8/2/2019 Vancouver Sun - May 7 2012 - Pregnancy Need Not Slow
You Down
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DenTerTainmenT: Who Will be The voice? D3
healthMonday, May 7 | 2012 | eDiToR MAGGie lANGRicK 604.605.2101
| [email protected]
This is the first in a four-part serieson health during
pregnancy.
By Erin EllisVancouVer Sun
Jenn Belong set out to train for the
biggest workout of her life andyoud have to say she aced it.
She kept to a gruelling workoutregime until the day before she
deliv-ered her first child a mere 60 min-utes after arriving at the
hospital.
I gave birth to my daughter withinan hour. It was amazing. It
was toogood to be true.
I was better equipped to control mybreathing, endurance through
push-ing and that sort of thing. And alsothe ability to handle pain
throughoutthe labour. My body was able to deal
with that so mu ch mo re efficie ntly,which is why I made it to
the hospitaljust in time. I was fully dilated, readyto push.
The 29-year-old is at home now withher 17-month-old daughter and
stillworks out several mornings each weekwhile her husband minds
the baby.
Her delivery may sound like strollin the park, but the way she
got there
was more of a maratho n bro ken u pwith sprints. Worki ng in a
store as abeauty consultant by day, she was alsotraining to become
a CrossFit instruc-tor. Thats a demanding workout pro-gram that can
include lifting and pull-ing weights, tossing medicine
balls,running, jumping, pull-ups and more.She modified the workout
as the preg-nancy progressed no rope skippingafter six months, for
instance.
I train hard so life is easy, saysBelong.Whil e Vanco uver s
known for its
fitness keeners, keeping up with theprogram during pregnancy is
rela-
tively new. Guidelines by the Societyof Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists ofCanada say women should keep active
with strengt h traini ng ( liftin g l ightweigh ts or using
resis tance bands)and aerobic activities (running, walk-ing,
swimming) as long as theyre nottraining for a competition. Scuba
div-ing is out because the fetus isnt pro-tected from risks due to
changes inpressure. And since a womans bal-ance changes as the
fetus grows andshifts her centre of gravity forward,the guidelines
recommend caution inactivities where theres a risk of fall-ing such
as horseback riding, downhillskiing, ice hockey, gymnastics,
andoutdoor cycling.A womans heart starts to beat faster
soon after conception, so another con-cern is boosting heart
rates too high.The recommended upper limits vary
between 150 beats per mi nute for awoman in her 20s to 1 40
beats perminute for a 40-year-old, says Mela-nie Osmack, founder of
Fit 4 Two, anexercise program designed for expect-ant and new
mothers. Because thereis little research on
high-performanceathletes and child bearing, healthexperts will err
on the side of cau-tion to ensure women dont exerciseso hard that
their muscles are fightingthe fetus for fuel.Women are also advised
against get-
ting severely overheated usuallybrought on b y sitting i n a hot
tub orsteam bath or having a high fever since thats linked to
abnormalities in
brain and neural column during earlystages of pregnancy.
That said, more women continue torun through the early months of
preg-nancy and youll even see the odd phe-
nom like Amber Miller, who becamea media darling last fall when
she ranthe Chicago Marathon and then deliv-ered her second baby a
few hourslater.
For women who already know howfar they can push themselves,
safe
exercise is a matter of paying closeattention to how they feel,
says MollyEdge, a 35-year-old pregnant withher first child, who
trains at Studeo55in downtown Vancouver along withBelong.As the
type of person who likes to do
the Grouse Grind three times a weekfor fun, Edge says shes made
somemodifications to her exercise regimesince becoming pregnant
lets sayrunning 10 km when it used to be 23.
Why do it? I want to stay healthyand true to myself, says Edge,
anexecutive coach. And stay safe absolutely, but I still want to
challengemyself.When Cana dian Forc es rese rvis t
Carli Sussman became pregnant lastyear at age 31, she wanted to
keep upher hard-core fitness, but found a reallack of information.
She launcheda blog to chart her journey onefi-temom.ca and says
some of therulesare arbitrary.
If you look at other cultures, or evenhistorically, women were
active intheir pregnancies, they were workingon the farm, they had
to care for otherchildren, they had to carry water. Yetsomehow in
the modern, Western
world weve come to the point thatwe think women who are pregnan
tare very fragile, shouldnt do anythingdifficult.
It didnt make sense to her thatwomen shouldnt lift anything
heavy,for instance. What about a 12 kgtoddler?And what about advice
to not lie on
your back for sit-ups after the firstthree months because of the
dangerthat the heavier uterus will press downon the vena cava, a
major blood vessel?By the time thats a danger, sit ups will
be far too uncomfortable, she says.That fits with the advice
from health
experts who say active women cangenerally keep doing their
regular
workouts until it feels like too much.That took a long time for
Sussman,
who cl imbed the C hief at S quamishcarrying a 15-kg pack when
she waseight months pregnant.
Its my favourite hike. I knew therewould be s ome do wn time
after thepregnancy and I wouldnt have a chanceto do it again until
this summer.
But for every woman like thesethree, there are many more who
mayget serious about their health forthe first time after finding
out that
theyre pregnant, says fitness trainerOsmack.Some women tell me,
Im fitter
than Ive ever been in my life becauseI have this new
motivation.
For those newcomers, the benefits oftackling a fitness program
designed for
pregnant women are great, she says.Theyre more likely to have
appropri-ate weight gain, reduce stress, preventgestational
diabetes, diminish aches
and pains and generally maintaintheir ability to move around
easily.Never underestimate the achieve-
ment of being able crouch down andtie your shoes, she adds.
[email protected]
motherhooD
Pregnancy need not slow you downKpig p with mdid xis pgm is s d
pys f, xpts g
Lve beng ft?Dnt stp nwHere are some tips gleaned romwomen who
kept up their high-level tness programs through-out pregnancy, as
well as atrainer and medical ofcials:
Unlessyourdoctoridentiessomepressingmedicalreason,itssafeandhealthytocontinuewithcardiovascularexercisesuchasrunning,swimmingorcircuittrainingandweighttrainingthroughoutthepregnancy.
Ifyoureusedtointenseexerciseduringpregnancy,keepgoing.Ifyouvebeenasloth,startwithwalkingandapre-natalexerciseclasses.
Beingtwillgiveyoumoreenduranceduringlabourandhelpyoubouncebackmorequicklyafterdelivery.
Listentoyourbodyandchangeyourroutineasneeded,byslowingdownasthepregnancyprogress-es,addingpropstomakeiteasierandmodifyingexercisestosuityourgrowingtummyandchangesinbalance.
Stopimmediatelyifyouhaveexcessiveshortnessofbreath,chestpain,faintness,painfuluter-inecontractions,leakingamnioticuidorvaginalbleeding.
Letyourdoctorormidwifeknowwhatyouredoingandseektheirguidance
Sources: Oneftmom.ca blogger Carli
Sussman, Studeo55 Fitness Club owner
Nathan Mellalieu and the Society o
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists o
Canada
Nick ProcayLo/PNG
Jenn Belong works on her CrossFit program at Vancouvers
Studeo55. Her tness level helped with the delivery odaughter
Isabella, now 17 months old. The gym is normally of-limits or
children.
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