Hardcore, baby-safe weight lifting suggestions?

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CATHY_CRAM_MS
Posts: 9315
11/28/11 9:28 P

You are a perfect shinning example of how important it is for pregnant athletes (and you are that with the great workouts you did while pregnant!) to use their body's responses to exercise and modify the routine as needed. No one knows your body better than you do, so trust your instincts and you'll do fine.
Thanks for your motivating post RYLANEMAMA!
Cathy

Catherine is the co-author of "Exercising Through Your Pregnancy" with Dr. James Clapp, and author of Fit Pregnancy For Dummies, published by Wiley Publishing in 2004. To learn more about these books or buy them online you can find them on www.amazon.com.

Cathy also provides Prenatal & Postpartum Fitness Information and certification courses to Healthcare Professionals. Click here to learn more.

RYLANEMAMA
Posts: 8
11/26/11 11:48 P

I have followed that advice for 3 pregnancies. I also compete in fitness/figure, and the stuff I read just didnt fit. I maintained regular routine thru first tri, working around vomiting. :) 2nd tri I avoided anything on my back and adjust any major plyo work I was doing. I kept my weight/reps the same, and adjusted any exercises that felt like I was putting too much pressure on my pelvic floor. Example....squats to failure at 6 reps changed to squats till fatigue at 12 reps, but I still loaded up the leg press as I was more in control of keeping myself from straining to the point it felt bad. Third tri I adjusted cardio a bit but kept same heavy weights, again, adjust for straining pelvic floor. Instead of massively loaded lunges I did bulgarian split squats with db's which allowed me to load on side at a time without as much weight. Learning to really draw in and stabilize your pelvic is important....I can incline bench 125lb at 9mnth pregnant and can maintain and stable pelvic floor, but other exercises at lower weights cause me to feel like I am straining it, and I avoid. Cathy is dead on when it comes to listening to your body. You can't go hard all the time. You need to eat a lot of clean calories to maintain muscle and get baby what it needs. Good luck! -Jo (mom to 3 girls, all about 9 lbs, and one en route)

CATHY_CRAM_MS
Posts: 9315
9/27/11 10:41 A

You should start feeling better soon!
Cathy

AKHONEY83
Posts: 6
9/24/11 3:10 P

Thanks so much for the advice everyone! :) Can't wait till this nausea is over with and I have the energy to get back into a regular routine! :)

LIFTINGFORTWO
Posts: 1
9/9/11 8:30 A

Hey, while I'm not competitive, I do a lot of weightlifting myself - I'm actually training as an Olympic lifting coach next week, at 18 weeks pregnant.

Here are some resources that have really helped me:

http://www.stumptuous.com/catego
ry/women_stuff/pregnancy_postp
artum

http://cassandraforsythe.com/

Somebody also recommended Dr. James Clapp's book. Get it! It's an excellent read.

AKHONEY83
Posts: 6
9/9/11 6:38 A

Awesome, thanks ladies! I really appreciate the info! :)

CATHY_CRAM_MS
Posts: 9315
9/8/11 9:48 A

Great advice JADZIA, and I'd like to add that a great resource for athletes is the book "Exercising Throughout Your Pregnancy" by Dr. James Clapp. He covers competitive and high level training guidelines for preconception and pregnancy in the book.
There are no set rules for what is safe regarding strength training during pregnancy, but using common sense and your ability to read your body well is the best way to proceed. During your first trimester you should stay at the level you're at right now (don't do any increases in weights/rep/set) and as always, avoid holding your breath and bearing down as you lift. After your first trimester you may be able to go back to some increases in your lifts, but use your body's responses as your guide. If you notice any pain or discomfort during or after an exercise, try modifying it (easing up on the weight amount or changing positioning) and if you still hurt, cut that exercise from your routine.

When you reach your second trimester you should avoid doing any exercises while flat on your back (can cause blood flow issues) and instead use an incline board, wedge or other method of propping your back up so you're at at least a 35 degree angle at the hip to shoulder.
Feel free to post any other questions you have, and congratulations on your pregnancy and focus on health!
Cathy

Edited by: CATHY_CRAM_MS at: 9/8/2011 (09:49)

JADZIA11
Posts: 77
9/8/11 8:11 A

Hi,

I'm no expert, but here's my suggestions.

For cardio, it is quite easy to figure out: % of max cardio isn't the best test when being pregnant. You should be able to speak when doing cardio. If not, you have to slow down.

For strength training:
Remember that most pregnancy exercices do not target your level of fitness (probably none are). I'd suggest you keep a similar routine that you are doing know, but with lower weights.

You can definitively keep lifting, but it's probably not the best time to try to build muscles, as your body is already using a lot of its ressources for your baby. That being said, you could probably maintain the level of fitness you have (or really close to it).

I know that people doing P90X keep doing it well into the pregnancy (Abs exercices and push-ups being the first exercices that need to be modified). It is quite an intensive training (for exemple: shoulder and chest consists of 1hr of different push-up and pull-ups exercices).

Do you have a trainer? He could suggest you some baby friendly modifications. If not, he might know another trainer who knows more are pregnant women training (if you go in a gym, a lot of them have at least one trainers that is more specialized on people with limitations, including pregnancy).

As for weight limits: Again, no expert here. All I know is that where I live, women that lift more than 50lbs on a daily basis at works are often required to take a preventive leave or be assigned to different tasks for the pregnancy. Lifting too much can increase the risk of miscarriage.

There's not many exercices that have to be avoided during pregnancy, so here's the quick list:
- Exercices where you lay on the back (especially in the 2nd and 3rd trimester)

... that's pretty much it as a general rule!

As your belly grows bigger, some other exercices will have to be modified (push-ups when having a baby belly is not really an option!)

I'd suggest you switch to endurance lifting until you meet your doctor (smaller weights, but a lot of reps). However, given your level of fitness, a trainer would be able to give the best advices.

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