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Heavy lifting?

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SingRunTing
SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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I just got my BFP yesterday! I started Stronglifts back in the beginning of May and tonight is lifting night. Anyone have advice/thoughts? Is it ok to keep lifting?

I'll ask my doctor when I see them, but that won't be for a little while yet. I'm not even going to go for my beta blood draw until Monday.

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  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    My doctor told me I could lift, but nothing should go over my head and to stop if my back started to hurt.
  • fit_mama30
    fit_mama30 Posts: 178 Member
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    I had the ok to keep lifting. But I was doing it before. I did squats/deadlifts during both of my pregnancies. I kept doing what I was doing before (including over the head movements like the shoulder press). The only thing I changed is that I stopped pull ups because they didn't feel right, I did not train abs and didn't do exercises where I needed to be on my back after the first tri. But otherwise, I kept lifting as heavy as I could but of I did lose strength and had to decrease the weight a bit. Last week I was deadlifting but only 65 pounds :( I'm 36 weeks along though, so it's not too bad I guess ;)

    Maybe decrease the weights a bit until you see your doctor if it makes you nervous. It depends what you feel comfortable with.

    And congrats :)
  • ashliedelgado
    ashliedelgado Posts: 814 Member
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    It's my understanding that what you were doing before, you're okay to do during, just modify as needed, and avoid things later on that may throw you off balance. I've seen some big pregnant ladies throwing heavy weights around like no ones business.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I posted this in another thread...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


  • LisaTcan
    LisaTcan Posts: 410 Member
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    Congrats! I was also doing strong lifts when I got pregnant. I continued throughout the first trimester with my max weights and barbells but by the second trimester I had a huge belly and didn't feel comfortable so I switched to doing modified exercises with dumbbells. I kept that up until month 9, now as labour approaches I'm really just walking and swimming, my back and pelvic pain are too bad to continue weight lifting. I'm excited to get back to strong lifts though!
  • SemperAnticus1643
    SemperAnticus1643 Posts: 703 Member
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    I too was told that I could continue my lifting workout with modifications. Squats are now done on a smith machine with dramatically less weight than what I was doing before and I have moved to more dumbbell and machine work that my stronglifts routine. I'm in my 3rd trimester now and not lifting anywhere near what I was before but I'm ok with that because I know I'm, at least, still active.

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