Pregnancy tips?

[cwodiva]

Hey there! I'm a cyclocross and road racer. I"ve been riding for the last 6 years and love it. I'm five months pregnant and have been able to keep riding even though my belly is getting pretty big. Luckily no balance issues, gotta thank cross for that! I love riding my bike while pregnant as walking isn't very comfortable and I find it boring. Seems like being on the my bike is the only time I feel I can glide gracefully:p along. Also dh doesn't really like dealing with me when I don't get my exercise in.

I have cut down my workouts to 1 hour, 4-5 times a week. There's a bike path near home so I don't have to worry about traffic. Although it's getting boring when you are used to the open road and fast group rides. I wear a hr monitor and try to keep it below 150, zone 2-3, sort of like base training. I have a high max so I don't follow the below 140 deal. I figure as long as I feel good and am not out of breath I can just keep going.


My road bike has been pretty comfortable until this week. It seems like the road position is putting my baby girl right on my bladder and every 15 minutes I have to use the restroom! So I pedal like crazy to get around the park until I find the restroom again. Good thing there are two restrooms each 8 miles apart LOL! I've resorted to using my husband's mtb, but it's a large, hopefully I can talk him into getting me a mtb my size (small) before much longer. I feel like with that upright position I could ride the whole pregnancy.

Anybody have tips for riding while pregnant? Also I'm feeling a little sad about missing cross season and having to ride alone all the time. I miss the social aspect of my group rides. And will I ever be in shape and competitive again?

Thanks if you've made it this far.

[xeney]

I have no advice for riding during pregnancy -- I stopped right at five months because I suddenly had balance issues on the bike. But congratulations and good luck!

I will address the part about being in shape, etc. My daughter is almost 15 months old and I am in practically the best shape of my life. I am 5 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, and if I could only get some time for core and upper body exercises, I would be set.

I think the key is finding like-minded new parents who share your interest in being active, because your social life will change post-baby. I lucked into a mother's group (through my OB's office) that happened to include two serious cyclists (way out of my league, but they are nice and ride with me!) as well as other athletic women. We have a mom's group ride once a week, with trailers, and there are others who have formed running groups, etc. There have also been some hiking trips and other outdoorsy stuff.

My husband and I are now friends with some of these women outside of the moms' group; he rode a century two weeks ago with one of the other dads, and we've got some family rides scheduled for the next month or two -- dads pulling trailers, moms getting a break from trailer-hauling. A couple of the other dads are getting my husband into cyclocross racing, and we also swap babysitting so moms can get time to ride on their own. This is turning out to be an awesome set of connections for us, and we plan to hang on to these new friends for the long run if we can.

A lot of the mothers originally met in a prenatal yoga class. (I met them all later.) That might be a good place to start connecting with like-minded new parents, and most yoga studios seem to offer prenatal yoga these days.

Good luck and congratulations!

ETA: I will pass along a tip from one of my friends who has twins the same age as my daughter. She and her husband both race cyclocross, and this year they are splitting the season: she does half the races and he does the other, so nobody has to miss a whole season. Another couple I know is doing it differently; the mom is sitting out the season and dad is doing all the racing. I think the first option sounds a whole lot better, don't you?

[Miranda]

Congrats on your upon new addition! Good for you on staying fit, but yes things start to change as the baby fills up your body. My thought for you is to find a gym with good spinning classes, and ideally a pool with organized water classes.

One of my gym GFs that's a marathon runner took spin class literally up to days before delivering her baby. One of the keys in there is adjusting your bike. I ride mine adjusted as well to give some back issues a rest from my usual road position (bars and seat even). I put my bars on the spin bike upright like a comfort bike. That is how the prego gym GF rode too.

Yes, riding inside is not the same adventure as outside. But, it can really work for you on many levels with an open mind, IMHO. You have the group of folks, like you do for club group rides outside. That covers the social aspect. You don't have to worry about getting hit by a car, or the balance issues of falling into traffic. There is a cpr certified staff near by, if lord forbid being prego you had trouble with your heartrate, got lightheaded, etc. It keeps your lungs active and your legs loose until you are ready to return to the road post delivery.

The pool is another great alternate exercise during pregnancy. A group class can keep it from being boring. Also, even if you have a "kick board buddy", that would help, vs just lap swimming.

Plus, with all of this, the bathroom is usually never far away;).

Good luck :)
Miranda

[Crankin]

I agree that it is really hard to have to modify your activity as the pregnancy progresses. My pregnancy advice is ancient (my youngest is 23) but I was extremely active during both of my pregnancies.
I was doing aerobics, at the gym and pretty much didn't have to change anything until my 7th-8th month during the first one. I tried to keep my HR below 140, though. At that point, I started walking and swimming near the end of the pregnancy because I just felt unbalanced and awkward. At the time, I wasn't really exercising outside and the change was good for me.
During my second pregnancy, I was really fit. One day I decided we should go for a family bike ride when I was starting my 8th month. Somehow, I got nervous and stopped quickly, forcing the down tube shifter into my stomach. I had a huge bruise, but was fine. But 5 days later I went into premature labor. Everything was fine, but I should have thought about the fact that my center of gravity was different before I went riding, especially since I didn't ride all that much back then.
It was really hard for me to accept the fact that I had to slow down, but then when my son's well being was threatened, I snapped out of it. It would have been better to skip that ride, because after that, I had to stay home for 6 weeks, no work, and my mom had to come and stay with us for a month. My 2 year old was calling her "mom" by the time she left...

[Tuckervill]

When I first read this, I didn't respond because I don't talk pregnancy much anymore (although my DIL is pregnant with my second grandchild!). Anyway, if I were going to buy a new bike to ride while pregnant, I might get something more practical for the impending lifestyle change than a mountain bike. A hybrid or commuter bike with a much more upright and comfortable position--for attaching the baby trailer to later, places for racks, fenders, etc.--might be a better option.

My DIL still rides her Raleigh mixte a little, with my grandson in the trailer, although she's high risk and doesn't take any chances. I see you're quite the competitor and probably can't imagine going from a Farrari to a mini-van! But in practical terms, the hybrid/commuter/utility bike looks like a better choice to me in the long term.

Congratulations on the baby!

Karen

[xeney]

I don't know, the moms I know mostly pull their kids with their road bikes. As do I. I haven't seen any reason to need a more upright utility bike for pulling the trailer.

[Andrea]

...I might get something more practical for the impending lifestyle change than a mountain bike. A hybrid or commuter bike with a much more upright and comfortable position--for attaching the baby trailer to later, places for racks, fenders, etc.--might be a better option...

I had to smile at this because one of the toughest women I race against on a regular basis has 4 kids... the legend surrounding her says that she got stronger as she had them because she'd just add them to the kid trailer and go do hill repeats.

[Eden]

I had to smile at this because one of the toughest women I race against on a regular basis has 4 kids... the legend surrounding her says that she got stronger as she had them because she'd just add them to the kid trailer and go do hill repeats.

There may be some truth to that for another reason..... each time a woman gets pregnant her blood volume increases, as she is supporting both herself and the baby. When the baby is born though the volume does go down again, it does not decrease to the original level - it stays somewhat higher. More blood =more red blood cells = more O2 to the muscles = more power! Its like perfectly natural, permanent and legal epo.....

[cwodiva]

Thank you for the great advice and encouragement! Your words were the pick me up that I needed. :)

[curiona]

I'll echo the previous thanks. This is very reassuring. I wasn't sure how to take the 140 recommendation as I'm fairly fit and bike all the time. I am only into my 6th week and find myself strangely tired already, which is really weird because that's pretty early into my pregnancy. I was having doubts about continuing to bike but everything I read tells me it's good for me so I'll just keep at it. I have 2 questions:

Hills. The thing that worries me is that I have some short but steep hills on my way to work; no way to avoid them and for those hills only I do find myself out of breath. But we're talking about 5 minutes of a 30-minute ride. Any thoughts on the hills? My instinct tells me it's okay. And given that I'm basically a very lazy person who loves to bike, biking is really my only source of exercise so I'd like to hang on to it.

Seat height. I'm only 4-11 so every bike that I own fits relatively well but I can not touch the ground with my toes while on the seat. I did just buy one of those lightweight retro beach bikes with the wide seat and the upright handle bars and this allows me to touch the ground somewhat, although I am on my tiptoes. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether I should buy a bike that lets me fully rest my feet on the ground?

Thanks :)

[xeney]

I'm not sure why you need that. Is it a balance thing?

As for fatigue, that is an early pregnancy symptom. Some people have some fatigue throughout pregnancy, but I think for most people it subsides after a couple of months. I would not really try to fight it right now -- there is not much you can do, and it's probably supposed to tell you that you need some rest! For me, it got much better in my second trimester.

[curiona]

re: seat height. I suppose it might be. Right now if for some reason I have to get off the bike quickly I just hover over the cross bar and put one foot on the ground if I can't swerve out of the situation (typically, if a car cuts me off). But given everything I have been reading about balance (not that I've experienced it yet) and weight, makes me wonder if being able to touch the ground after stopping suddenly might be safer, balance-wise. Thx for the advice re: fatigue!



I'm not sure why you need that. Is it a balance thing?

As for fatigue, that is an early pregnancy symptom. Some people have some fatigue throughout pregnancy, but I think for most people it subsides after a couple of months. I would not really try to fight it right now -- there is not much you can do, and it's probably supposed to tell you that you need some rest! For me, it got much better in my second trimester.

[Irulan]

wasn't sure how to take the 140 recommendation as I'm fairly fit and bike all the time.

IRC, that is obsolete advice. There used to be some (older) threads on this board that addressed the heart rate issue from a modern, athelete POV. I'm too tired to try and search for you, but you might be able to bring them up.

[Irulan]

http://velonews.com/article/3767

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=111&highlight=pregnancy+heart+rate

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=6855&highlight=pregnancy+heart+rate&page=3

[curiona]

everyone-
thanks for the links and advice. thanks to more serious digging, I came across James Clapp's book on exercising through pregnancy. changed my life. I'm back to kickin' @ss on the streets and loving life again. and i threw out the heart rate monitor :)

[papaya]

Hi,
I just found out i am 4 weeks pregnancy for the first time ( i am 37). I raced at 2 weeks and at 3 weeks and both weekend I maxed my heart rate. Actually, I had always thought my max heart rate was 185, but it went to 187. I was also not as strong as normal, and my fiance ( we are getting maried in 2 weeks) noticed and wondered if it was becuase i was pregnant. I guess the higher heart rate may also have been due to pregnancy? I am hoping it is a big deal I went to max, since the baby may not have even been attached yet.

My plan right now is to stop racing and intervals, and stay below where my lactic acid even starts to accumulate, probably ten beats below LT or so.

Any recommendations on exercise during pregnancy? I always had the illusion I would swim during pregnancy, do you think it is strange to start?
Any book recommendations for exercise and pregnancy?

I bike to work, but it is along the side of a highway (25 miles each way, though i often just go one way and leave my car, or get a ride). I thought that falling from a bike was big deal last trimester ( placenta can disconnect) so my plan was to ride until then or until i feel uncomfortable. The biggest problem is the doctors are really set up to deal with unatheletic people. So any other information sources would greatly be appreciated.

thank you,
papaya

[Irulan]

lot of good threads on that here in the past. Probably search under "pregnancy and exercise" or something like that.