Ice skating practice when pregnant

[Firstbornunicorn]

So, I've been taking skating lessons for about a year, and practising about 2-3 times per week in addition to my weekly lesson. I'm not sporty and never have been, but I find it's had a huge impact on my physical and mental health.

DH and I just found out we are expecting number 1! I'm about 6 weeks along. I told my coach as soon as I found out, and she's advised me not to skate as, even though it's early days and bub wouldn't be in any real danger, there's quite a high chance of a broken tailbone which might not heal properly during the pregnancy and then I'd have to give birth with the extra pain 😵. She says this happened to one of the coaches at the rink.

Anyway, I think I'd rather err on the side of caution. I haven't been skating in almost 2 weeks, as I had my last lesson a few days after we found out.

But not being able to go is driving me mad. I'm also quite anxious about losing every bit of progress I've made, which for someone who's chronically unathletic is quite a lot.

Do any of you lovelies have any idea what I can do to keep up my progress, without putting bub in danger? I had thought about Pilates - there doesn't seem to be a local class at a good time for me, but I'm sure I could do it at home. But will that be enough to keep my muscles strong? Will it transfer onto the ice when I'm ready to go back?
Would love to hear your ideas ☺️

Hmmm. Never ice skated OP but thinking of leg muscles what about swimming? That should help keep strength up. Also keeping up regular walks.

It will be worth it in the end. Hopefully you will be able to get back quickly.

Aww what a shame, but I’d be cautious about that too. I don’t know much about ice skating, however I can 100% recommend Pilates. I started it after the birth of my second baby as I had back problems, and have been doing it 2.5 years and through a second pregnancy. I have far less aches and pains even now I am 39 weeks than I did first time, which I attribute to a stronger core and better posture. I also really enjoyed seeing progress and finding myself learning to hold poses that I couldn’t manage at the start. All the best.

Thank you! Walking is definitely a goer :)

As for swimming - rather embarrassingly, I can't swim! I took lessons a few years ago, and the best I managed was a passable back stroke. I have a bad shoulder and just end up going in circles during any kind of front stroke 😂

Yoga, pilates and aqua aerobics (not sure if you really need to swim as it's sort of on the spot!)

I broke my tail bone as a young teen and had endless arseache with it. It entire during labor with ds1 and I've had problems since! Not sure if that helps you decide tbh but tail bone trauma is a thing

@merename that sounds fantastic! And since skating is so dependent on core strength, I bet it would help me a lot.

Do you go to a class? I'm thinking I might follow a YouTube video a few times to see how I find it.

@kimv I'll ask about aqua aerobics at my local pool. I'm hypermobile - do you reckon yoga would still be ok?

Yes I go to a class - and should have mentioned it’s a physio led class, which I think is really important, I’ve tried a few in gyms etc which aren’t really the same. The physio input is so helpful and it really informs your body understanding, my teacher does a lot of going round feeling your muscles to ensure you’re targeting the right areas. I think YouTube good for an idea and to keep going when familiar, but you’ll want a class too. Doesn’t need to be a pregnancy class.

@youmeandchonchitawurst, that does help with my decision somewhat. Also, when I go back, I might invest in a tailbone pad.

@merename

That sounds ideal. Do you need a referral to attend a physio-led class?

I used to ice skate before my DD, but as soon as I found out, I stopped going. Which was a shame as I really enjoyed it, but I decided it wasn't worth the risk.

I’ve found cycling really good during my pregnancy - it would give you cardio as well as keeping up strength in your calves/quads/hamstrings and would probably go well with pilates or similar for tone and flexibility.

I chipped my tailbone ice skating. You couldn't pay me enough to get back on ice. It still hurts 20 years later.

Nope no referral needed, lots of physios teach Pilates, just google ‘physio led pilates’ in your area. Many won’t let you start until at least after 12 week scan though.

Ah I'm in the same boat. I loce my ice skating lessons and hadn't fallen over for almost 20 years.... then the day after I found out in was pregnant I went to my lesson and fell over :( scared the hell out of me - I guess I was just nervous and knowing I was pregnant put me off my game. I didn't go again even though I'd paid for lessons for the term! Will try and go back in January: baby is due in 3 weeks!

In the meantime I have been swimming, walking, doing aerobics and aqua aerobics, and playing some light tennis and badminton which I think has kept me fit. Like you I'm sad my progress with ice skating is been hampered and I'm probably going to ask to go down a level and repeat it when I return but in the long run it will be fine. I took a year out of ice skating lessons when I moved abroad temporarily and although it took me months of lessons to get back to where I was... I did eventually and I found the repetition did me good.

To play devil's advocate, I was in a similar position with my first DD and kept skating until 14 weeks - my coach was very supportive, and happy for me to keep going as long as I felt comfortable, as she was confident I wouldn't try and do anything too crazy. I even took a Bronze level test (including a 3/waltz jump and bunny hops), as I was 1 week into the course when I found it I was pregnant and didn't want to waste it! I did stop jumping/spinning straight after that test though (11 weeks maybe?)

Obviously it's up to you and what you feel comfortable with. The biggest risk from my coach's perspective was from other people, so we both watched out more from possible random collisions from the over-enthusiastic teenagers during patch time. I stopped when I did because my balance was starting to go and felt too uncomfortable with all the loosening ligaments to do much on one leg (aka just about everything in skating).

I'm hypermobile and I found yoga really painful - made my joint pains in my knees so much worse! My physio is always always telling me to do Pilates though.