Exercise in pregnancy - what did you/do you do?

[maddiedh]

Hi, I'm wondering whether anyone can offer me some advice. I've just found out that I'm pregnant and I'm wondering what exercise other people have done or are doing in pregnancy. I'd really appreciate any advice people can give about this. Thanks

I cycled til I was about 20 weeks but then I found my bump started to get in the way so I stopped. I tried swimming but didn't like it, found it quite uncomfortable so mostly I walked. Once I started my mat leave I tried to get out for at least a half hour walk each day.

I walk the dog for 90 mins a day and do pregnancy exercise dvds (erin o'brien and suzanne bowen's are good). I'm getting back into swimming again.

I used to run a lot and cycle but I really don't have enough energy for either.

Oh, and congratulations! x

This is what I posted in a similar thread earlier today:

Before I got pregnant I was doing about 7-8 classes per week but now at 25 weeks I've cut back to 4 or 5. I still do body pump, body attack and body combat but have modified the exercises to keep them low impact and not overheat etc. The only thing I've had to give up is spinning as I've been getting tailbone pain and the bike seat just aggravates that. I'm planning to keep going with the classes as long as I can - I had a friend who did body combat until month 8 and an instructor who was still doing spinning when she went past her due date! I think the key is that it's ok to keep doing what you've been doing all along but not to take up anything new - I've been doing these classes for years but I would to suddenly take up running, as I've never run before.

I should also add that I found it easier to exercise after the first trimester passed. Although I had little morning sickness I found that I'd feel bloated and slightly nauseous in the evenings, which didn't put me in the best frame of mind for going to the gym.

jogging, swimming, cycling, squash, walks, DIY, gardening, bit of footie. All stuff I was doing before preggers.
Just more careful about overheating, joints & fatigue.

I swam three times a week up until the last weeks.

Thank you SO much for your replies! I'm just a bit nervous about everything at the moment. It's great to know that other people kept on exercising. It keeps me sane so I don't want to cut back too much if I can help it. x

I think what Cariad said is the key thing - if you are used to doing certain things then keep doing them. Your body will quickly tell you if you need to slow down.

Oh and congratulations!!

I think the advice is that you can continue what you have been doing but don't start anything new. Unless of course that is some antenatal exercise class! When I was pregnant with DD I cycled to work everyday till I took maternity leave at 37 weeks. I know an aerobics instructor who taught through her pregnancy too. The most important thing is listen to your body, don't push too hard but aim your activities at a leisurely pace. For example in my cycle to work, I stopped cycling up one of the steep hills at some point (can't remember now that Dd is 2yo). Instead I pushed my bike up the hill.

lots of hiking and dog walking and swimming twice a week for me, this was flexible during the early exhaustion stage!!

As long as I'm not too sick, I do the same as I've always done: pilates, yoga, swimming, running, riding, gym. Don't see a reason to stop as I'm fit enough to continue

I did my usual classes, pilates and body pump. I told the instructor I was pg as soon as I knew myself (had been going to her classes for a long time and trusted her) and then she sometimes gave me different exercises to do if the ones yhe class were doing were unsuitable. She just pretended I had a bad back or something, so no one else in the class thought anything of it. Kept it up until about 32 weeks, and only stopped because I felt like I was sitting out half the class and not getting my money's worth.

i am 33+3 and am managing to go to the gym everyday - use the treadmill and cross trainer and do some of my normal weight training (squats, plank, shadow boxing etc.). I ran outside until about 29 weeks but then got pain at the top of my bump as it got bigger and the thudding on the pavements was just too much. It's OK on the treadmill though, but I have knocked off a few km/h speed wise. I feel so much better when I exercise and I think its protecting my back and core strength (which I hope will help with labour, crossing EVERYTHING!). I was very active before though, this represents a heavily scaled back routine, which was what my dr advised me. I'm just cutting back as and when I feel I need to and being careful not to get too hot / out of breath. If I start to struggle with the gym I will move on to swimming as that is a lot more gentle BUT i hope it doesn't come to that as personally it's not my thing!!! Fingers crossed!

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate the advice. X

In my first pregnancy I did various aerobic exercise classes such as step, Zumba up until 6-7 months, and I also did pilates in trimester 1 and then pre-natal pilates in trimesters 2 and 3. I continued Yoga throughout but modified many positions. I dabbled in a bit of aqua aerobics in later stages. I did resistance training as well. Typically I went to the gym 3 times per week, and on one spa weekend in my late 2nd trimester I did 3-4 exercise classes per day over a period of 4 days.

In this pregnancy, I didn't start out being as fit as last time - in fact I had been doing nothing when I fell pregnant as I was just recovering from an injury. I checked with the doctor about starting again and she said it was perfectly fine so I picked up step classes again and got a PT who specialises in pre natal exercise to get me going again. I would be doing more but I find it much harder to fit exercise in with a toddler at home.

Carried on with my normal classes, some of them high intensity, was still teaching Bodypump 9 months pregnant. Had the easiest pregnancy possible, no aches and pains and baby shot out in 2 pushes

I think we all need to learn from Hazlenutt!!
Every sinigle one of my friends who say they've had easy labours have been the ones who were fit before and during pregnancy.
I'm continuing with my exercise routine, bodypump twice a week, lots of walking and other gym stuff. I have stopped running, something in my gut tells me the pavement pounding cant be good for the baby? i might be wrong but it's what my gut is telling me and i like to listen to it.. i'm also going to introduce pregnancy pilates quite soon, once a week.
People use pregnancy as an excuse to sit on their bums watching TV, and that's really silly and will only make life more difficult! for sure!

I mainly walked during pregnancy and I did a bit of swimming. I think the main thing is to watch out for your back as it's under a lot of pressure carrying the baby.

I think it's good to keep moving, but also to make sure you rest too!

Chica I think there's an expectation for pregnant woman to rest. I've been told by a few that I shouldn't be cycling. My entire route is on a cycle path so it's very very safe. If it's along a large busy road, I might have decided differently because my balance wasn't as good.

Well anything that poses a risk of falling (such as cycling) might be inadvisable for sure- but my point is, women use pregnancy to rest up TOO MUCH, and i think this is a big mistake. I certainly intend on working out 2-3 times a week as long as i can, and also walking more than i generally do. A friend of mine was still doing light gym work at week 37- like Hazelnutt she had a 2 push labour, i'm seeing a distinct correlation here!

women use pregnancy to rest up TOO MUCH, and i think this is a big mistake.

Yes I agree with this - rest as much as you want if you are tired or if you have a specific condition that precludes exercise - but otherwise resting belongs with 'eating for two' in the pregnancy advice archive.

I know women who ran until just before third trimester and felt fine.

I just continued as before, paying attention to when I felt breathless or tired. 33 weeks and still cycle (with DS on the back) as it's my main mode of transport but swapped regular yoga for a prenatal DVD. With DS I was at the gym at 40 weeks doing the new BodyBalance routine, went every day until 40+ 2, into labour at 40+3 and he arrived 40+4. I think it definitely helped with labour.

Good for you WhatABeautifulP (great name haha)

What PN DVD did you use?

Just spotted in the Jillian Michael's thread that a few people say Erin O'Brien DVDs are great, so will try one of those!

I have the Tara Lee which has post natal and you + baby yoga as well as the prenatal stuff. She doesn't hold the poses as long as I'd like but I can just pause her

I Zumbaed 3 times per week until 28 weeks, decreasing the impact/intensity as I got bigger and started finding it difficult. I was previously doing these 3 classes + 2 gym or aerobics a week. At 28 weeks I discovered I was diabetic and found that the classes were really dropping my blood sugar leaving me wiped out. I switched to one aqua natal and one swimming session per week. I did my final aqua natal at 38 + 3 before induction at 39 weeks.

I got a lot of older ladies tutting and telling me to stick to aqua aerobics but I felt fine and the exercise gave me a little more leeway with my (diabetic) diet and meant I could indulge once a week .