are high risk or pushing yourself past your limits every time you work out, I wouldn't worry.

Haven1

Yes, just DO it!  Exercise is so good for you and your future baby.  I'd highly recommend reading Exercising Through Your Pregnancy.  It's fantastic for information about before/during/after pregnancy.

https://www.amazon.com/Exercising-Through-Pregnancy-James-Clapp/dp/1886039593/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1285695884&sr=8-1-spell

marisad21

After my third child I decided I needed to get serious and lose all the extra baby weight.  I started doing P90X and was amazed at the results.  I lost weight, felt stronger, and just had more energy.  Seriously just a few weeks after I completed the program I found out I was pregnant again!  I think if you exercise you are going to be in great shape and more fertile.  At least that is what I have read.  I have modified my workouts but kept them up during pregnancy and this by far has been the easiest out of all my pregnancies. 

bgf1

I am popping over from 3rd trimester to get some inspiration to keep active in these last couple of weeks and I saw your post.  There is no reason not to start an exercise routine which includes any type of cardio or weight training you would enjoy.  I am in my 30's and concieved in my second month of TTC.  I did not reduce my exercise in any way in preparation for TTC. As long as you are at a high enough BMI to allow regular menstration exercise can actually increase your chances of conception.  I tend to exercise fairly intensely and when I discussed TTC with my doctor he did not see a problem with this.  We North American's lead relatively sedentary lives and are generally adequately nourished.  Think of the women around the world who concieve( often because they have no choice)  and sustain pregnancies while completing hard physical labour with inadequate nutrition, and yet we are often worried to do more then walk while TTC. Our bodies are intended for this, any steps you take to improve your health before or during pregnancy can only be positive.  Good Luck