Running while TTC

[hippyhen]

I'm thinking of taking up running again. I was never terribly advanced at it - definitely a jogger rather than a competition runner, but I enjoyed it immensely. I just have a vague feeling that all that jerking about might not be great for a newly implanted little person! What do you think - is this silly? Obviously I know there must be women who run regularly and do get pregnant, so maybe it is. I would of course begin very gradually and keep the mileage low. Any thoughts or experience would be helpful :)

Hello, running whilst ttc and when pregnant is fine. Most doctors are encouraging women to keep active now rather than become couch potatoes :) Just make sure you are not over doing it and if you are really concerned get a health check with your gp first.

To give you an anecdote my friend was going to the gym 2-3 times a week and completed a 10k a few weeks before bfp. She got pg first month trying!

I have heard that it's absolutely fine - I took up a legs, bums and tums class when I started TTC and checked with doc and class instructor. If the bean wants to stick it will!

Having said that, I think it is recommended that you keep doing what you have previously done. So what your body is used to. But like b2b said, exercise is really good for you at this time - both physically and to keep your emotions level.

Good luck

Good - thank you both. In that case I think I'll go back to it, but take even more care to re-introduce it very carefully. Thanks again.

I run, and I intend to keep running while ttc. I know that running is quite jerky, but I figure that any new baby is well cushioned. And it is probably best overall to be healthy and fit than to turn into a couch potato.

Make sure you get a decent pair of shoes (go to a specialist shop for advice) and a good sports bra :)

I think I've seen advice that you shouldn't allow your heart rate to go over about 70% (or 140bpm) while pg. I'm not sure about the science behind this, but I am certain that I couldn't run keeping my heart rate below 140bpm! I have a HR monitor but you can just check this by counting your pulse for 10 seconds and multiplying.

I would definitely check this 'fact' with a GP before worrying about it though.

For what it's worth, I've played hockey matches with pregnant teammates (usually up to about 3-4 months) and I know that we go right up to 90%+ heart rate during matches - and they've all had happy healthy babies.

Good luck and go easy at first!

squirrel - I've got good shoes and bra from when I last got the bug about a year ago, so I'm sorted. callista - that's interesting. I think what I'll go for is the run/walk approach which will keep it fairly low - around 140 in fact. I will post on here about how it goes - that way I know I'm committed to at least doing something :)

For ttc you don't need to worry re: heart rate. Even in pregnancy this is a bit controversial. I did a 10k race when pg with my son although ran much steadier that I usually would have. I think as long as you don't push your mileage up to ridicuous levels (c. 50 miles a week) it shouldn't impact on ttc at all. My last pregnancy came 2 months after I ran a marathon. Good luck!

Hats off to you if you're able to conceive whilst running!

Seriously, if you were not able to conceive whilst exercising someone should probably tell Paula Radcliff.

Seriously, if you were not able to conceive whilst exercising someone should probably tell Paula Radcliff.

A friend of mine just beat Paula Radcliffe by two minutes in a 10km race (he ran 45 mins) - she was seven months' pregnant at the time. I was impressed with his speed but even more so with hers!

If I were to "run" 50 miles a week, I'd have to spend half the week doing it! Goodness, I had no idea PR was still running that far into pregnancy. I wouldn't myself, but interesting that she is.

Hi Hippy,

I am TTC and just recently picked up running again. My doc says there is no problem with this, although once pg not to run flat out ie. keep heart rate low-ish...

The 140 bpm advice is somewhat outdated as heart rate varies from person to person and depending on what exercise you are doing. There are a few books about on the subject - Runner's World have one and it includes tips on exercise when TTC and there's another summary of research on the subject by James Clapp (a bit of a dry read).

I was in training for ski marathons why I became pregnant, in fact I was doing so much training that I thought AF was late because I was verging on overtraining. The advantage of being pretty fit at the start of the pregnancy was that I could keep exercising without too man problems (guideline is usually not to increase your exercise from pre-pregnancy levels).

Put it another way, you wouldn't use jogging as a method of contraception.

Good luck.

Hello Moog - how are you getting on with it? Thanks Cardi, I will have a look for the RW book, since I used one of theirs before and found it very good.

Getting on ok with the running - very slow after a year off. TTC is taking longer than I'd like though (but that is age related not running!)

The running gives me something else to think about other than TTC which can only be a good thing! Good luck :)