Exercising during pregnancy, need some advice.

[hippieshake]

Hi,

I have always been very active. Before finding out I was pregnant I would walk about 2 hours a day. I have now taken this down to 40 minutes of slower walking every day. Is this still to much exercise?

I'm only 10 weeks, but I've read in some of the pregnancy books that you shouldn't exercise more than 3 times a week, I'm confused

Help! xx

hippieshake talk to your Dr/midwife (whoever's most understanding!). However, I was doing a minimum of 1 1/2 hours of brisk walking per day when pregnant with DD1, and I just kept at it until I felt like it was too much. I carried on hill walking too, again just keeping it shorter and less steep when I started feeling like it was too much.

I honestly think walking is fine, if you feel fine, it's not like running(which you;d have to be a bit more careful about). And I kept pretty fit, and once i'd had DD1 I went straight back to my pre-pregnancy weight (tho had to work at the stomach muscles!)

DD2 was a different matter, with having DD1 there I couldn't do as much exercise, so getting back to normal after was much harder (actually i'm not there yet and DD2 is 4!)

i would say 2 hours walking a day is fine if you feel well on it. I found I was quite tired in the first trimester, quite energetic in the second - and starting to get a bit heavy in the third.

The general guidance is that if you were doing something regularly before you were pregnant - then you an normally carry on (albeit it at a lower intensity) - but walking isn't that high intensity unless you are sweating your way up massive hills all the time??

I kept running until about 30 weeks with both pregnancies, plus weights and (with DC1 when I had the time) antenatal yoga, pilates, etc. Would usually run on a treadmill 30 mins 3 times a week. General guidance is that you can keep doing whatever you did pre-pregnancy - i.e. don't take up new sports or exercise more frequently/intensively than before. Your body will tell you when you need to slow down. At some stage, just couldn't run anymore and switched to uphill walking on the treadmill. With DC1, I was in the gym the day before my waters broke. All the exercise (esp with DC1) was really great to bounce back into shape quickly after the birth.

I was at the gym the day before I went into labour and pinger back. Keep doing what you're doing until your body tells you to stop IMO.

As long as you can do the exercise with any adverse effects (such as being out of breathe, stitches, sore ligaments) then you should keep up your pre-pregnancy regieme for as long as you can.

Agree with Woodifer. I cycled 80+ miles a week till about 30 weeks with DS1, because it was what I was used to, and I felt confident. Wound it down a bit and stopped at 38 weeks because bump was getting a bit awkward. Stopped earlier with DS2, but then I had DS1 on the back as well!

Hope all goes well.

They say just keep doing what you normally do but don't take up anything new. I am 9 weeks and running for an hour 2-3 times a week (this is a cut down from 5 times a week) and cycling to and from work (50 mins each way). I also, er, ran a marathon at 6 weeks, which some would say was foolish, but I went slower than intended and felt fine. It definitely depends who you speak to - the midwife I spoke to about doing my marathon advised me I should be fine as long as I was sensible, the midwife I saw at my booking appointment looked at me in horror when I confessed to running a marathon and said all I should be doing is walking or swimming! You have to do what you feel comfortable with, but for me staying as fit as I can during pregnancy is going to be important!

I'd love to still be out walking rather than collapsed on the sofa from exhaustion. The books warn against suddenly taking up lots of exercise because of the shock to your body, but its fine to maintain what you were already doing as long as you feel ok with it.

Speak to your midwife/GP if you're in any doubt.

Agree with everyone else, keep doing anything you were doing before for as long as you feel happy and comfortable doing it. I continued to practice karate until my 8th month with ds.

Just don't start anything strenuous during pregnancy.

I think you would probably be fine to keep doing your 2hrs, I don't drive so have done long daily walks in both pregnancies. As long as you're still physically up for it, exercise isn't going to cause any extra problems.

I was running regularly before I was pregnant - and carried on til about 14 weeks when some inbalances meant I had SPD/PGP - cycling was unaffected though - and I haven't really stopped - because bump was still quite high able to do a 25 mile ride at 39 weeks (39+6 today)

So anything with impact/ twisting / sudden bursts of power - be a bit more cautious due to ligaments stretching. I'm glad I tried it anyway - I had to stop running when my body said stop.

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm glad I can keep up my walking, I'd feel lazy if I just sat around doing nothing. I'm hoping to start swimming once a week once I get into my second trimester, and maybe do some pregnancy yoga. Nice gentle exercising

A really good book worth checking out about exercise in pregnancy is "Pregnancy and Fitness" by Cheryl Baker. I got it from Amazon and it's full of great, up to date advice about all kinds of exercise during pregnancy and how you can tailor what you do to each trimester. I'm 24 weeks with DC2 and also training to be a pre- and post-natal fitness instructor and would agree with what's been said in previous posts - you can keep going with what you've been used to, as long as you still feel good doing it and you listen to your body. I walked a lot when pregnant with my DS (as well as doing pre-natal aerobics and swimming) and in fact went for an hour's (quite gentle!) walk on the day I went into labour (at 39+6). Keep doing whatever makes you feel good!

I run. and did run until 37 and 35 weeks with my pregnancies. This included races until 26 weeks (although at a toned down pace!). Basically don't overheat and keep yourself well hydrated. Your body will natually slow you down as you pregnancy progresses - honestly.