Informing my gym that I am pregnant?

[cardamomginger]

Hi Everyone,

I was very fit and active before pregnancy and have been continuing to work out at the gym. Pregnancy has, so far, been straightforward (I am now 16 weeks) and my GP and midwife are happy for me to exercise. I have modified my routines appropriately where necessary. So I feel confident that what I am doing is both safe and appropriate.

However, I haven't yet told my gym that I am pregnant. On the one hand I feel that I should - God forbid something should happen when I am at the gym, which could be something completely unrelated to pregnancy. If it did, it may be helpful for them to know that I am pregnant. So from a health and safety and being generally responsible point of view I feel I should fess up. But I feel slightly paranoid that one of the gym staff will go all retro and old school and start insisting that I terminate my membership or say that I am only allowed to use the swimming pool (HATE swimming, am useless at it and have no intention of starting with it now!). I'm probably being daft, and I know that attitudes towards exercise in pregnancy are radically different from what they were a couple of decades ago, but I'm still worried that I might get an old-fashioned and very negative reaction. I really don't want to have the gym taken away from me - it helps to keep me sane!

From some of the other threads that I've read here I know that lots of you go to the gym, including during the later stages when it's going to be completely obvious to everyone that you are pregnant. What did you do? Did you inform them? Has any member of staff ever tried to refuse to let you continue to exercise at the gym (assuming that there are no other medical reasons and what you were doing was safe and OK)?

Be grateful for any thoughts and experiences you all might share - this really is playing on my mind!

It never occurred to me to inform the gym that I was pregnant. It was always full of pregnant women anyway. You will no doubt have signed some disclaimer when you joined to absolve them from any responsibility should you injure yourself, they will not stop you using the gym.

However if you take any classes you should obviously tell the instructor. If it's a very strenuous class, they might feel it's not suitable for you, or they might substitute specific elements.

Thanks! I actually keep trying to sneak a peak at other women in the gym and try to work out if anyone is preggers. Could be wrong - but so far don't think so! I do pilates, but not at the gym, and we've modified my routine.

I haven't informed the gym, I do attend a class at my gym and have told the instructor, as I am restriced to some of the things I can do (i.e. lying flat and doing old school sit ups). If I didn't do the class I wouldn't have told anyone there to be honest. They will know eventually I am sure

hmm interesting, I personally would inform the gym. Say you fainted or something it could be helpful to them to know that you are pregnant, they should not stop you exercising as their insurance would still cover you.

I suppose Libra is correct, it's better to be safe than sorry. As for stopping you, I don't think they would they may offer advice on what is best to avoid when pregnant, but I don't think they will stop you using what you feel comfortable and able to do.

Yes tell them. They will try to help you sort a work-out that is better for you. You don't have to do what they tell you of course. I remember something about needing to keep heart rate below a certain level..... was a long time ago though.

I wouldn't.

If you go to the gym regularly then you should know you own body and its responses.

If had an assessment or a personal training session then I would mention it, but I wouldn't go over to the gym desk and say 'I'm pregnant'.

Thanks for the input guys! Will have a think....

I think that is why I haven't, I think I know my body and I know what I can and can't do (which is slightly more now I'm pregnant than before).

And I wouldn't know who to tell tbh.
I remember the medical which I filled in when I joined the gym, it said has your doctor told you to avoid certain types of exercise for any reason? and that was is. I haven't even been given another form when I have renewed. So not sure my gym is all that fussed about medical conditions I guess they presume you know what you're doing.

I think it is good for someone to know in case you faint etc (in my case all the people that attend the class I do know and there is never a time when I am in the gym and one of them isn't). I don't think it is vital for a member of staff to know really, unless you take classes x

Never occured to me to inform gym. Have been 3 x a week throughout pregnancy.

Up to 28 weeks gym routine was completely as before, including treatmill but did fixed weights rather than free weights as less chance of injury.

I told any instructors if I was doing a class though - eg wouldn't want to do lie back stomach exercises. And tell the instructor if you want a "reprogramme" of your routine.

Up to 36 weeks used gym but not treadmill (eg stepper/cross trainer/rower/bike) but no weights. By that stage was totally obvious I was pregnant and no one commented.

Since 36 weeks have only been swimming as get BH when try to do anything else!

I don't think they'd care I was pregnant, there is someone who is totally anorexic who literally lives there pounding away on the treadmill and I commented to an instructor (whilst 7 months pregnant, on a stepper etc!) that it clearly wasn't safe and she shouldn't be allowed etc and they said that they wouldn't stop her from coming as she could sue them for discrimination for being thin or something like that. She didn't make any comment about me stepping away with big tummy.

You could ask for a refresher session with one of the trainers, and tell them, to help modify your routine, if you think you need it. I don't 'do' gyms, but do pilates, and I always informed my Pilates instructor so that she could modify certain exercises but that was all.

Mind you, when I started to show, a number of the other women in the class said 'Oooh, we wondered if you were pg!'

mumnwlondon - my aunt got banned from her gym as she was too thin and working out too much. Each gym to their own i guess, it is horrible when they don't do any responsible thing, like even takling to her.

talking**

Msrisotto - apparently this women (who really looks anorexic, gym instructor agreed with me) has a letter from her GP (from a few years ago though) saying its ok for her to come to the gym, so they have spoken to her. I said to the instructor that the GP might not appreciate exactly what she is doing (running on treadmill for hour at a time) but they don't seem to care (virgin active) - instructor said they were worried about being sued for discrimination if they stopped her doing stuff, and I said they should be worried about her family suing them when she died on a treadmill.

I asked whether they'd care if I was pounding away on a treadmill at 9 months pregnant and they said no they wouldn't care it would be up to me to assess the risks.

Sorry but this has annoyed me a bit. I was refused life insurance at 21 because a nurse in my doctors surgery took it upon herself to diagnose me with an eating disorder as I was in her opinion to thin, she never told me of this opinion. I have since had those comments deleted from my records as they are unture and a personal opinion of someone and only fact based diagnosis should be entered on notes.
Yes I was thin, still am. I was bullied throughtout school for being thin. I had personal comments made to me in all my jobs about me being "too thin" rude and offensive some of them. I ate as a normal person, I was very active. I was also diagnosed with a fast resting heart rate which was also put down as the cause for me being underweight, this was monitored and is still the same now, there is no cause for this, it's just my heart rate is faster than most and I burn off fat at a quicker rate.
I would never dream of referring to a larger person as being obese. I would never discuss them with a trainer in the gym, recommending they remove them as they are too big to do a workout and are a risk of heart attack.

I find it shocking that people think it is any different to refer to someone as being anorexic without medical evidence to back that opinion, as it is to call someone obese.

Can nurses diagnose psychological disorders? I didn't know that.

The thing is, you can tell that a massively overweight person is obese, that's not a psychological leap as height vs weight is a visible, kind of fact and it isn't hard to identify when it's obvious.

Identifying whether an extremely thin person is anorexic is not the same. However, if an extremely thin person does cardio everyday and other weight loss regimes, I can see why one might make the leap that they have an issue with their weight and are deliberately underweight. That's not a big jump to a rookie diagnosis of Anorexia. If they were underweight and were trying to build up muscles etc then they might have a regime that the gym has helped them with etc

If you saw someone cutting themselves, you might call an ambulance. Restricting use of the gym to someone you reckon is Anorexic could be the equivalent.

I have the opposite problem. I want to cancel my gym membership now that I'm pregnant, and the miserable, money grabbing you-know-whats won't let me.

I showed them my forms etc, so they do believe I am pg. They said I would need a doctor's line to say that I was not allowed to exercise. My doctor has done this for me but it will cost me as it counts as a private service, and the gym have given me no guarantee that they will let me cancel even if they do get the letter.

I have been a member of the gym (virgin active) since it opened, and this is pissing me off no end.

To be fair the gym staff were embarrassed and apologetic about it, but they can't influence 'procedure'.

AARGGH.

No they can't that is the reason it has been removed from my medical records, didn't stop it being there when the insurance company asked for a copy though.

Not the equivalent at all, cutting yourself is a phsycological condition. Thinking someone is too thin is not grounds to stop them from attending a gym without actual evidence that they suffer from an eating disorder.

I still don't see the difference between jumping to the conclusion that someone is fat cos they eat to much food, and thinking someone is too thin cos they don't eat! The former makes you look like you are out of order the latter looks like you care apparently!

I think you should tell them, they can give you some appropriate exercises to do as your bump gets bigger.

I told my gym at 8 weeks as one of our local NCT ladies is also their ante-natal gym instructor. She tweaked all my routines and I was happily at the gym until a week before I had both my dc's. And back there 12 weeks after my cs's.

I'd be a bit worried about a gym that didn't chat to women who were obviously pregnant to make sure they were doing it safely. Maybe my gym is just really on the ball.

Anyway had my say.

Sorry cardamomginger for my o/t rant. I think I will just stick to my instuctor knowing and not bother telling the whole gym, but it is entirely up to you, I don't do anywhere near as much as I used to in the gym, just because my energy levels are lower than they were, so get tired pretty easy. Whatever you decide enjoy your gym workouts and hope the bump doesn't get in the way too much

No probs nunnie!! I have also been told I'm "too thin" throughout my life and was bullied about it at school (biology teacher once went so far as to announce during a lesson when we were discussing eating disorders that I was obviously anorexic!!!), so I can sympathise. Thanks for the input. Still not entirely sure what to do. But I'll start to show soonish, so any decision to keep it private will be taken out of my hands!
So sorry that you are getting grief MorrisZapp. Not good. Well, maybe if I get any hassle from my gym, I'll join a Virgin Active one!
As an aside, MumNWLondon you recommended I contact Karina Kaufmann when I had a question about doulas/private midwives a while back. Just wanted to say thank you - we met her, really like her and have appointed her

rereading your first post I think highly highly unlikely that gym will not let you exercise when pregnant... no harm in saying though if you feel necessary.

I have had a minor incident in the gym in both this pregnancy and my DSs pregnancy - and they were very helpful, ironically neither "accident" incurred when I was exercising - in my DS's pregnancy some (idiot) left a treadmill running I didn't notice it and go on it and fell flat on my bum! And in this pregnancy the gate thing closed on me (groin area and bottom of bump - huge bruise in groin, lasted for 3 weeks). As I said I have told all the instructors when I have done classes - I did a powerplate class (told the instructors I was pregnant) and then googled it later to find out not recommended in pregnancy.

And yes, glad you liked Karina, I have known her for years - I would really trust her to support me and stand up for me in labour!

ouch to groin bruise. Glad you were okay after both your minor incidents though.

I agree with the other posters- no reason why you shouldn't continue to exercise while pregnant if you are already fit. I told my class instructors and carried on doing combat and spinfit until I was 7 mths pregnant in my last 2 pregnancies and found it really staved off the ante-natal depression I experienced in my first pregnancy when I stopped all exercise. My instructors were great and very supportive.

yes groin bruise not good at all, first blue/purple and then solid lump for weeks afterwards. just lucky it was there and no in bump... gym wanted me to go straight to hospital but decided i was ok just a little shaken. called a GP friend who gave reasurance. but just shows as that accident could happen anywhere....