Strength Training and Pregancy...

pineygirl

I'm currently trying for baby #2. Not pregnant yet, but on fertility meds and could be soon. I don't struggle with infertility, I have PCOS, and have had recurrent miscarriages due to the poor egg quality the PCOS causes...hence the fertility meds.

Hers the thing...I lift. Not really heavy but heavy for me. I'm 106lbs and 5'1 and somewhere around 18 to 20% body fat. I squat 135, deadlift 165, and bench 95. I can do 3 sets of 8 pull ups.

I know I have to change this up when I get pregnant. But I get conflicting information from my doctors. My reproductive endocrinologist says what I'm doing is fine, just reduce the weight somewhat and do more reps and modify as needed. She even said its healthy, and it's good that I'm in such great shape.

My OB says don't lift more than 20lbs....um pretty much impossible with my job where I lift boxes that can weigh from 35 to 70lbs and having a toddler at home that weighs 25lbs. Heck...grocery bags can weigh more that 20lbs (well when you carry 8 at once to avoid making a second trip to your car).

I know pregnancy isn't a time for setting new PR's, or trying any new lifts....and lying down during benching might not be a good idea past 16 weeks. So I'm all for modifying and reducing weight...but sort of clueless about how to do this.

I'd hate to to give it up entirely.

nossmf

I see a pregnant lady at my gym, easily third trimester, who continues to squat and deadlift without seeming limitation. I say "seeming" because I have no idea what her pre-pregnancy numbers were, but this gal is easily throwing around numbers like yours, not some 20#. YMMV with your unique body, but lifting and pregnant do not necessarily contradict each other.

If lying down for bench is a problem, maybe switch to incline presses, or do Smith-machine bench presses where you sit upright.

DancingMoosie

I think the 20lb thing is a standard saying for OB's, and doesn't factor in personal differences. Your endocrinologist seems more on top of the game. Many athletes continue their workouts, just somewhat modified, during their pregnancies. My sister teaches and participates in stroller strides(cardio and resistance-bands) and running, and continues these activities during her pregnancies. As she gets closer to term, she reduces or forgoes the weights(but she is not a weight lifter, I'm talking dumbbells here) and reduces impact(taking walking breaks, slower running pace, squatting instead of jumping during other cardio moves). I agree with nossmf above. Hopefully some other lifters who have continued through pregnancies will chime in here:)

sardelsa

I just had my second baby and knew I didn’t have to give up lifting all together so I did some research. These are the recommendations I found and followed :

-If you were doing it before you were pregnant and you don't have any complications according to your doctor/OB you should be able continue the activities during pregnancy (with modifications as time goes on).
-Safety first – listen to your body - If any exercise starts to cause discomfort, stop immediately (I had to stop doing quite a few exercises because they just felt off, this is different for everyone) - also stay hydrated and take breaks as needed
-Don’t lift too heavy – less than 70% of 1RM is recommended (for me I was doing way less than that)
-Using higher repetitions at lower weight as opposed to low reps with heavier weight (I stayed around 10-12 reps for most exercises)
-Avoid exercises lying on your back (especially after first trimester)
-Limit direct ab work and excessive hip and waist flexing movements
-Ligaments are a lot looser during pregnancy and balance may be off so use caution

GiddyupTim

Last part of what sardelsa said, especially: Hormones cause ligaments to loosen up. I'd keep that in mind as you lifted.

VeryKatie

In terms of a replacement for bench, if you have access to aerobics steps, you could put your hands and feet on those and do push ups - raise the feet more for more difficult pushups. When you're further along, your belly shouldn't reach the floor. I have heard planks are fine for pregnancy so I see no reason why push ups would not be.

Arianera

Could your OB be recommending strictly limiting lifting activities due to the history of miscarriage? Since it sounds like you already have the green light from your endocrinologist, I would circle back to your OB about the basis for the recommendation and also what criteria you should use as a trigger to seek accommodations and lighter duties at work

pineygirl

I think my OB says that to everyone. They told me that during my first pregnancy (which I lost), before I'd ever had a miscarriage. The advice they give even conflicts between doctors in their practice. One of the OB's there told me something more similar to what my reproductive endocrinologist said. One says lift no more than 20lbs.

I do think think lifting has anything to do with my miscarriages. They were all early, around (5 to 8 weeks), and most likely aneuploid. 3 of them were blighted ovums (empty sacs).

I was lifting when I had the first one (but stopped when I found out I was pregnant). Of course I thought maybe it was because I was working out too much and blamed myself. It was before I knew about the PCOS.

PCOS messes with egg quality, which increases the likelihood of miscarriage.

During my one healthy pregnancy I did not lift. I didn't exercise at all. And I gained an inappropriate amount of weight....38lbs by 36 weeks (although I put on the last 8 lbs in 2 days and it was water from edema). I had hypertension during my whole pregnancy. I had pre-eclampsia develop at 32 weeks. I had an emergency c section at 36 weeks.

I wanted to do my next pregnancy differently. I want to stay active. I'll track my blood pressure myself. If my blood pressure rises I'll ask for medication to lower it, and take it easy. If I'm told I shouldn't exercise I won't. But I want to start off healthier to begin with.

fit_mama30

I keep lifting during my pregnancies. My doctor is fine with it, although he doesn't know my numbers but he just tells me to keep doing what I was doing before, and adjust if needed. I listen to my body... I don't lift as heavy, but it's mostly because I don't feel I have enough energy to recover from heavy lifting workouts. I think I could still deadlift the same weight as pre-preg, but my recovery has been slower so I don't. I traded back squats for goblet squats because they don't feel comfortable, but that's a personal thing.

The first appt. we have at the OBGYN office is actually with a nurse. Both times she told me to stop weight lifting when she saw me... It's a general thing they tell everyone and it annoys me a lot because they have no clue what we were doing pre-pregnancy. So I just said 'yeah yeah' and kept doing my thing until I saw my doctor. And my doctor is really pro-exercise, it's part of the reason I chose him

StephieWillcox

I can't help with lifting during pregnancy (I didn't, I should have, labour was made much worse by also being out of shape)

I can help with PCOS! Inositol (myo-inositol) at the 4g per day level has been found to be EXTREMELY EXCELLENT for egg quality. There are many many studies that come up if you google it.

Most people buy it in powder format as the capsules tend to be low dose and I have no want to take 8+ tablets a day.

Good luck, I truly hope you have a sticky egg soon X

pineygirl

I currently take 4g of myo-inositol per day, also 600mg of CoQ10 (ubiquniol ), 400mg Vitamin E and 500mg of Vitamin C for egg quality. Been at it for 6 months since my last miscarriage.

sunflowerhippi

My OB said I could modify my lifting (squat was over 300lbs for example) even though her print outs said 20lbs. She said in most cases people don't do it prior to pregnancy so it is just a basic rule they give out. Even bench press didn't worry her as the time I spent laying on my back was not extended time. I Had planned to change a few things to machines because they were not requiring me to lay down.

However due to low blood sugar and low blood pressure I couldn't even walk without getting dizzy most days so I ended up spending 7 months sitting on my butt after about 10 weeks.

Wish you the best.

tiffanylacourse

38 lbs gained during pregnancy is not that much really. I gained 65+ with my last pregnancy - and yes, he was a singleton!

As far as the lifting goes, I have no advice... I [obviously] didn't lift during my pregnancy. lol

Best of luck! :flowerforyou: