Fitness

[Bluewings]

Alright... after my last pregnancy I lost all my pregnancy weight and even more, weiging in less than when I married my husband (and I wasn't obese when I married lol). So, I got back in shape I was very happy to bethere and swore to do it before we conceived again.

Now we are at preggo time! I want a fit and healthy pregnancy this time. I tried Pre-natal Pilates (DVD) and Yoga (DVD). I despise yoga :-/ It's so SLOOOOW. I really like hard cardio (running, dancing, bicycling). Obviously the jury seems to be out on hard cardio. I hear you can as long as your HR is not above 165.

Anyone have any fitness tips that are okay for first trimester and so forth? Would cycling be okay? I plan to do uphill (10% grade) walking on the treadmill. I'dl ike to do LIGHT lifting (5-10lb dumb bells) if that is okay? Things like squats, lunges, wall sits okay? Obviously abdominal work is out of the picture (DARN IT!), but can I do push ups? Pull ups?

 

[Lilahs Mum]

I'm just like you and only feel like I'm exercising if it's hard cardio. So far I've continued to run, both outside and on the treadmill - I also walked uphill on the treadmill last week and felt fine. I haven't changed my dumbell weight at this stage as it still feels fine. My last pregnancy I was doing RPM about twice a week until about 8 months along as well as light weight training. I'm really not sure about push ups and pull ups as they're not something that I do. I do lat pulldowns and chest presses. Just listen to your body. If you get tired, or start cramping ease up or stop.

 

[J22]

I was running up to 8km runs before and I've changed that to power walking up to 8km now (still a good workout I've found). I've done some 5 km power walks fitting in some light jogs on some stretches. I want to do more light jogging as soon as possible but I've been getting pulls and twinges in my uterus when I jog so I get scared and go back to walking. I've contined going to the gym a couple of times a week too and I'm using the crossramp (I've taken down the level so I'm not pushing myself as much), and I'm still using free weights and weight machines. I think if you usually do quite light weights like myself and you're careful about your positioning when lifting and you're used to doing them then there's no reason to stop. I'm not too sure about the other things you've mentioned. Happy work out! xx

 

[atalanta85]

Pretty much, as long as you have no medical complications (ie low/high blood pressure), you can continue on with what ever you were previously doing - within reason.

What you need to look out more now is the intensity (oxygen intake) and temperature (heat). The intensity should not leave you breathless, you should be able to carry on a conversation, but have some trouble like one or two breaths in a sentence. You should also not let your body overheat, but working out in a well ventilated and temperature controlled room will help, along with regular drink breaks and slowing down when you need to.

I intended to be one of those who kept up my exercise - I did Crossfit 4x a week, weight training up to 4x a week, a couple of fitness classes (teaching) plus anything else I had the energy and was up for. I was pretty fit. But, once I fell pregnant, low blood pressure, low blood glucose, extreme fatigue and morning sickness (primarily headaches) completely got in the way. I now only exercise lightly once a week as it's all I can currently manage. Can not wait until I feel well enough to gradually step it back up again.

EDIT:
Cardio - do anything as long as you feel comfortable. Some women can run up until the day they're due, others find it too much once they hit the half way mark
Weights - get a trainer to write you a program. There are considerations you need to take into account such as no laying on your back for extended periods of time after 20-22 weeks. You CAN still do abdominal work, you just need some adjustments to the exercises the bigger you get.

ALWAYS listen to your body. If it tells you to slow down/stop, then do it.