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Myth: Resistance (strength) training during pregnancy can cause joint injury.
Reality: It's true that pregnancy floods your system with relaxin, a hormone that loosens ligaments to prepare your body for delivery. But a 2011 University of Georgia study found that a low-to-moderate-intensity strength program is safe, even for novices. "The relaxin risk is largely theoretical," says study co-author Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.
The 12-week study tracked 32 women starting at weeks 21 to 25 of their pregnancies. They worked out twice a week, increasing the amount of weight lifted by an average of 36 percent during the study. Not one of the women got injured. A dozen incidents of dizziness, headache and pelvic pain were reported, especially in the early weeks, as the ladies learned proper breathing technique. The women's blood pressure did not rise, either during the workouts or over the course of the study. However, intense weight training can increase blood pressure, so it's important to keep lifting intensity moderate and stop at the first sign of dizziness.
Though O'Connor's study mostly involved machines, free weights and body-weight exercises such as push-ups and squats are safe, too. (No, squatting won't trigger labor.)
O'Connor notes that the women were supervised and recommends that anyone who is new to weight training should be as well or consult videos to learn proper technique.
Myth: If you are very athletic, you need to greatly dial down your exercise intensity.
Reality: Though nobody recommends gut-busting sprints for pregnant women, you can maintain your program as long as the body and your doctor give you the OK. "If there are no complications, women can continue to exercise at a higher level, but we recommend closer medical supervision," Artal says.
Early in pregnancy, elevating your core body temperature may be damaging to the fetus, so stay hydrated, don't exercise outdoors in the heat of the day and avoid huffing and puffing so hard that you can't talk.
Decades ago, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended a ceiling of 140 heartbeats per minute for pregnant women, but the guideline was later withdrawn because heart rate differs so much from one woman to the next. "I tell everyone to forget about heartrate," says Artal. Just make sure you can talk comfortably. Be flexible. Back off on the days when you're just not feeling energetic, Haley advises, "and take advantage of those days when you feel like a rock star."
Myth: Running is unsafe during pregnancy.
Fact: You can't "shake your baby loose"; she's plenty secure swimming around in amniotic fluid while you jog at the park. "As long as there are no changes in your joints and ligaments, you can continue running," Artal says.
Some runners are able to keep going many months into their pregnancies, but eventually even Olympic champions are forced by discomfort to switch to lower-impact activities such as for example walking, water exercises or the elliptical trainer. "It's just a matter of nature," Artal says.
Myth: You shouldn't work your abs.
Actuality: True, doing crunches (or other exercises) on your back is a no-no after the first trimester: Your growing uterus can compress the vena cava, the major vessel that returns bloodstream to your heart, potentially reducing blood flow and making you feel dizzy or nauseated. Artal says only about 10 percent of women are susceptible to this dizziness, but why find out if you're one of them when there plenty of ways to work your entire core while standing or kneeling?
O'Connor's study included an ab exercise performed while standing: The pregnant women exhaled and then drew in their navel toward their spine "as if they were trying to button up pants that were too tight in the waist," he says.
Haley performed the plank move, a very effective core exercise, until the day she gave birth to her son. "During those last two hours of pushing," she says, "I was really grateful I had trained my core."
Reality: It's true that pregnancy floods your system with relaxin, a hormone that loosens ligaments to prepare your body for delivery. But a 2011 University of Georgia study found that a low-to-moderate-intensity strength program is safe, even for novices. "The relaxin risk is largely theoretical," says study co-author Patrick O'Connor, Ph.D.
The 12-week study tracked 32 women starting at weeks 21 to 25 of their pregnancies. They worked out twice a week, increasing the amount of weight lifted by an average of 36 percent during the study. Not one of the women got injured. A dozen incidents of dizziness, headache and pelvic pain were reported, especially in the early weeks, as the ladies learned proper breathing technique. The women's blood pressure did not rise, either during the workouts or over the course of the study. However, intense weight training can increase blood pressure, so it's important to keep lifting intensity moderate and stop at the first sign of dizziness.
Though O'Connor's study mostly involved machines, free weights and body-weight exercises such as push-ups and squats are safe, too. (No, squatting won't trigger labor.)
O'Connor notes that the women were supervised and recommends that anyone who is new to weight training should be as well or consult videos to learn proper technique.
Myth: If you are very athletic, you need to greatly dial down your exercise intensity.
Reality: Though nobody recommends gut-busting sprints for pregnant women, you can maintain your program as long as the body and your doctor give you the OK. "If there are no complications, women can continue to exercise at a higher level, but we recommend closer medical supervision," Artal says.
Early in pregnancy, elevating your core body temperature may be damaging to the fetus, so stay hydrated, don't exercise outdoors in the heat of the day and avoid huffing and puffing so hard that you can't talk.
Decades ago, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended a ceiling of 140 heartbeats per minute for pregnant women, but the guideline was later withdrawn because heart rate differs so much from one woman to the next. "I tell everyone to forget about heartrate," says Artal. Just make sure you can talk comfortably. Be flexible. Back off on the days when you're just not feeling energetic, Haley advises, "and take advantage of those days when you feel like a rock star."
Myth: Running is unsafe during pregnancy.
Fact: You can't "shake your baby loose"; she's plenty secure swimming around in amniotic fluid while you jog at the park. "As long as there are no changes in your joints and ligaments, you can continue running," Artal says.
Some runners are able to keep going many months into their pregnancies, but eventually even Olympic champions are forced by discomfort to switch to lower-impact activities such as for example walking, water exercises or the elliptical trainer. "It's just a matter of nature," Artal says.
Myth: You shouldn't work your abs.
Actuality: True, doing crunches (or other exercises) on your back is a no-no after the first trimester: Your growing uterus can compress the vena cava, the major vessel that returns bloodstream to your heart, potentially reducing blood flow and making you feel dizzy or nauseated. Artal says only about 10 percent of women are susceptible to this dizziness, but why find out if you're one of them when there plenty of ways to work your entire core while standing or kneeling?
O'Connor's study included an ab exercise performed while standing: The pregnant women exhaled and then drew in their navel toward their spine "as if they were trying to button up pants that were too tight in the waist," he says.
Haley performed the plank move, a very effective core exercise, until the day she gave birth to her son. "During those last two hours of pushing," she says, "I was really grateful I had trained my core."