"serious" riding while pregnant?

[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.