Pregnant & Staying on Track

First, congratulations! I think I found out around the same time you did. I am now 6-7 weeks along. My first sonogram will be at 9 weeks. I need to get my hands on that sonogram because it just feels surreal.

I understand the struggle of staying on track whilst being pregnant. I am doing heavy lifting and kickboxing at 5 days a week.

My goals of lifting (Squat 200lbs and Deadlift 235lbs by December...I was getting so close!) is now on the back burner. I am currently still lifting at around ~150 lbs (~50-75% of max) just to maintain and may decrease as time goes on. I still do kickboxing but not at my max intensity sadly. Maybe at intensity of 6-8. I always have to tell myself to tone it down.

In general, it is said that pregnancy is not the time to start something new (i.e don't start a vigorious exercise if you didn't already do it before pregnancy) Don't ride on horseback or any contact sports. DUH. In general, listen to your body. Lower your intensity if you have to. I don't know if I believe that whole keeping your heartrate below 140bpm but take stock of how intense your workouts are. Take plenty of breaks and keep hydrated.

p.s: I messaged a ton of MFPers and also looked on bodybuilding.com and there are plenty of ladies who lifted and continued their exercises during their pregnancy. I sometimes doubt myself whether what I'm doing is safe for the baby but those ladies have given my confidence to at least maintain my fitness level. Who wouldn't want to be prepared as much as possible for their labor?

Good luck!