Post # 1
Member
209 posts
Helper bee
I’m curious to hear from some (serious) fitness bees their experience working out during pregnancy. I am 5’3″ 110 lbs. Prior to pregnancy, I regularly ran ~20 miles/week and I also lift weights 2 days/week (generally compound lifting exercises). I regularly squat my body weight. Since getting pregnant, I’ve eased it down to squatting around 95 lbs, which doesn’t wear me out at all. I still run 20 miles/week, though I’ve been running a little slower just to keep my heart rate lower. I went to my 8 week appointment yesterday and my doctor flat out told me not to do weighted squats/deadlifts/lunges and told me to ease off on running as well. I found this advice to be a little generic, as I’m still in the 1st trimester. I know doctors do not want the liability of dealing with telling a patient that they can continue with activities and later get sued if something did happen (as a lawyer, I can understand that).
I am still the same weight and feel the same (zero pregnancy symptoms, same energy level). I have no trouble doing squats, lunges, deadlifts, bench press etc. right now. I’ve read that at some point I need to stop doing exercises like bench press which requires lying down on your back, but not in the 1st trimester. Obviously if I started feeling winded or off-balance, I will stop, but as of right now, I see no reason to stop until my body tells me to or the relaxins make me wobbly. I would prefer not to stop until my body tells me to because I believe having a stronger/fitter body means that I will have a healthier and easier pregnancy with less back pain and it’ll also be easier for me to bounce back postpartum. I’m curious to hear the experiences of bees who are very fit what they did during pregnancy and whether or not this was against the advice of their doctor.
Post # 2
Member
168 posts
Blushing bee
I am not pregnant (nor have I ever been) but I would say listen to your body. I follow Amy Updike and she ic currently pregnant and still lifting weights. Maybe reading about her fit-pregnancy will give you some insight. https://instagram.com/fitamysuzanne/
Post # 3
Member
3003 posts
Sugar bee
mindycy1: Hi! I’m not pregnant anymore (my baby is 8 months old) but I was super active during pregnancy and loved it. I felt like it was good for me, good for my baby, and good for labor. I coach ski racing so I skied 3-5 days/week until 28 weeks (when our season ended). Obviously I was careful not to crash but I skied plenty hard. I also nordic skied and backcountry skied (where you hike up and ski down with no chairlifts). Lots of aerobic exercise! I also did a circuit/TRX class until 28 weeks, it included light weights. I also rode my spin bike, did yoga, swam laps, ran, lifted in the gym, and hiked in the mountains (so, steep ups and downs). Towards the end I did more walking and swimming. But I did do a steep hike with 2,000 feet of elevation gain ten days before I had my son. The only time the midwives cautioned me or seemed concerned was when I when on a trip to Utah and skied at high altitude (10,000 ft), since we are not high where I’m at. I took it very easy and stopped frequently to catch my breath- I felt fine and drank lots of water. The midwives also said that if I hadn’t been so strong and fit I might not have been able to push my son out- I pushed for 3.5 hours and was so exhausted by the end but I could’ve kept going if I’d had to. I also think the “keep your heartrate below 140” advice is outdated, I disregarded that competely. I just listened to my body and I pushed myself hard but not too hard. I’ve been an athlete my entire life and know my body! I stopped running at 18 weeks because it just didn’t feel good and made me have Braxton Hicks. It wasn’t because my belly was big because I was just barely starting to show, it just didn’t agree with me. I guess my advice would be to branch out and vary your workouts so you always have lots of options, like if weight lifting starts to feel sketchy then you have something else. I was glad to stop skiing at 28 weeks because my pelvis did feel….looser or more relaxed or something. Plus I had a nice bump by then and it was hard to put my boots on! Congrats on your pregnancy! Just know your limits and keep your expectations realistic and I think you should be fine!
Post # 4
Member
1391 posts
Bumble bee
I think it is safe. But as with all health questions, consult your doctor. And also a fitness trainer. I love weight lifting (not pregnant). It makes me feel strong and in shape without doing cardio. And I’m sure it will come in handy when it’s time to push…
Post # 5
Member
336 posts
Helper bee
I worked out hard my entire pregnancy and my midwives loved how active I was. I would be weary of a doctor who told me not to exercise during a normal, healthy pregnancy.
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This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by
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Post # 6
Member
200 posts
Helper bee
I’ve been told my multiple medical personnel that as long as you can do the ‘talk test’ (speak 3-5 word sentences while working out) and you aren’t holding your breath (can be a problem with lifting weights) you should be able to do it. And that was just for someone who is moderately fit before pregnancy, not crazy fit like you sound!
Honestly it’s not very realistic but I’d be wanting another doctor if my doc said that to me! Did he give any evidence based reasoning behind it?? ( ETA: Oops! How bad is it I assumed your doctor’s a man!)
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This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by ginmar.
Post # 7
Member
2316 posts
Buzzing bee
From my ACSM guidelines for exercise prescription for special populations….
“There is good evidence that the fetus is able to tolerate maternal exercise in uncomplicated pregnancies and that any fetal responses are transient with no lasting adverse effects [14-21]. Standard tests of fetal well-being have been generally reassuring after short-duration, strenuous exercise in both active and inactive pregnant women [22]. Although adverse events are unlikely to occur in the uncomplicated gestation, healthcare providers who prescribe exercise for pregnant women should be cognizant of all potential complications.”
Post # 8
Member
209 posts
Helper bee
Thanks for the feedback so far. To answer question about my OB, he is male and in his 50s, so I’m not sure if that has anything to do with his advice? He did not say I should stop exercising completely, just that I should stop doing heavy lifts like squats/deadlifts/lunges. He mentioned something about stretching out the abdominal walls or something like that for his reasoning for not doing such exercises. I’ve been consulting Dr. Google to find out for information on this! For cardio, he did say to use the “talk test” to make sure I don’t overheat. Thing is, I normally run 8.5-9mph and there’s no way I can carry on a conversation while running that fast! I do 8-8.5mph nowadays just out of caution, so I really don’t feel like I’m stretching my limits, but it’s still hard to carry on a conversation doing that. I think I will just listen to my body for now and won’t push myself beyond my limit.
Post # 9
Member
971 posts
Busy bee
I was in the gym squatting the day I went into labour! Granted, by then I had seriously decreased the weight and made sure I always squatted in the rack, I was very active all of my pregnancy. I did stop running around 24 weeks, as it got to be quite uncomfortable.
Post # 10
Member
3716 posts
Sugar bee
mindycy1: I have talked to two different OBs about this– they both said running and lifting is fine, but to really cut back on speed and intensity. They told me that even though I had run a very fast marathon right before getting pregnant (my third in a year an a half– I was in fantastic shape), I should keep my mileage in the 20-30 mpw range and run with my dog (ie, run 9-10 minute miles instead of 7-8 minute miles). It sucked, but I stayed in great shape. I also did a lot more hiking and walking.
As far as lifting, there are some risks to squats– see here: http://w2.lesmills.com/files/GlobalCentral/Clubs/PregnancyBrochures/BP%20pregnancy%20brochure.pdf, but there are a lot of benefits. I cut my weights back quite a bit and did more reps.
Post # 11
Member
1770 posts
Buzzing bee
Time to find a new doctor!!!
Post # 12
Member
3534 posts
Sugar bee
mindycy1: My crossfit coach miscarried while doing deadlifts (and not even at her max weight). Listen to your doctor.
Post # 13
Member
209 posts
Helper bee
heputaringonit: Just to be clear, my doctor did not say lifting heavy weights cause miscarriages. His concern was stretching the round ligaments thin such that I experience additional pain. His concern had nothing to do with miscarriages. There are so many miscarriage myths out there about things “causing” miscarriages and women have to deal enough with blaming themselves for miscarriages that they had no way of preventing. Just because your crossfit coach may have miscarried at the time she was deadlifting does not mean her deadlifting caused her miscarriage. Most miscarriages are inevitable and caused by chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal issues, issues w/ the uterus or placenta. In other words, the pregnancy was never viable and nothing you did or could have done would’ve prevented it. Propounding a miscarriage myth during a time that is already very stressful for women only causes unnecessary stress for women who may be reading this and thinking they’re going to harm their babies by doing exercises that are perfectly safe when done correctly or when modified for pregnancy.
Post # 14
Member
139 posts
Blushing bee
I think that if you had JUST started weightlifting I would stop, but it sounds like you’ve been living this lifestyle for a while! In that case I think its very healthy to continue and slowly cut back (when necessary). I’ve seen woman 7 months pregnant in my spin classes! As long as you listen to your body I think you should be ok.
Post # 15
Member
3716 posts
Sugar bee
mindycy1: I just wanted to add two more things– my doctors were worried about me, not my baby. It was never about miscarriage, it was about damage to my pelvic floor and hurting yourself as you have more weight on you. The reason why I was told to cut my speed and distance down was because of concern about the extra weight on my knees, ankles, and hips. Both were fine with other patients running more and faster, but given my track record of not listening to my body and running through the pain, they wanted to bench me. (I deserved it– I had just run a marathon with a stress fracture)
I ended up miscarrying (on the one day of my pregnancy that I did absolutely no excersise– I skipped the gym and running that day) and my doctors were absolutely clear that exercise did not have any impact on losing the baby.