Exercise

[EmpireBiscuit]

We are starting to TTC and I am concerned about exercising when I could possibly be pregnant.

At the moment I take part in a pretty hard core military fitness class 4 times a week.

I read that it's not safe to exercise to the extent of being unable to speak. Is this right? Is gentle running okay? I spoke to a doctor when coming off the pill and was told "to do what feels right" for me. Not really very helpful!

Any thoughts or opinions would be great.

It's hard to say with TTC, as it could take a few months (or longer, in some cases) so I don't think you need to go OTT in reducing your exercise until you actually know you're pregnant. Once you are pregnant, moderate exercise is safe if you're fairly fit to begin with, but be careful to avoid dehydration and exhaustion. Lots of women exercise and run right up till late pregnancy, but listen to your body and stop if you find it difficult.

FWIW, one of my first signs of pregnancy was finding exercise harder than normal, so keep an eye out for that. When pg with DD I did two long runs in early pregnancy (before I knew) and was knackered, but initially put it down to the weather being hot. Then of course I was terrified that I'd done some damage by running 11 miles in the heat. Everything was fine though.

I'll link to the book I have on this subject when I have fished it out of the cellad, it's a summary of medical research which came to the conclusion that you could actually do quite a lot of exercise without damaging the foetus in any way.
General guidelines include not getting dehydrated and also avoiding overheating.
To add some anecdotal evidence, I was doing ski marathons the winter that ee conceived dd and she is absolutely fine. I must have done two or three 50km races before realising that I had a passenger. I know other skiers and runners who have had similar experiences. My doctor also told not to stop training but taper it down slowly.

This is the book I was referring to. It doesn't give training plans or specific exercises, but is more a summary of medical research. It was good to read something that had some proper research behind it.
I'm pregnant again and plan to carry on with exercise for as long as I can although I've not been racing as much this season. Sport and eating are the only things that stop me feeling nauseous at the moment and if I only ate I would be the size of a whale in no time.

Hi, I'd say wait until you find out you're pregnant, you can't really put your life on hold in the meantime. Once you're pregnant though, I'd stop that type of exercise and do something else. I used to do britmilfit as well and I stopped when I got pregnant, as I didn't reckon ii was that safe hurling myself on the ground to do press ups.

I didn't stop exercise though, I first walked fast on a incline at the gym and when I got bigger I swam several a week and also did aquagym (which was a bit pants I thought)

Good luck and have fun TTC!

Before I knew I was pregnant, I was in India for 7 weeks doing hardcore yoga and running along the beach, going as red as a tomato from the heat, jumping around, being upside down for ages, all of which is advised against in the first trimester!
But doesn't seem to have done any damage, fingers crossed. Since I found out I have taken it easier. Just doing easier yoga, not jumping and running much more slowly and for less time. I couldn't stop altogether though - they say it's better for the baby for you to exercise in moderation don't they?

I cut back exercising before I knew I was actually pregnant but once we'd conceived, but that was because I felt bloody awful and nauseous whenever I tried to run or cycle hard. Didn't have a clue I was pregnant though, just being careful about the risks of slow recovery from illness if I kept training hard when I was clearly coming down with something!

So if you suddenly start finding everything much harder than you do atm maybe consider cutting back a bit until you can POAS. But that's good general advice to avoid injuries or long-term illness.

As others say just carry on as you are until you're actually pregnant. I was training for a half marathon when I got pregnant with DS and did a lot of long training runs before realising. I also went on to do the race after I found out although much slower than I'd originally planned. This did no harm at all to DS but did give me sciatica and lower back problems. I still exercised throughout pregnancy but stuck to yoga, swimming & walking.

This time round I have a 10 month old and a full time job so occasionally walk to the fridge

Thanks guys. I'll just leave life as is at the moment then. I am finding the whole thing quite stressful and exercise is my relief, glad I am okay to not have to give it up yet.

This guideline from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology is pretty helpful I think