I’M PREGNANT, CAN I CONTINUE MY FITNESS ROUTINE?

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I’m pregnant, can I continue my fitness routine? No, no, NOT ME…so for those of you that personally know me, you can now pick your jaw up off the floor! I took a continuing education class in my early years as a Physical Therapist called “Moms in Motion”. This was way before the birth of CrossFit and certainly before it became more commonplace to see a women Oly lifting and hitting clean and jerks like a champ in the middle of a gym.

Pregnancy does not equal fragility

Somehow, when a woman becomes pregnant, she is indoctrinated into this bizarre societal belief that she is now fragile. 50 years ago, obstetric care providers and women alike were concerned about exercise during pregnancy and the physiological changes the mother and fetus go through. 20 years ago, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommended moderate exercise 20-30 minutes most days of the week. And since then only 10-15% of pregnant women met this recommendation! There is NOTHING fragile about the ferocity and power of childbirth so why would the months leading up to the greatest physical challenge of her life be met with halting her fitness?

Continue Your Current Fitness Routine While Pregnant

I am not saying that a woman should start a strenuous routine while pregnant but if she was working out, running, cycling, lifting weights before her pregnancy, there is no reason why she shouldn’t continue on her fitness journey with fetus in tow.

In fact, there is so much research on how it benefits the baby and it’s development not to mention how it can shorten labor time and get the mama feeling good and back in her pre-pregnancy shape a little faster postpartum. This comes directly from the Mayo Clinic, “You can probably continue to work out at the same level while you're pregnant — as long as you're feeling comfortable and your health care provider says it's OK.”

In recent research done as published in the Clinical Medicine Insights: Women’s Health Journal, “The optimal exercise session in healthy normal-weight pregnant women is 30 to 45 minutes at 50% to 75% maximum Vo2, followed by at least a 15-minute recovery period.”