Exercise and pregnancy

[Karigan195]

I’ve been googling the signs that indicate when you should stop exercise. I have an active outdoor life and would like to continue with it as long as possible. Hopefully up to about 6 months when I reckon my lungs will be getting too squished.

But a lot of lists say don’t get short of breath. By how much do they mean? If you walk uphill for any length of time you’ll be a bit puffy. Is that ok or should I take it even easier?

I’ve cut down on risky exercises but want to keep hiking etc. At the moment I go but take frequent tests, amble up the steep inclines and carry lots of water.

At 15 weeks.

I'm 40+3. This morning I did half an hour of cardio and kettlebell toning moves...
I've been doing regular hiit workouts and running (also did more running and less toning in 1st pregnancy)
If I listened to the 'out of breath' advice I wouldn't even be able to walk up the stairs being asthmatic too!
But working out has actually helped be less out of breath.
Just listen to your body and take breaks and water as and when you feel you need to,other than that, do as you please in my opinion

I listened to that same advise for my first pregnancy and I wish I hadn't taken it so seriously. I got down with how much weight I had on but more than that just not exercising like I normally would. This pregnancy I'm going to just keep up almost as normal (once I stop throwing up ).

I'm not pregnant yet (well in the TWW at the moment!) but I've got a fitbit to track my heart rate and my plan is to not go over 80% of my MHR. I think the general rule is to do about 80% of your usual max. (This may be bollocks)

I’d just get some advice as the what you should and should be doing from a midwife, it’s encouraged now. I would have loved to have carried on but I found out I was pregnant because I couldn’t do more than 20 minutes on the cross trainer. Instead I continued doing long hikes

I'm a qualified pt (although not working as one at the minute) and so is dh. In my last pregnancy I exercised sensibly; nothing I didn't do before pregnancy, no risky twisting movements, carried on lifting weights but at a lighter level etc. Anyway, baby arrived for unknown reasons at 29 weeks. (29 and 5 actually and I'm exactly 29 and 4 today!)
This pregnancy I've been told not to exercise. I had been doing a bit of light swimming but it caused my irritable uterus contractions to start up and they scare the life out of me.
I've found it very frustrating and isolating. I don't feel like myself at all because so much of my life is about exercise. It's also made it physically much harder and I'm struggling to even walk to the shops these days and suffering from a long list of symptoms.
There is nothing to say that my prem birth was caused by exercise so if you are having a normal, low risk pregnancy then gentle exercise is fine. Do listen to your body though, take more rest and look into specific movements to avoid.
On the other hand, if you don't feel up to it sometimes then dont beat yourself up. We are told (ad nausea) that exercise is pregnancy is vital but lots of what we are told isn't true for everyone: morning sickness doesnt stop at the first trimester for all, sex isn't always safe in pregnancy and you can't always work until week 38. Just take it easy, do what you enjoy and rest when you need to.

Thank you everyone. I’m tending to get puffy quickly but still feel fine to carry on just more slowly with plenty of rests!

I don’t see the midwife for another 2 weeks but will ask her then.

I’ve been told by midwife and physio that you should be able to hold a conversation while exercising. So if you can’t speak you’re probably overdoing it.

I was so cautious first pregnancy. Second pregnancy I carried on doing body pump but told my instructor. He told me when I would need to stop a particular excercise. He was very comfortable about it. I reduced my weights a bit I think. I stopped at 36 weeks because I could just tell it was the last class and I wasn’t doing that much!
A bit of pregnancy yoga is always good.
Basically I think risks are because your joints become more supple you need to be aware. Your balance changes as your bump get bigger so you need to avoid certain things. I think you can get hotter quicker? Not sure about that.
I think walking will be fine! You’ll realise when you need to slow down and ease of.

My doctor said something like - what ever you did before you were pregnant you can keep doing.

I worked out until about 7.5/8 months? Unfortunately I injured my foot during a workout and it took weeks to heal, so couldn't do anything (could barely walk). If I could have carried on I would. As soon as I stopped the exercise I put on weight, very quickly and now I feel miserable and huge! As long as you're taking it easy, not over stretching anything (you're extra flexible in pregnancy) and you're back can cope I would definitely say carry on! If you feel a bit out of puff, just rest for a bit. But definitely discuss with your midwife so you're clear on how much is too much!

The general advice is that you can continue doing everything that your body is used to doing with the exception of contact sports/bikram yoga etc. You shouldn't be doing anything that increases your temp significantly. You just need to be slightly more cautious with weights/yoga etc as you have more relaxin hormone to relax your ligaments which leaves you more prone to pulling a muscle etc. If you aren't used to doing exercise then only take up gentle exercise like walking, swimming and preg yoga.

First pregnancy I was still hiking in the 3rd trimester (we lived in the Cairngorms) and reduced length of hikes as my body told
to, was still managing to take the dog gentle long walks the last few weeks and the day I went into Labour (39+6), midwife was happy as long as I didn’t feel I was “pushing myself” and could still hold a conversation easy.
This pregnancy has been a different story entirely... even an hour’s gentle dog walk and prenatal yoga has been a struggle since the 2nd trimester due to sciatica and PGP, and it’s really been getting me down 🙁

@TickleMeEmo

Cairngorms is pretty equivalent to what I want to keep doing. :)

I've only just got my BFP and am planning to keep active (put on tonnes of weight last time).

The only exercise I do regularly is running (and walking the dog). Tried to run today and really struggled for some reason and had to walk at one point. Not sure if it was just a mental thing as I was worried about getting out of breath.

I'm thinking I might instead start swimming and doing some body weight exercises plus light kettle bells (have been doing these on occasion too) plus some cycling.

Really don't want to end up like last time again!!

Anyone know if Pilates is ok to carry on with in early pregnancy? Most of it I am sure is fine just we do quite a bit of abs work. Instructor is my mums friend so want to avoid telling her a little bit longer if possible! Thanks.

I did my regular pilates class until 10 weeks, but I did tell my instructor at 8 weeks because she had to give me adjustments. Then I moved directly into the prenatal class before their usual requirement of 14 weeks.

Tbh I was glad to move to prenatal as some of the moves were making me uncomfortable, eg anything lying on my front.

23 weeks today. I'm still doing everything I was pre pregnancy (with some adjusments) i do spin, body attack, weights and a Bootcamp and have no intentions of stopping until by body tells me to.

There's no way I could hillwalk.... due to fact I need to pee every half an hour!!

Do whatever exercise you feel comfortable doing. You will know when it's too much!