"serious" riding while pregnant?

[Amy McGinnis]

Hi -- I'm curious to know if anyone out there has experience with riding at a training level during the early months of pregnancy (first trimester). Everything I read seems geared to "mild to moderate" exercise, "with keep heartrate below 140" -- not exactly what I had in mind.
Thanks !

[coelura]

No personal experience, but I know I've read somewhere that you can maintain your current level, but not try to do any improvement - ie no speedwork or hard workouts, just maintain your current level, adn definitely don't start anything new. It makes sense to me, if your body is already used it. Know a woman who was a Spinning instructor - she taught up to 6 or 7 months! Just let herself slow down a little later, when she was bigger.

[Fembot]

Hi,

I just registered here, don't know if you are still looking for info. I continued to ride throughout my pregancy at a pretty rigorous level. The literature that I read cautioned against "overheating" in the first trimester, so I was careful about that.

I am very glad that I maintained my fitness during pregancy, the recovery after I delivered my son was extremely fast (I was 32 at the time), I was able to start running again within the first week.

Good luck!

[Irulan]

do some seaching here, there have been some good threads. That below 140 thing applies to non-atheletes, I know there are some good links on training while preggers in old threads.

[runnergirl]

Do some googleing, there's an excellent article out there written by a female cyclist and doctor that talks about what the elite women do when pregnant.

whoo hoo, I found it! http://www.insidetri.com/train/bike/articles/1486.0.html

This parts nuts!
As a physician I do not recommend racing at all once you become pregnant. The late Miji Reoch -- may she rest in peace -- was a groundbreaker in the 1980s. She reportedly won criteriums in her first trimester. For a lot of reasons, I cannot endorse this.

Legend has it she also rode her bike in labor to the hospital. As the story goes, on her way to the hospital, Reoch even critiqued some guy's saddle height and then motored off ahead to the maternity ward. That you just gotta admire. Don't do it, but go ahead and admire it.

[Irulan]

that's one of the links I was thinking about that is in that other thread.

[KSH]

Well, I don't know what is medically a wise decision... but to me, if I were pregnant... I would not get on my road bike. Simply for the fear of having a wreck or getting hit by a car.

Accidents happen when you least expect them. I would not risk my pregnancy by putting myself in potentially dangerous situations. Yes, I know accidents can happen walking down the street, but riding a bike on the road is just making that risk even greater.

I would go to spin classes though. If I were to ever get pregnant, I would certainly keep working out till the end!

Best of luck with a healthy pregnancy and I hope you have a beautiful bundle of joy!

[Irulan]

your baby is very well protected. Very well. It's not in an eggshell.There are plenty of places to ride where you aren't playing tag with vehicles.

Here are the old threads.
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=3818&highlight=pregnancy

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=3169&highlight=pregnancy

in addition, here are other pregnancy cycling discussions...

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123236

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=102361

[KSH]

your baby is very well protected. Very well. It's not in an eggshell.There are plenty of places to ride where you aren't playing tag with vehicles.

True enough. I guess I just wonder how the pregnancy would go if you hit ground going 20 MPH on a bike? We have a bike path here, but there are pot holes, kids, etc... on it. I know 2 people who have had serious wrecks on the path. I can't imagine having the wrecks they did... while pregnant.

I am sure I just worry too much! Thank goodness I have opted to NOT have children.

[Irulan]

True enough. I guess I just wonder how the pregnancy would go if you hit ground going 20 MPH on a bike? We have a bike path here, but there are pot holes, kids, etc... on it. I know 2 people who have had serious wrecks on the path. I can't imagine having the wrecks they did... while pregnant.

I am sure I just worry too much! Thank goodness I have opted to NOT have children.


one of those links in the prior discussion is to an study done in Australia
states something like



There is substanstial medical information that indicates it takes forces of approximately a car crash to actually damage a fetus. Studies have shown that even playing contact sports is not a problem, other than most women choose not to. More important is to pay attention to balance and heart rate issues. At some point comfort becomes an issue, so do your knees hitting your belly

summary of the study here
http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2002/ascpub/pisover.asp

[singletrackmind]

I stayed active but also within the 140 heart rate and was very careful not to get too hot. That meant no training for me. I rode my mountain bike slowly on quiet familiar roads up til my 7th month, when I couldn't pedal without hitting my belly. I also rode the trainer. Mostly I walked. A lot. I chose to take the slower pace because I didn't think I could live with myself if any harm came to my baby through my actions. In the last month and a half I ended up being put on bed rest on and off and a lot of whatever fitness I had maintained went out the door anyway. Ah well, I have a happy, healthy baby boy for my small personal sacrifices and no time to train to the speed I once had. I wouldn't change a thing. I'm patient and I'll get to race again. It's not like I'm some up and coming young star, I only raced for myself and right now I've got someone more important to take care of. It's not forever, just some days it seems that way.
I can't tell you what to do so I'm telling you what I did.
And wouldn't flying off your bike at 20mph approximate the forces of a car crash? I know I've broken bones, gotten concussions and gotten knocked out going slower than that (and on dirt)! For sure you can't insure that your crash won't involve your lower torso.

[Trek420]

where'd I see that link, oh yeah, check here:

http://www.velogirls.com/tips.html

see the link "attack of the uber-mommies"

[Irulan]

And wouldn't flying off your bike at 20mph approximate the forces of a car crash? I know I've broken bones, gotten concussions and gotten knocked out going slower than that (and on dirt)! For sure you can't insure that your crash won't involve your lower torso.


Where's a resident physicist when you need one?

[Lise]

I guess I just wonder how the pregnancy would go if you hit ground going 20 MPH on a bike?
Chiming in. I'm a certified nurse-midwife. My concern is not so much the baby, per se, as it's true that the baby is well cushioned. My concern is the placenta. A blow to the belly or back can partially dislodge the placenta from the uterus (placental abruption). The placenta is the way the baby gets all of its nutrients and oxygen. A placental abruption causes blood loss for both mom and baby, and can be very dangerous for both. Lise

[limewave]

You should be able to ride throughout your pregnancy without trouble if you are cautious. I just had a baby 6 weeks ago and my doctor ENCOURAGED cycling the entire time. However, I did have to change my training. I could not do more than 45 miles because the baby truly took a lot of energy from me. It's important, very important to stay well hydrated and drink gatorade BEFORE you ride. Pregnant women tend to be extra dehydrated, so make sure you are getting enough water. You'll also need more calories to sustain your workout. Getting your heart rate up isn't a problem according to more recent studies. However, you do need to listen to your body. If you start to get cramps, slow down to 10 mph if you have to. If you feel weak, take a break. The key is to not push yourself. I was able to run and ride my bike up until 3 days before I delivered. Staying active helped tremendously with labor and delivery. And I was able to start working out just 2 weeks later because I healed to fast.
Good luck!

[Crankin]

I'm going to chime in with my 2 cents worth. My pregnancy stories are old (my youngest is almost 21), but I think you should proceed cautiously. I exercised vigorously through both pregancies, and I know my HR probably went over 140 at times. But, i was doing aerobics, so the balance issues were not present and i modified the high impact stuff after the 4th month. With the first one, I did classes 6 days a week through my 8th month. Then I walked and swam for the last month. With the second, I was in even better shape. I continued my normal gym stuff until, one day when I was just starting my 8th month, I decided we should go on a family ride. I was not a real cyclist at this point, but I had been riding my 5 speed pretty regularly before the pregancy. Guess what. My husband stopped short in front of me and when i stopped fast, the old fashioned tube shifters jammed into my stomach. It hurt, but i didn;t think anything of it. Five days later i went into premature labor. I ended up in the house for 6 weeks until I was safely at 36 weeks. So, you never know. I think my balance was off quite a bit.

[doc]

Amy,
Someone else mentioned avoidance of overheating in the first trimester. That is VERY true. Elevated body temp during that time is linked with birth defects. That's why you always see those signs on saunas and stuff - do not use if you are pregnant.

As for heart rate, I would avoid going anaerobic. Remember that baby gets a fraction of the oxygen you breathe, and a full dose of the lactic acid you produce. Some very good recent studies have shown what many have said all along; If you can carry on a conversation, you are aerobic. If you cannot, you are anaerobic. Don't need a heart monitor for that!

I couldn't exercise not one bit during my pregnancy. One step on the treadmill and I would puke. Back then I was a fit runner (well I was when I got pregnant). So you never know what your body will agree to. Always honor your body.