Exercise in early pregnancy ?

[Jools1]

Hi

Am 4 weeks pg with my first and I do a lot of gym classes. I don't want to give up the aerobic exercise, as it has helped me lose 3 stone over the past 2 years and I could really do with losing another couple (not much chance of that now I guess, but I'd like to ensure I only put on baby weight and not fat )

I generally do a combination of 6 - 10 of these classes a week - sounds a lot, but I really enjoy it

Body Pump - have seen PG ladies in this class
Body Balance
Body Combat
Body Attack
Dance Aerobics
Spinning

I've not done a lot for the last couple of weeks because of tiredness / implantation cramps and incredibly sore boobs that make any activity requiring more than a sedate walk quite painfull - need to find an industrial strength sports bra !

I'm worried about doing too much or doing too little and wrapping myself up in cotton wool and stacking weight on.

I'd love to hear opinions - has anyone done these classes through pregnancy ?

on my local news last night, it had a woman, due in 2 weeks time. she was still lifting weights at the gym! she did look good too!

think its common sence stuff like listen to your body and adapt if needs be.

congrats

here is the news clip for you

I think that exercising is fine when pg, but you may want to gradually slow down the pace as you get larger - in fact you may find this happens naturally. Also, make sure that you are not doing any exercises that put stress on your back and you should incorporate exercises that are designed for pg women (including the all important pelvic floor exercises) into your daily exercise routine! As divvy says listen to your body - if you become very breathless, very hot, dizzy, then stop.

The clip has a midwife talking on it as well

I think the main issue is that in pregnancy you produce a hormone which makes your joints far more flexible and easily over extended, also there is some suggestion that getting very hot is not a good idea. Having said that, staying fit is a very good idea and its just a case of moderation. There are books you can buy which talk about exercise in pregnancy, I remember there were certain yoga exercises which were advised against. Ask your instructors as they should have information. If you like swimming that is great in late pregnancy as the baby drops away from your lungs and you are supported by the water. With my first DD I was swimming 60 lengths in more or less my normal time the day before she turned up, despite the fact I couldnt get up a flight of stairs by that point, without a little sit down! Hope it all goes well.

Congratulations on your pregnancy

I did cardio exercises in the gym (1-2 hours at a time, 3 times a week) in the second trimester of last pregnancy. I was too tired to do anything in first trimester.

I could have continued, but gym staff said not to come back until I had the baby because I was "scaring them"

there are issues about overheating if you do intense aerobic exercise - if you raise your core temp I believe you can put the pregnancy at risk. Spinning is probably the only one on your list I'd be concerned about. Though the one with 'attack' in the title sounds scary...

Respect to you for having the energy to even consider it - I have been struggling to get the energy to walk to the shops and back / stay awake all day / blink regularly in the first trimester!

thanks everyone

I normally go Sat mornings, but wimped out because my boobs are so sore - just did some hoovering and need to go back to bed now !

I will speak to the gym instructors, but want to absorb the news myself first ..

Body Attack is like a classic high impact aerobics - lots of jumping jacks, running etc so I think I may have to give that one up.

There was lady in my Body Pump class recently who only had 4 weeks to go !! Lovely neat bump and probably a size 6 everywhere else - I'm not jealous, honest !

I did Spinning on Wed, before I had my BFP, and had enough energy but did worry about over heating, so bagged a bike right under the aircon - maybe I can put my name on that one for the next few months.

Hey Jools I didn't realize OP was you.

Knowing your story, I think you should not take unnecessary risks in the first trimester. As much as you might like your workouts, give your body a chance to safely bring your babyinto the second trimester. Once you are in the fourth month, I promise you will have great energy and will box exercise to your heart's content.

congrats! With dd1, I stopped all exercise and wrapped myself in cotton wool- result was one hugely overweight and depressed momma, with high blood pressure!

After dd1, started going to a fab post-natal/ pre-natal class, where the instructor taught us how to do the exercises that were ok in preg/ post-preg and how to adapt others, what to avoid etc- really helpful. I got preg with dd2 when dd1 was just 8 mths, and was determined not to go the same way again (having lost nearly 5 stone!!!) so I carried on with combat and pump, and my post-natal class, and felt much better for it.

Last time, while pg with ds, I managed to keep up spinning (you can take it as easy as you need to) and combat until I was 7mths preg. I stopped then as sitting over the bike was giving me horrendous heartburn, and my huge bump meant I could hardly reach the handlebars! With combat I finally gave it up when I caught sight of myself in the mirror at the class and saw how ridiculous I now looked, trying to be menacing and leap around with my massive belly! But I definitely felt better for keeping up my exercise- it made me feel more like myself, and helped stave off the lethargy and depression I associate with pregnancy. You do have to watch for overheating, and if you can get a trained pre-natal instructor to talk you through the ins and outs of individual exercises (eg, swap sit-ups for static abdominal exercises, don't overstretch) I do attack now, but I do think it might be a bit too much impact in pregnancy. I think I restarted it too soon, while I still had a lot of relaxin in my body, and I've knackered my back, so do be careful!

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

Thanks for all the comments and advice Joolyjoolyjo - I'm laughing at the mental image of lady with large bump doing combat !

I did go to the gym today - normally do half an hour on the cross-trainer, Body Pump and Body Combat but decided to still go, but do less. I think the way forward may be to forgo the double classes and just aspire to doing one a day !

I have a cold and wasn't feeling great, but wanted to at least go and do something - in fact as soon as I started, I felt a lot better I cut the X-trainer down to ten minutes, did the Body Pump class and then half of Combat - hopefully a good compromise.

I feel SO much better now - really glad I went. Evenings are more difficult, as that is when the tiredness / nausea seems to kick in ..

Jools - speak to a trainer at the gym (who is pregnancy trained) to see what they recommend, particularly if you have a history of loss as you need to make sure that what you do in your training is fine in pregnancy. Definitely do not overheat - so dial down on the bodyattack and spinning if you sweat like crazy during those (if you dont overheat, go with it but listen to your body). I did bodycombat until 16 weeks then stopped (as kicking strted to get uncomfortable). Used to in first pregnancy (and do now in second pregnancy) have personal trainer once a week, go to gym to do special pregnancy specific weights routine and cardio (did pump until 14 weeks but then stopped as the lifting of heavy weights over head made me feel faint) and look on the exercise as a way to stay fit in pregnancy rather than maintain weight etc. Maybe worth looking into aquanatal and pregnancy pilates and yoga classes once you get past 12 weeks - great way to move your mind on from the "feel the burn" mode into "feel the bump" mode...

Thanks DinkyStinky

Fortunately I dont have a history of loss - just one CP two months ago.

I'm aware of the dangers of overheating, but yesterday's classes were very empty (prob cos the sun was out !) so it was fine In the spinning room, there are a few bikes right under the aircon unit that anyone PG seems to get first dibs on, so that should be OK.

I've looked up local pregnancy yoga classes - not cheap but I think I will try them.

The personal training session is a fab idea - will definitely follow that up

'I think the main issue is that in pregnancy you produce a hormone which makes your joints far more flexible and easily over extended, also there is some suggestion that getting very hot is not a good idea.'

Didn't know that? Can someone enlighten me?

I do boxing which I have reduced to glove and pad work now, it is not adviced to do anything that involves lying flat on your back (so not sit ups etc) after 16 weeks, don't overheat and drink lots of fluid and listen to your body.

If you are used to the exercise it should be safe to continue (I ran throughout both my pregnancies). As these are classes you take you should talk to the instructor who should be able to advise you on any potential probems or moves you should avoid. Personally as someone who likes to get my heart rate up I found yoga & pilates desperately dull.

Hi Jools

Well done on losing so much weight and congrats on your pregnancy.

I am now 16wks and have exercised throughout.

I actually scrapped spin as I am hyper competitive and was always literally running in sweat by the end, even under the air con, but I think if you can be sensible, which it sounds as though you are, it should be fine.

However, I still play tennis for 2 hrs twice a week and have 2 PT sessions focusing on weights, ab and back exercises. Also go to pre-natal yoga but that's more a social thing - think it burns about 50 cals.

I can sympathise with how you're feeling as the advice on exercise is so cautious, whilst at the same time MW/Obs acknowledge that fitter women tend to have easier prenancies and labours. In particular, gym instructors can be told by the gym to basically say "not suitable for preggos" for insurance purposes. My friend was once thrown out of a body pump class when she told the instructor she was pregnant.

I think we have to get things in perspective. It's only very recently that we have become largely sedentary and we've never had a problem keeping the planet populated. About 60% of the global female population still does manual labour for a large proportion of the day and this doesnt stop during pregnancy (not that i'm recommending you do) so, as I say, just be sensible, stop if you feel weird, drink lots of water, and enjoy.