Exercise and Pregnancy

So I thought I'd share with you some of the information I've found about exercising while pregnant.  A few caveats here:  first, I want to exercise "vigorously" during the pregnancy.  I'm not sure that applies to everyone.  I've been working out at various levels for about 20 years now.  And the stuff I'm going to talk about, although supported by research, is less conservative than the guidelines some doctors still follow, although my doctor is fine with it.

So I've found two books about exercising while pregnant:  Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James F. Clapp and Runner's World Guide to Running and Pregnancy by Chris Lundgren.  I've also been emailing with a running coach who just had her second child 1 week ago. 

Highlights of some of the info:

*Vigorous exercise in the first trimester creates a bigger placenta which helps sustain the baby through “stressful” times later on in the pregnancy including additional exercise, trauma, and childbirth.

 

*Delivery goes faster for women who exercise and has fewer complications AND they need less pain medication.    

 

*Babies have the same length and head circumference for women who exercise compared to those who don’t, but have less body fat.  (That one concerns me a bit; their muscle mass is the same, but they have less fat and weigh less).

 

*Women who exercise gain about the same weight as those who don’t, but they gain less fat. 

 

*Exercise does not generally cause breast milk to taste bad.  (I had heard that it did).

 

*Women’s VO2 Max increases for a year after childbirth whether or not they exercise.  That is amazing!  The only way I’ve ever heard of increasing VO2 max is through very painful track workouts.  It also means that women can be in better “oxygen shape” and run better races after being pregnant.  You folks know Marion Jones just had a baby, right?! (VO2 Max has to do with how efficiently your body processes oxygen, and the increased blood volume and the lung changes of pregnancy help in this arena, the researchers believe)

 

*Marathon training does not generally affect fertility, as long as the woman is still menstruating. 

 

*Endurance, however, is an issue.  When one becomes pregnant, one has to be very careful about the length of time one exercises, and as the pregnancy increases, length must decrease.  The baby, despite having a big placenta, can only take so much “stress” of exercise.  The question is “how long is too long?”  I’m still searching for answers on that one.  For me, 18 miles is long.  However, before I became pregnant, I was generally running between 10 and 14 miles for my weekly long run.  I’m feeling that half marathons (13.1) are still fine early on.  I’m running one this weekend, and I’m taking it very easy.  I’m scheduled for another one in January, but I don’t know.  The issue here is that everyone’s body changes after 1.5 hours of aerobic exercise.  Is that the cut-off, then, for endurance?  1.5 hours is about 9 miles for me. 

 

*Finally, there are a whole host of things that can cause a doctor to demand that pregger chicks stop exercising and with very good reason.  So, you really should keep your doctor informed, and buy one or both of those books.

 

Both books also talk about how using heart rate as a guide for exercise intensity is no longer useful during pregnancy.  During the first trimester, anything a woman does increases her heart rate.  And apparently, during the last trimester, nothing she does can raise her heart rate “enough.”  So heart rate monitors which are so useful before and after pregnancy are actually not as useful during pregnancy.

 

Instead, both books recommend using the Borg Scale.  On this scale, 6 is the lightest exertion, like lying in bed, and 20 is the hardest, as in near exhaustion.  Pregger chicks should exercise around 12-14—moderate to moderately hard.  The scoop is that as women progress, less and less effort takes them to the 12-14 range of the scale.  (Why they don’t transpose the scale from 1 to 15 is beyond me.) 

 

The running coach who shared her experiences with me made me realize that I have something to confess to everyone out there: I am not a typical runner.  I do not like pain.  Despite the fact that I can run forever, which sounds painful, I run really slowly, so it’s not!  The coach shared with me that at some points, she actually had to walk during her workouts and that a pregnant woman has to learn to just let that go.  Not. A. Problem.  Hells bells, I walk all the time.  If it hurts, I stop! If I get tired, I stop.  IStopIStopIStop! That’s why my VO2 max is so low.  I can run fast, but I have to be in such great shape (and really skinny) that it doesn’t hurt to do it.  BTW, it’s ironic that I’m blogging about this today, because this morning after running for approximately 5 minutes and 18 seconds, I said to myself “It is too damn cold” and I went back home.  I had actually wanted to turn around and go back two houses after I started, but I waited 4 more minutes before returning. 

 

As the pregnancy progresses, I’m planning to use the Galloway method of run/walk ratios.  His method is that you run for 7 minutes, walk for 1, run for 7 minutes, walk for 1, etc.  Galloway recommends that with less fitness levels or with injuries to use shorter ratios such as 6:1, 5:1 and even down to 3:1.  I will always be able to do something, even if it’s at a 3:1 run/walk ratio.  And if there's a woman reading this blog who is thinking of starting an exercise program while she's pregnant, buy both of the books, talk to your doctor and a certified personal trainer, and if you decide to run, use a low run/walk ratio like 5:1 or 4:1.  Go Slowly.   

 

So that is all the info I have thus far on running/exercise and pregnancy.  If I have more, I will share.  I have had quite a few hits on this blog from other women looking for this same information, so I hope it helps. 

 

Off to work!  WOOHOO!  TWO MORE WEEKS OF SCHOOL!!!   Oh my lord, I’m so happy.

 

7:59:57 AM