Exercise in 1st tri

mburkhe

I just found out that I am pregnant. I have been doing spin and strenght classes for over a year. I love my spin classes. I called my Dr to see if I could keep up with my classes. His nurse called back and said he wouldn't want me doing weight lifting or jolting around or endurance training. Walking and yoga would be fine to do. I cried. I know people do more during pregnancy than just walk. My body is use to the classes I take and my fitness instructor is already talking to me about modifications and what to take it easy on. I hope when I go to my first appointment I can talk to my Dr more about what I want to do/what he thinks is okay. Does/did anyone else do spin or strength training while pregnant? I plan on going to spin in the morning, just to do an easy ride, I will skip the runs and heavy resistance. I feel like a jerk even doing that though.

Ironmom2be

It's safe to still spin (according to my OB) I run (easy) spin and swim. I hope your doctor has a change of heart. I stay sane through exercise, not to mention keep my blood pressure and any excess weight under control. 

Ninja77

My doc said the 3 most important things w exercise were to keep your heart rate under 140, stop doing core specific exercise (crunches /sit ups) since this builds direct heat in your belly & not add anything new to your workout regimen. 

rondosa

There seem to be a lot of old school opinions still out there about exercise. The most current I've read most frequently is that if you've been doing it before you should be okay to continue. There are moms out there that kept up crossfit through pregnancy, and other workouts too. I've kept running once per week and have been doing my Insanity workouts with modifications through the first trimester. I'm also now on holiday and have been skiing a few times and hiking through vigorous snowy trails. I just wear my hrm and make sure I keep it below 160 or so.  If you're fit and used to working out, the old saying of 140 wouldn't cut it, at least for me.  It's really important not to overheat. 

Just use your intuition and common sense. It's important to stay active, you just have to be smart about it. I've stopped all of my ab workouts and been careful about weights that involve a lot of core work too.

 

Good luck,

Kristina 

jglenn4

rondosa:

There seem to be a lot of old school opinions still out there about exercise. The most current I've read most frequently is that if you've been doing it before you should be okay to continue. There are moms out there that kept up crossfit through pregnancy, and other workouts too. I've kept running once per week and have been doing my Insanity workouts with modifications through the first trimester. I'm also now on holiday and have been skiing a few times and hiking through vigorous snowy trails. I just wear my hrm and make sure I keep it below 160 or so.  If you're fit and used to working out, the old saying of 140 wouldn't cut it, at least for me.  It's really important not to overheat. 

Just use your intuition and common sense. It's important to stay active, you just have to be smart about it. I've stopped all of my ab workouts and been careful about weights that involve a lot of core work too.

 

Good luck,

Kristina 

This.  I still spin, swim, do bootcamp and HIIT Training (think Insanity with Weights and a bench). I just started really modifying in my third trimester (doing pushups and burpees on the floor is now uncomfortable so I do them on a bench with one or no risers) and I feel great.  I did regular core workouts until the beginning of my second trimester and then I switched to doing them at an incline, on a ball or against a wall.  In fact, I just did a core workout this morning.  :-)

Initially, my doctor told me to stop the HIIT training after my first tri but I had a lengthy discussion about my fitness background and he agreed it was fine to continue to do what I was doing.  He just instructed me to listen to my body, stay off my back after the first tri and to make sure my heart rate didn't get so high that I was breathless and could not speak.  My trainer and fitness instructors suggested the same and gave me literature that supported this.  

Good luck! 

ssoldatke

I agree, the most important thing is to listen to your body, keep your core temp down and if it feels hard, stop.

I found out I was pregnant while training for my 4th Ironman. I had already done all the hard and long training and was only a few weeks away from the event. I talked to my OB and he said I could keep doing the things I was doing before as long as I took it easy, didn't push hard, watched my body temperature and heart rate. I ended up doing the Ironman at 11 weeks. I took it super easy. I told myself if it ever felt hard I would stop. I've kept that approach to my workouts since then. I'm now 28 weeks and am still running, easy spinning and swimming. I need the exercise to maintain my sanity and release stress.

pepomntpat

Ninja77:

My doc said the 3 most important things w exercise were to keep your heart rate under 140, stop doing core specific exercise (crunches /sit ups) since this builds direct heat in your belly & not add anything new to your workout regimen. 

This is really ridiculous advice.

You can keep doing anything you've been doing before pregnancy. You should just scale it back a bit as you need to. I have had to slow down a bit because I get out of breath a lot more easily, but I don't have a heart rate monitor on at all times. I'm sure my heart rate goes above 140 chasing my 2 year old sometimes.

And ab exercises are very important during pregnancy. You just have to do certain modifications as you get bigger to not put too much strain on your ab muscles. Your instructor can help you with those.

The only thing I agree with is not adding anything new, but even that would depend on what it is. I am hoping to start walking my dog again when the snow lets up. I don't think I'll put that off because I am pregnant. 

mckay1am

I'm going to my first OB appointment tomorrow and I'm nervous she's going to tell me something similar to this.

One of my close friends has a beautiful, healthy 7 month old daughter and this friend ran throughout basically her entire pregnancy and lifted weights.

People are always going to say opposing things about everything relating to pregnancy. I've heard that doing ab workouts is bad for the baby, but I've also heard that doing ab workouts helps you tremendously when it comes time to push during labor. 

I'm still doing cardio, and I haven't paid attention to heart rate because I'm in decent shape and, like someone else said, your heart rate can go above 140 chasing a two year old around...or, having sex with your husband. And they encourage sex during pregnancy, so I think that 140 heart rate is for the birds.

Do what you're comfortable with. 

salt78

I was given the clear from my OB to continue on with whatever exercise that I was used to doing for as long as I felt well enough to do it. (That included hot yoga.) I would just modify where you can, keep an eye on your heart rate, and drink plenty of water.

FTR, I exercised my entire pregnancy (though I definitely toned it down late in the game) and I had a really easy time bouncing back after I had her. I think the fact that I remained active had a lot to do with that. 

Angela814

I didn't ask my OB. In the past she's said it's okay to keep up my current routine, and I couldn't find anything online that indicated weight lifting while pg was dangerous. In fact, there were some stories of athletes who kept up with their regular heavy lifting routines.

I do a 3 day weight lifting split and have continued the same routine through my whole pg so far. It kind of sucked in the first trimester when I felt nauseated all the time though. I've even gradually increased the amount of weight I'm lifting. I just pay attention to my body and don't do anything that's painful. I've never had any issues with past pregnancies or preterm labor or anything either.

I wouldn't say I do heavy lifting, but I don't do light weights either. For instance, today I did a max of 80 lbs on the lat pull down, 70 lbs on the low row, 80 lbs for lower back, and 15 lbs dumbbells for bicep curls. For chest I generally do 40-50 lbs, tricep extensions are 20-30 lbs (both arms), 25lbs on shoulders (both arms) or 12 lbs dumbbells each arm. Legs I do anywhere from 40-70 lbs depending on the machine and 160 lbs on the leg press. So medium-heavy weights I guess? 

I've always hated cardio, so I force myself to walk on the treadmill or do the elliptical. I've gotten a lot slower now. It takes me longer to warm up walking. Today the fastest I could walk was 3.5 mph otherwise I started feeling crampy. :-( I used to do 4.0 mph. But through my first trimester I could do my usual workouts without any problems.

Unless you're high risk for any reason, I would just keep doing what you feel comfortable with.

dukestar5

If you've been exercising regularly, it should be fine to continue most exercises/activities (unless you are high risk).  Definitely talk to your ob when you go to your first appointment.  You may need to scale back some activities (weight-lifiting etc) after the first trimester.  I continued running during my first pregnancy and everything was fine.  I ran two half marathons and even a 10k at 34 weeks.  I just tried to listen to my body and stay hydrated.  GL!

Sunidaze

Do you have any history of miscarriages or something?  I haven't heard of a doctor given this advice unless you are high risk for some reason.  I still kick myself for not continuing with an exercise program through my pregnancy.  I have a friend that was pregnant same time as me and did turbo up until almost the end of pregnancy and I recall a few years ago in one of my spin classes, one of the women participated in the class past her due date.  As far as weight training...my doctor told me nothing more than 25 lbs but honestly if I were to become pregnant again, I'd proably be lifting more than that as my body has become used to heavier weights.