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Exercise during pregnancy – listen to your body
My pregnancy journeys have had many ups and downs. The good sort: I went up and down quite a few hills, on foot and on my road bike.
For those of you who don’t know me: Pre-babies I was a very avid cyclist and runner. A proper exercise-oholic. Every day I had planned out my spare time to do some form of exercise; be it running, cycling, RPM or Bodypump at the gym or yoga. Pretty much every weekend during the running season my friends and I took part in races, anything from 10k to half marathons. I ticked one marathon off on my bucket list, too, in 2017. And, of course, Parkruns. Also some hillwalking, with a few Munros under my belt.
My favourite form of exercise, to date, is road cycling. I cycled a lot! Sometimes every day of the week. Big mileage, too. On average anything from a minimum of maybe 20 Miles to 40 Miles. Some Gran Fondos (100km) and a couple of Century rides (100 Miles). I was big into cycling. (Still am, but that’s topic of the next blog post!)
Now, I’m not telling you this to brag. Many people would consider me a psychopath getting up at crazy early times to exercise or drive for hours to take part in a race.
I’m telling you this because when I became pregnant, I was at a loss of what to do!
Can I keep my exercising up? Is it safe?
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Is exercising while pregnant okay?
The answer isn’t the same for everyone. The advice I was given by my midwife was to carry on as normal because my body was used to it.
Exercise is good during pregnancy as long as one doesn’t overdo it. Exercise like Pilates or yoga helps strengthen the pelvic floor, too!
Of course, the level of exercise depends on the individual. I think the general advice is that you shouldn’t start anything new if you haven’t previously done any form of exercise.
And, as always, to listen to your body!
Running is quite a high-impact sport; if anything didn’t feel right that is clearly a different matter.
Cycling always bears a certain risk of being in traffic so depending on where you live you need to weigh up the risks.
Personally, I carried on as before. In fact, I was determined to carry on for as long as possible and actually surprised myself that I went as far as I did.
I ran almost up until my due date and spent the Saturday before my due date walking Parkrun as opposed to running it. My last official race at St Andrews beach was at 35 weeks. I climbed my last two Munros at almost 34 weeks (that was rough). I ran my last half marathon at 28+7 weeks at Stonehaven; Skye half marathon three weeks before that. My last long cycle I did was at 31 weeks.
That was just me though. I collected A LOT of odd looks from people. Shocked looks. Surprised looks. Concerned looks. It was fine within my limits what I did – but I also reached my limits at points.
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Exercise during my second pregnancy
During my second pregnancy my fitness levels were poor. I still exercised but certainly not as much as I did previously.
There were different factors; the time constraint of having a baby under 12 months and no childcare probably played the biggest role. Also I was unable to be away from Cora for any considerable length of time due to breastfeeding.
The lack of body recovery was also a big factor: Because we became pregnant so soon after the birth of Cora (at 5 months) my body has hardly had much chance to recover between the pregnancies. I found exercising definitely a LOT harder than during my first pregnancy. The lack of regular exercise also diminished my fitness levels so that whenever I did run or cycle it felt like it was double the work. Constant tiredness from breastfeeding a baby all night and hormones and fatigue due to pregnancy didn’t help.
The difficulties – and the importance – of fitting exercise into a busy parenting schedule will be topic of my next blog post. For me, personally, exercising plays a massive role in my wellbeing, both mentally and physically. I will elaborate in my next post!
This pregnancy around I ran more than I cycled. I took part in Parkruns mostly or went running with the running buggy.
Both my husband David and I were signed up for Berlin Marathon in September 2019. We got drawn in the lottery at the end of the previous year and I didn’t know yet that we were pregnant again. By the time the marathon date approached I was seven months pregnant. We were booked to go to Germany to see my parents anyway and also so that either both of us or just David would run Berlin Marathon. Possibly a one in a lifetime opportunity. Up until the day of the marathon I had been debating with myself whether or not to run it but I decided pretty much on the day to leave it.
I think it was the right decision not to run that marathon. I think I was just too unprepared and too unfit to actually finish 26.2 Miles at seven months pregnant. However, I do regret that I’m unable to say: “I ran a marathon while I was pregnant.”
But hey, that is life. Who knows, there might be another chance in the future to claim that achievement ( 😉 )
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Growing a baby and exercising – the physical struggles
Whatever exercise you do during pregnancy I think it’s probably inevitable that you become uncomfortable at some point. As your bump and baby grow so does the pressure on your bladder and back. Clothes might become tight and uncomfortable. Everything will likely feel a lot harder than it did before. You might be out of breath quicker.
Keep in mind that where baby grows inside your womb all other organs are squeezed to the side.
Here are some of the experiences I have had:
Cycling – As bump grew I had to adjust the handle bars and saddle so that I was able to sit a bit more straight up on my bike. On a road bike you already sit incredibly low to be “streamline” but the pressure on the bump was really uncomfortable. Raising my handle bars and lowering my saddle helped with that a bit.
Finding the right clothing was the next challenge. My cycle shorts quickly became too tight around my waist. Thanks to the advice at our local cycling shop in Montrose (Bruce’s Cycle Bothy) the solution was a large pair of bib shorts – the shoulder straps hold up the shorts as opposed to a too tight elastic band around the waist that puts pressure on the bump!
The next consideration is whether cycling on the roads is safe. Riding a bike through traffic can be very stressful and unfortunately there are many car drivers who do not give the appropriate passing space.
We live rurally so I didn’t have to worry much about city or town traffic. However, cycling on rural backroads bears its own risk.
My recommendation for any type of road cycling is always high vis, bike lights and, of course, a helmet. It may be worth to consider wearing a cycling top that clearly indicates that you are pregnant.
Another avenue would be to consider whether it is safer to switch to indoor cycling. Spin classes at the gym or using an exercise or spin bike at home.
Running – Running was certainly a lot more uncomfortable than cycling. The impact is much higher and the up and down bouncing movement does not feel pleasant, especially in advanced pregnancy.
Baby literally bounces up and down on the bladder. Even on small 5k runs I felt the need to wee pretty much as soon as I started off running. You can imagine how many times I sought out bushes during my last two half marathons (This was particularly difficult on Skye so the ditch on the side of the road had to suffice).
To tackle the discomfort of the bouncing bump I used sports tape. Using Kinesiology tape, especially towards the end of pregnancy, was a life saver for me. The tape held the bump perfect in position. In the pictures you can see how I administered the tape. It worked really well!
When taking part in races, I always made sure that my emergency contact details were up to date and that the race organisers were aware of my pregnancy. Also, my husband who would usually run separate from me (because he is a faster runner) ran with me instead to make sure I was okay.
At the St Andrews Splash and Dash Beach race runners usually run knee- up to waist-high into the sea as part of the race; the race organisers allowed me to skip that part for safety reasons.
Yoga & Pilates – Both are very gentle forms of exercise in comparison and are incredibly beneficial for pelvic floor strength. Some positions might have to be adjusted. Going to pregnancy specific yoga or pilates classes is a great solution.
Swimming – A fantastic way to workout during pregnancy. Swimming has literally next to no impact on the body. The buoyancy of the water is great for the pregnant body! Everything about swimming is great!
Weight lifting – A pregnant woman can continue weight lifting as long as they don’t overdo it. I personally didn’t carry on with my lifting but that was more because of my lack of time due to work commitments; I chose other forms of exercises instead. I know several women who continued weights and Bodypump classes throughout their pregnancy.
Walking – Walking is a great way to keep fit. I recommend getting a Garmin or Fitbit and set a step count target. In Scotland we have so many wonderful places with great walks. A long stroll on the beach, your local park or your favourite beauty spot. Easier achievable if you have a dog, of course.
Depending on your work you might be in quite an active role anyway so take advantage of it! I worked in a busy vegan kitchen in Aberdeen and never stood still all day! (I was also able to eat all day though lol) I climbed the stairs in the cafe dozens of times each day to serve customers, and was on my feet all day, every day for crazy long shifts. It was hard going at times but it got my step count right up, that’s for sure!
Hillwalking – I really enjoyed that I was able to continue hillwalking and bagged a few more Munros during pregnancy. At points that was probably tougher even than running, I would say.
An appropriate risk assessment should be taken though: Weather conditions, paths and bog factor and also the length/distance of each walk. Are you able to go out hillwalking for 8 hours climbing thousands of feet?
Be sure to go walking with somebody, never on your own and also make somebody aware that you plan to be out on the hills. Make sure you are well hydrated and fuelled!
Keep an eye out for my next blog post which will be about exercising postpartum!
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Please note: I am not a medical professional. All my above advice is from personal experience only and what was right for me might not be right for everyone. Always double check with your health professional or personal trainer and – as always – listen to your body!
What is your experience of exercise and pregnancy?
