Gym in 1st Tri?

Hi guys,

I'm almost 6 weeks prg and normally go to the gym 3 times a week. In my tww and once i've found out I've lowered my weights a bit but other than that we haven't told anyone yet to ask advice.

I've noticed my heart rate goes up with hardly any effort so i haven't pushed it too hard but still don't want to do any damage.

I think as with other posts I've read I try and be positive but really worried about m/c even though nothing points to anything being wrong and i feel quite well!

Sorry for the novel!:)

If possible, mention to your gym that you're preggers.

Don't push heavy weights, and keep your heartrate low. Someone qualified at the gym should be able to advise the correct heart rate range for your situation.

If they have pilates / yoga / bellydancing classes, they're all good in pregnancy ;) Just let the instructors know, specially for yoga.

And then find out what you need to be able to put your membership on hold, ie a letter from the doc at xxx weeks.

good luck!

I go to the gym :) *pat self on back* Just went back on Monday after "taking off" while batteling some strange m/s and total lack of energy. :rolleyes:

At the moment I am eezing back in, so I am just doing a light Fat Burner class (push-ups, crunches, leg-lifts, low weights) on Mondays and a Fitball class for Wednesdays and Fridays. But I am going to start Step & Weight up again in two weeks time. My gyne told me that he has no problem with step, but I must not jump.

So I feel that you just need to watch yourself. You know when you are getting tired and you know your limit. Don't push yourself over what you are comfy with and if you feel lightheaded or nauseas or get cramps ... STOP.

I agree with Kazbah, at least tell your instructor, in confidance. Tell her/him that you are not telling anybody yet, but you want her/him to stop you if you are about to do something harmfull. Work out a secret sign ;) And if someone query you, just say you have hurt your back :)

emmalou, I am in the same boat as you. I am very cautious of anything can cause a m/c. I panic when ever I get a niggle or ache and go straight to the loo and check for blood. Thing is I am still 4 weeks away from my first scan so I guess I think that anything could go wrong. But I am really trying to be positive and trust God that he will take care of this littlin.
As for the gym. I usually do 3 nights a week at the gym. I really dont want to stop that so all I have done is do my equipment work out (tred mill, bike etc) on Monday nights. I swapped boxing for laps in the heated pool on Tuesday night and I still do my pump class (weights) on Wednesday nights. I just use the lightest weights and I dont do the abdo track. I am cautious about my heart rate also but what I think would help both of us is some sort of device that you can put on your arm or wrist that is easy to look at and monitor your heart rate, cause its a bit embarrasing to go checking your pulse in the middle of a class.
Last night 3/4 the way through my pump class I started getting cramps. I had a rest and started again but the cramps stayed so I packed up and jumped on the tred mill for about 10 minutes before heading home. Its quiet strange for me cause my usual mentality is to push through when I feel like giving up, but now I really need to pay attention to my body and quit when I am either dizzy, tired or crampy. Its taken me a while to get used to it though. I just dont want to stop working out cause I dont want to put on too much weight during pregnancy and struggle for the next 2 years to get rid of it.

Thanks for everyone's help, it's good to be re-assured. I go to a contours centre so it's sort of a gimme saying 'the gym' so it's combo of weights and cardio. but I do enjoy it so I think I'll just let the girl that's there most often know and use the secret code thingy ;). I agree it's difficult to not push yourself through when that's what your used too but this bub is way too precious!! Thanks again!!

hi there,

I recommend you buy or get hold of the book Exercising through your pregnancy by James F Clapp. I just bought my copy through Amazon.com. I was a competitive athlete before my 1st and after, and now again before this pregnancy.

This is my 2nd pregnancy and during my first I continued to run, do yoga and deep water running thoughtout the whole 9 months. If you came into this pregnancy fit, then there is not reason not to continue what you are doing, remember to hydrate well before and after, don't go to extremes and don't overheat, which is MORE of an issue in gyms than say, running outside in the cold winter air.

Don't get too hung up on heart rate, says the book, which i agree with. Take more care with how you feel....is this feeling like too much? then slow down.. If you are fit, then getting your heart rate to 140 is probably feeling just fine. I know that I can still run pretty fast and only get my heart rate up to 140. Most of my easy runs hover around the 125-130 bpm mark.

but working out in a gym may be different and be careful of just how heated the pool is as well. I often swim in an outdoor pool.

I try and thing logically that MOST miscarriages are caused by chomosone related problems and that no moderate amount of exercise like you ladies are doing is going to cause problems.

having said that, I do know that you are saying and i also know that this pregnancy is VERY special to me, just like yours is to you.

Again, look up this book or maybe Google it, and see what you think.

Thanks runnermum, that's really helpful info. Good luck with your little one, look forward to chatting along the way!

I'd def tell your trained so they can adjust your workout and double check with your doctor to make sure. Better to be safe than sorry.
I had small amount of bleeding at 5.5 weeks and i was told absolutely no exercise til 12 weeks to be safe.