Help needed!

[katie]

Hi all,

Just wanted to update with how my training is going. I was training consistently last year until December, pretty happy with my strength level.

Then I went to Thailand for a holiday.... took a couple of months break from training (although I did rockclimb in Thailand which was pretty cool). Unfortunately I lost about 3-4 kg (mostly muscle, I think) from the holiday...... got back and I was sitting at 56kg (grrrrr).

I'm now all fired up to start lifting heavy this year, but for a small complication........ I'm currently 4 weeks pregnant

So, weight training during pregnancy..... yay or nay?

And my mum has said I should give up basketball as well, and definitely no rockclimbing

 

[Goosey]

Congratulations.

Weight training, yes of course.
Nothing lying down, any squatty movement.
Just be mindful that your body is changing plus your muscleture is going to become slightly more flexible.

 

[Bluey]

Congratulations! I have no idea about what you can/cant do whilst pregnant. I'd see a professional for that kinda advice. Cant be too careful.

 

[Ben]

Congratulations Katie!!

Yep, can't be too careful. I probably wouldn't do anything at all, growing a child really takes its toll on your body.

 

[brendon]

congrats. yeah id go see a professional on that one. if it was my wife id say no weights. or just light stuff.

 

[trofius]

Congrates Katie

Everyone is different so see how your body is dealing with it..And yes see a doctor, or ask at the gym some of teh instructors may have had bubs, that helped my wife heaps.

my wife was told, and tried low impact type execises, weights are still fine as long as you dont push too hard, and limit how much time is spent on your back, once you get into your second and third trimester no back time at all. on your side or in an incline position is ok, if your bladder can handle it. Back exercises now to help prepare for the increase in tummy mass will be good, as well as pelvic floor stuff.

Once you have the bub you arms, back, shoulders etc will get a great workout..

Are you feeling OK, sick? Rememebr to up your diet, get into those preg multivitamins for folate, Allow yourself to get a bit sqishier but I am sure you wont allow yourself to blow out.....breast feeding will strip any excess body weight very quickly!My wife ended up 4kg below her pre preg weight withing 6 weeks of the birth...

Hope it all goes well, and congrates sounds like you had a very good holiday / new years !!!!lol

 

[puff]

congratulations - awesome news!

my wife was training when she fell pregnant with our first. she didn't find out until 8 weeks though and had continued up until that time. It was around then she stopped training as her morning sickness and perpetual tiredness zapped any motivation she had to keep going (she just started again almost 4 years and another baby later).

I'd say do what you can and feel up to - definitely don't smash yourself in the gym. Incredible things are about to happen - enjoy it.

 

[Shrek]

 

[Josh_GTiR]

Congrats Katie! You've said many times you don't know how the people who have little ones cope with everything, you will know soon enough.

Meg trained throughout half of her pregnancy and then found it hard to keep up after that.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Congratulations, Katie.

The traditional recommendations are,

• low impact cardio
• no collision sports
• moderate-high reps and moderate-low weights in weight training

These are basically all because a big momentary strain can cause a miscarriage, as happens for example in car crashes and heavy falls. I don't know of any cases where a woman actually did lift heavy and then miscarried, but that is the general thought.

In the third trimester avoid any exercise where you lie on your back, the womb impacts on an important blood vessel. Ab and core work becomes a problem then if you are among the third of women who experience an abdominal muscle split, diastasis recti. If so, you would have to avoid all compound exercises.

So now is not the time to start a Bill Starr 5x5 programme, or do 20 rep breathing squats. But most hold that 10+ reps, not to failure, will be fine, at least in the first two trimesters. As with everything, being fitter and stronger always helps your health and progress through stressful things like pregnancy.

I wouldn't be taking any "fat burner" supps now, those are mostly caffeine which doesn't help. The effects of creatine supps during pregnancy are unknown, you don't want to be the guinea pig I imagine.

That's the general guidelines given out, but really see an ob-gyn. Get a woman, they're more sensible, the males are all "oh noes you had a sip of wine once during pregnancy and didn't take folate every single day your baby will be a MUTANT!"

 

[Bluey]

Hi all,

Just wanted to update with how my training is going. I was training consistently last year until December, pretty happy with my strength level.

Then I went to Thailand for a holiday.... took a couple of months break from training (although I did rockclimb in Thailand which was pretty cool). Unfortunately I lost about 3-4 kg (mostly muscle, I think) from the holiday...... got back and I was sitting at 56kg (grrrrr).

I'm now all fired up to start lifting heavy this year, but for a small complication........ I'm currently 4 weeks pregnant

So, weight training during pregnancy..... yay or nay?

And my mum has said I should give up basketball as well, and definitely no rockclimbing

Where did you go in Thailand so I can avoid it, I dont want to get my wife knocked up yet.

 

[katie]

Haha @ Bluey, we were home by then so I can't say anything about Thailand lol. However I just loved Koh Lanta, it's an amazing island. Railey is a bit overhyped I reckon, but the kayaking was great around there.

Yep - I'm definitely going to consult a GP on that one (certainly I've told enough of the forumites to see a professional, now I will practise what I preach). I'd like to maintain my exercise, but I agree now's definitely not the time to start anything taxing. I dunno, the main reason I posted is because my mum is treating me like an invalid - wouldn't let me lift anything heavy at shopping, not even a 2L juice bottle. (?!?) She also doesn't think I should put my hands over my head (?!?!)

I'll see what the GP says.

I guess I'm not going to be able to make BATB this year, like I was training for though!

 

[Fadi]

Congratulation Katie. Now please keep your feet solid on the ground okay...!

I’m sure the doctor would remind you of your folic acid intake for the early months; I remind you of an optimum level of DHA (for a top notch brain development).

Fadi.

 

[katie]

Hi Fadi

Good to hear I am on the right track, have upped the folic acid by taking multivitamins and am taking fish oil tabs regularly too.

As for keeping my feet on the ground...... I just got back from rockclimbing...... whoops!

(Naah, the doc said I could go rockclimbing in the early stages, I think there'll be a time when I won't fit into my harness (it has fixed leg loops) so I will have to take a break at some point!)

I was very happy though, I did a grade 24 slab climb today and a random stranger complimented me.

 

[stralian]

Congrats Katie!
Apparently your blood pressure is lowered during pregnancy, and standing around for even short periods of time (5-10min) can cause you to black out (if you don't sit down).
Happened to my wife recently as she is pregnant also (didn't pass out, but was on her way) and the doc filled me in on the details.

Just thought I would throw that in there as I imagine you do a lot of standing and looking up at people climbing

I will also fill you in on the details of how HORRIBLE AND SCARY pregnancy is when my baby arrives.
I think at around 4.5 months my wife went CRAZY. Completely irrational, I hardly even knew who she was for a week or two there.
You should probably prefer your other half for that by being a little bit crazy some of the time...let me know if you need some suggestions

 

[minithemeezer]

Congratulations!

I know nothing about pregnancy and the ways of babies on the female body, so I'll just wish you all the best!

A couple of Olympics ago a triathlete friend and I were jousting about who was going to get onto the individual time trial cycling team (um, neither of us as it turned out) but she fell pregnant and maintained cut-down tri routines of cycling, swimming and jogging that she adapted as her pregnancy progressed. Her entire labour and delivery period was 90 minutes; I'm not sure if it was beginner's luck or her fitness and health, but the next year she had her second baby in less than two hours as well!

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Well, part of delivering a baby is abdominal muscle work, so perhaps if those are strong it gets squeezed out more quickly?

My wife does Pilates, we shall have to see if that helps give a quick labour, her sister's was something dreadful like 40 hours...

 

[katie]

Just an update if anyone out there is interested at all.

There's some interesting food for thought here on Cassandra Forsythe's blog re: exercise in pregnancy..... she kept on training quite hard.
Benefits of Exercise During Late Pregnancy Revisited | Blog | Cassandra Forsythe Female Fitness and Nutrition Scientist
(although I have no idea how she managed to teach bootcamp classes the week before she delivered!!)

I'm now week 22 and my exercise thus far has been sporadic - mainly going for walks and some prenatal yoga classes etc - both very low impact.

I haven't done any serious exercise for a while which has frustrated me.... partly my problem is I don't know what to do. Can I still do pushups? Chinups? Deadlifts? etc?

What would be a good exercise routine for a pregnant woman?

 

[haz]

email Cassandra. she may give you help or direct you to articles that will help.

also she was just on the fitcast. you can listen to it off the site. or download from itunes. Episode 181: Jon Visits Willy Wonka | TheFitCast- Fitness and Nutrition Podcast i found it interesting and im not even pregnant

 

[katie]

Thanks Haz, you were the one who gave me the link to Cassandra's blog in the first place!

I'll email Cassandra but in the meantime I'll start out slow and steady......