Maintaining Intensity during Pregnancy

My last blog spoke to the lack of research on training pregnant athletes and the difficulty such a population presents to researchers. Well, I found an article to put that to rest (now I just need 10 more for the paper:). In this study elite level athletes between 17 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, volunteered to participate in either the high volume exercise group or the medium volume group. Both groups participated in about one hour of light weight training two times per week. They also conducted two interval workouts with heart rates hitting between 170 and 180 beats per minute during the high intensity portion of the intervals. The interval workouts lasted approximately 30 minutes. Participants also conducted two aerobic endurance workouts per week at heart rates between 120 and 140 beats per minute. I was stunned to see the length of time for each workout. Those in the medium volume group did workouts for 90 minutes each while those in the high volume group did workouts for 150
minutes each.

I have never seen a study with such long workouts and was excited to see such a study had been conducted. Due to the high level of physical fitness prior to pregnancy it is not surprising that all subjects continued with the prescribed workouts up the week of delivery with a large number continuing until the day before labor. Results of the study show no adverse affects to the baby or mother. Moms were able to maintain their fitness level leading to a rapid return to competitive
activities.

So what can we take from this study? Most of us are not elite level athletes looking to make a quick return to the race circuit. Instead, I think we are hoping to return to our pre-pregnancy fitness levels not having lost too much ground. This study shows that we can. If, while pregnant, we are able to maintain the same amount of time exercising, as well as a similar level of intensity as we had before pregnancy, our bodies should be able to maintain something close to our pre-pregnancy level of fitness.

Training the Pregnant Athlete

I am preparing to write a paper on training the pregnant athlete and find myself running into some issues finding really great and current research on exercise for pregnant athletes. I am fully aware of the specificity of the population and the care with which you must take when designing a study with pregnant women. You are not only affecting the athlete but also the baby. There are few situations where not pushing limits is more important. It is like finding a “reasonable” limit for alcohol while pregnant. We cannot design a study to find the upper and lower limits so we just say none is the rule.

When it comes to exercise we know that some is wonderful, leading to great health benefits for both mom and baby. The general rule is the same as that for the general population, 30 minutes most if not all days of the week. The recommendations go on to say that intensity should be kept at a moderate level, often at 140 beats per minute or lower. For an athlete these recommendations can feel like a warm-up.

I would love to hear your experience. Are you a mom who continued to train at high levels during her pregnancy? How did you know what intensity to keep? Did your care giver give you recommendations or did you just go with your gut?

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Battling Misconceptions about Exercise During Pregnancy

I just read an interesting study on women’s beliefs about physical activity during pregnancy and their behaviors. Studies like this one continue to reinforce my belief that women are under informed when it comes to the benefits of exercise during pregnancy. This study found that 78% percent of those surveyed, believe that women can exercise during pregnancy. This means that 22%, nearly one quarter of those studied, believe that it is unwise for a pregnant woman to exercise. We know that ACOG recommends that all pregnant woman should exercise unless otherwise advised by their medical provider. A full 1/3 of those surveyed believe that if a woman did not exercise prior to pregnancy they should not begin a program during their pregnancy. Again, ACOG says that it is safe for women to begin an exercise program during pregnancy. I have to wonder if these statistics are bolstered by the fact that only 23.5% of those surveyed indicated that they had received physical activity advice from their health care professional.

There were a few very bright spots that came out of this survey as well. A full 94% believed that regular exercise while pregnant could help to increase energy as well as help improve labor and delivery. Most of the women, 75%, also believed that regular physical activity could help to improve the babies health. I find these three statistics to be very encouraging. Women are started to get the message about the importance of regular exercise during pregnancy and the benefits it can provide to them as well as their babies. Sadly, the difference between what we know we should do and what we do can be very wide. Of those who responded to the survey, only 27% exercised during their first and second trimesters. This needs to improve. We need to get more healthcare providers talking to their patients about exercise both prior to conception and throughout pregnancy.

On Being Parents

As parents we know that the health behaviors we demonstrate to our children are most likely the health behaviors they will adopt. We try so hard to expose our children to new veggies as infants in the hopes that they will someday enjoy them all. We enter our children into every sporting activity possible hoping something will set off a spark in them. We limit screen time in order to encourage physical activity. But, what are we demonstrating?

Studies show that we as parents are the main source of the socialization
and development of physical activity habits in our children. If we are not demonstrating our need to make health and physical activity a priority, how can they be expected to learn anything else?

Parenthood affects the physical activity levels of both men and women, but women experience it to a greater level. One study found that mothers spend about 90 minutes less engaging in physical activity than men over the course of two weeks. Another study indicates that women with children exercise 37% less than women without children. These stats combined with the nationwide stats on physical activity levels means we as mommies are not doing so well.

So, what do we do to help reverse this trend? First, look at your “barriers.” Write them down and share them with others. It is possible that some of the things that are holding you back are easily crossed off the list. Secondly, look to those around you for support. We need family and social support to make most things in our lives run a bit more smoothly, and exercise is no different. Ask your hubby to take the kids to the park while you walk around the block a few times. Swap childcare with a neighbor to free up some time to workout. Ask a girlfriend to send you friendly little text reminders about why you are making exercise a priority. Tell yourself you deserve it. Your children deserve it.