QuestionBefore getting pregnant, I was running up to 6 miles, working out heavily, and weight training. Now I am 6 weeks along, haven't gotten a check-up yet (my first is in 2 weeks) and I frequently worry about my rate of exertion during exercise.
I don't feel like I over-do it. I've decreased the length of my workouts from 60 minutes to 40 minutes for low intensity workouts and 30 minutes to higher intensity workouts, like running. I've also decreased the intensity of all my workouts, but still get over the "140" heart rate guideline (which I thought the acog removed that guideline) and can hold a conversation but with a bit of difficulty. Even as I've been very careful, I get an undescribable feeling in my belly during exercise... it's like I'm nervous, get butterflies, and my heart rate goes up. It almost produces a bit of pressure in my belly but it doesn't get hard or heavy, nor does it cause any pain. I am wondering what you perceive this to be and if you believe it is causing damage to the fetus.
AnswerACOG did lift 140 BPM restriction, back in 2002! And certainly because of your high level of athleticism, your body will be able to workout safely at much higher intensities than more average women.
As long as you stay within you aerobic training zone, and not pass your anaerobic threshold for long periods, you and your developing baby will be just fine.
Athletic women should monitor and track both their rates of perceived exertion and the corresponding HR. Stay within a zone that you feel is "somewhat difficult." Take an accurate HR for a baseline. (Keep moving as you count. Athletic HRs drop really quickly during breaks.) As your pregnancy progresses, you'll find that your rate of perceived exertion will rise for any given workout, especially after 20 weeks. When this begins to occur in your body, slowly begin to taper down the intensity of your exercise to stay in the proper zone.
There used to be a worry that high intensity exercise would demand too great a proportion of blood/oxygen and that the fetus would not receive enough. But studies to do not show a significant decline in uterine blood flow during exercise. And this makes a lot of sense. All of the adaptations that our bodies undergo during pregnancy are fetal-centric, meaning our bodies put our developing babies first, and our needs second.
As to the flurry stomach, I'm not sure what that's about. Make sure that you take in enough nutrients/calories to cover your basal metabolism, the 200 to 300 extra you need for pregnancy, and the 300 to 400 that you burn through from exercise. Stay well hydrated too.
For more information on how to stay fit during pregnancy, go to http://www.befitmom.com
