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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