Keeping in shape through pregnancy

[Ice T]

Hi everyone! Can you guess by the subject line that I have big news to report? :D

I have read everywhere that it is good to continue exercising through pregnancy. But does anyone know specifically what exercies I can do? Do you know a website or a book?

What things have you been able to do on the ice? How long did you keep skating?

I want to keep in shape so that my big comeback on the ice won't be so hard, and it will, of course, help with the pregnancy and delivery.

Thanks!

Ice T
(mom-to-be)
Hey! That rhymes! :wink:

[jazzpants]

First of all... congratulations!!! That's wonderful news!!!! :D

I would consult your doctor on this. Everyone's different! For instance, I know a skater that essentially gave up skating and was bed-ridden as soon as she became pregnant because she had a rough one the last time she went through this. On the other end of the spectrum, I've also heard of a case of a woman who was doing axels in her 9th month and gave birth to a bouncing baby boy the next day!!! (I know... 8O)

Cheers,
jazzpants

[Elsy2]

Congratulations! You are in for an exciting ride.......I was not a skater when I was last pregnant, however, I continued to weight train through the 8th month at my sports club. I was also able to ride the stationary bike.....So, check with your Doc and see what he/she recommends for you.

[NickiT]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. As for continuing skating throughout your pregnancy I would recommend you check this with your doctor. It depends on a lot of things including how fit you are, how the pregnancy affects you and how sick you feel. I gave up skating immediately I found out I was pregnant for both my pregnancies, but I didn't have a straightforward pregnancy either time. I developed problems very early in my first which prevented me from doing any exercise and I gave birth prematurely. Second time round I was prepared for another pre-term birth which did again happen (10 weeks early) and I was advised not to exercise again, not even to go swimming. To be honest in the first few weeks before I did quit skating I felt so sick that I didn't much feel like it anyway and on top of that I had this very strong urge to protect myself from doing anything that could cause harm and so my heart wasn't really into skating anyway. I know everyone is different and I don't see any reason why a healthy, fit woman shouldn't be able to exercise fully in pregnancy but skating does carry the risk of falling so it probably isn't the best choice.

Nicki

[Mrs Redboots]

Many congratulations - and I hope you will have as much pride and joy from your daughter or son as we have had in our Emily, now, alas, grown and flown (if you blink, you'll miss it!).

As for skating in pregnancy, see what you feel able for. A friend of mine is pregnant but still "skating" once a week, although, as she says, it's really more a question of popping into the rink to see everybody, putting her boots on and pottering about than serious skating! But she is listening to her body and not doing things she can't do, which strikes me as very sensible. At first she had great plans for going on competing during her first trimester (there were two competitions coming up), but morning sickness put paid to that, and she stopped altogether for several weeks until she could remove her head from the loo!

Basically, do what you feel able for, and don't push yourself too hard. Exercise, my brother commented all those years ago (at the time, he was working as a shepherd, and said "Don't you go having that baby here - I only do sheep!"), is "good for pregnant things!" And the baby is pretty well-protected inside you, so don't worry too much about harming it. It [i:2e93d5d958]could[/i:2e93d5d958] happen if you had a very bad fall, but then, you could fall down the stairs at home.....

You go on skating just as much as you are able - you won't have nearly so much time once the baby arrives!

[Careygram]

I became pregnant during a lake placid adult week (fun place I tell you) and with the blessing of my doctor, I continued to skate until I completed my fourth month and began to show. My doctors advice was that I shouldn't really change my exercise routine much until the end of the fourth month so I didn't. I also continued to go to the gym. I was sick the entire first four months too so I always toted along a plastic garbage baggie and tried not to spin too much. After I had my son I went back to skating about three months later. I think the exercising helped keep me in decent shape. But by all means, each doctor and person is different so be sure to check with them and listen to your body. And drink lots of water!!

Congratulations and best of luck to you and the little person

[Ice T]

These are all great responses! Keep 'em coming!

Because I just found out, I won't see the doctor until I am 6 to 8 weeks along, which is a couple of weeks away. But my coach immediately laid out the rules for me -- no jumping!! And this morning in my lesson, he told me that he doesn't want me doing anything dangerous. He decided that we will work only on figures and moves for as long as I can skate. He was very sweet, and obviuosly felt bad having to take so many skating treats away from me, but I assured him that I would behave and do what he said. Darn! I guess I shouldn't have told him so soon, huh? :wink:

I will definitely check with my doctor when I finally get to have that appointment. In the meantime, I did a lot of reasearch, and all the sources seem to agree to stick to all the low impact, low cardio stuff like walking, swimming, and cycling, and not get the heart rate above 140.

Friends.....this is SO hard for me! I'm used to skating 10 sessions a week and working out 3 to 4 times a week.

Of course, the baby is more important than anything, so I have committed myself to only do figures and moves, keep the skating low key and safe for as long as I feel comfortable on the ice, and just do lots of walking. But this is going to be SO hard on me! I know when I can't skate anymore that I will come to the rink just to sit in the stands with the skater moms and watch all my little skater friends.

I guess I really need you all right now to keep me encouraged. Thanks everyone! :D

[1lutz2klutz]

Hey, IceT- Don't forget to come watch us "big" skater friends too!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Mrs Redboots]

[quote:f7b489ebde="Ice T"]These are all great responses! Keep 'em coming!

Because I just found out, I won't see the doctor until I am 6 to 8 weeks along, which is a couple of weeks away. But my coach immediately laid out the rules for me -- no jumping!! And this morning in my lesson, he told me that he doesn't want me doing anything dangerous. He decided that we will work only on figures and moves for as long as I can skate. He was very sweet, and obviuosly felt bad having to take so many skating treats away from me, but I assured him that I would behave and do what he said. Darn! I guess I shouldn't have told him so soon, huh? :wink: [/quote:f7b489ebde]

Well, I can't think of anything better for your skating! You might ask him if he will or can start you on dance, too, if you don't already do it - the first few dances involve skating forwards only, but are still pretty challenging!

[quote:f7b489ebde]I will definitely check with my doctor when I finally get to have that appointment. In the meantime, I did a lot of reasearch, and all the sources seem to agree to stick to all the low impact, low cardio stuff like walking, swimming, and cycling, and not get the heart rate above 140.

Friends.....this is SO hard for me! I'm used to skating 10 sessions a week and working out 3 to 4 times a week.[/quote:f7b489ebde]
You probably still can; but you may well find you are too tired to. The only thing I remember of my 2nd to 4th month of pregnancy is sleeping all the time, I was totally exhausted. Never sick, hardly ever even felt sick, but absolutely knackered! So the only thing you can do is [i:f7b489ebde]listen[/i:f7b489ebde] to your body. Skate as and when you can, after all, a few months of figures and moves will only improve your skating.

[quote:f7b489ebde]Of course, the baby is more important than anything, so I have committed myself to only do figures and moves, keep the skating low key and safe for as long as I feel comfortable on the ice, and just do lots of walking. But this is going to be SO hard on me! I know when I can't skate anymore that I will come to the rink just to sit in the stands with the skater moms and watch all my little skater friends.[/quote:f7b489ebde]
And at that, you may find you can put your skates on and potter about a bit, even when you have quite a large "bump" (Aren't you longing for one? I know I did!).

[Ice T]

Mrs. Redboots,

You have given me two great suggestions!! Thank you!

First, I do like the idea of just getting out there and puttering about just to keep up with my friends. It's not a bad thing to just stay in the corner working on edges and chatting with others as they come by.

Second, my coach's wife is a national champion in ice dance in her country, and she teaches ice dance. I have been working with her on stroking, moves, and presentation. But I have been wanting to find a little time for her to teach me the first dance, so now here's my chance!

Funny story, but she was actually tougher on me this week than her husband was. "You can't do this.....you shouldn't do that.....etc." It was so cute! She was very much watching out for me, and I'm sure that she and her husband (my primary coach) had a long conversation that night and that is why he laid out the ground rules for me the next day. They are a great team of coaches to have!

[flippet]

[quote:59bd24e994="Mrs Redboots"]
[quote:59bd24e994]I will definitely check with my doctor when I finally get to have that appointment. In the meantime, I did a lot of reasearch, and all the sources seem to agree to stick to all the low impact, low cardio stuff like walking, swimming, and cycling, and not get the heart rate above 140.

Friends.....this is SO hard for me! I'm used to skating 10 sessions a week and working out 3 to 4 times a week.[/quote:59bd24e994]
You probably still can; but you may well find you are too tired to. The only thing I remember of my 2nd to 4th month of pregnancy is sleeping all the time, I was totally exhausted. Never sick, hardly ever even felt sick, but absolutely knackered! So the only thing you can do is [i:59bd24e994]listen[/i:59bd24e994] to your body. Skate as and when you can, after all, a few months of figures and moves will only improve your skating.[/quote:59bd24e994]


I agree with the 'you probably still can' part. I realize what all your sources have said, but sources are changing their ideas now about pregnancy and exercise. The guidelines are shifting to say that whatever your exercise schedule was before pregnancy, you can pretty much keep doing whatever you were doing, with only a very few exceptions. (I would put jumping on that list....but it all depends on the level of jumps you were doing. For instance, I certainly wouldn't limit an elite skater to 'no jumps', but they'd probably scale it back to easy doubles or singles. So, if you're a very secure jumper, I would only scale back on the harder or more iffy jumps for a while, and then perhaps scale back further, once your balance point shifts.) This, of course, assumes a normal, non-high-risk pregnancy. The idea behind the guidelines is that exercise is good, keeps you and the baby healthy and in shape for a hopefully easier delivery and faster recovery time. It's just no time to begin an exercise program, or make a drastic increase in activity from your former level, whatever it was.

I also agree with Annabel that you may simply be too tired to keep up your previous exercise/skating schedule for a while. Two of my friends are pregnant right now, between the 2nd and 5th months, and they're both just whupped.

Another of my friends skated through almost her entire pregnancy, though she didn't jump, because she hadn't learned to yet! Her doctor was like, gee, I don't think that's a good idea, BUT, her doctor had also never seen her skate. Too often, I think people, doctors included, think that 'adult skaters' must by nature be tottery and unstable, and that simply isn't the case. My friend was totally secure and stable--she wouldn't have gotten on the ice otherwise! And she mainly skated in circles and did a few edges. (My other pregnant skating friend, however, I NEVER would have recommended to skate--she was simply too unstable to begin with!)

Congratulations! Listen to your body and do what it tells you, and you'll be just fine.

[RoaringSkates]

My coach had a dance student who skated a test one night, had her baby the next day. She skated right up until her due date! Wow. So, I think it depends on you and your pregnancy. As said before, this might be a great time to start work on ice dance, develop your edges.

My coach told me that, so long as you skated before you were pregant and you keep skating continually during pregnancy, you get used to the changes in balance and are fine. Just avoid risky jumps and, if you feel off balance or sick, also spins. There is so much more to skating than just the jumps and spins, and I think that the exercise will be great. Also, the cold air may help with any nausea you have.

[Ice T]

Here's a little update on me......

First, I'm not experiencing any morning sickness (knock on wood!) -- YAY!

Second, I haven't had much ice time this week because of our club's competition (which my coach didn't let me participate in because of the jumps -- boo hoo!) :( My coach won't let me jump or "do anything dangerous" (which I think he includes spins in that category). So he has asked me just to do Moves and figures, which I love, but major YAWN when you know you are not allowed to do anything else. :roll: I personally think that he would be totally happy if I just went and sat in the stands for the next 8 months. :wink:

I keep thinking everyone is making such a bigger deal out of this, since I have been skating for over 8 years, but I promised everyone that I will be a good girl. And with my coach always on the ice when I'm there, and all the skate moms who know me, I just know I'll get busted if I do a spin or jump. Of course, my husband has also promised to make a surprise appearance at a practice session just to check on me. Ha! Ha! Yeah, they all know how I am!! :D

My biggest problem (as someone mentioned already) is being tired during the first trimester. So even when I just stroke around or do the program without the elements, it is VERY tiring. And since my little pregnancy book says not to exercise to the point of exhaustion, I take lots of breaks and keep the pace low key.

OH MY!!! This is going to be a LONG 8 more months of ice withdrawal. And even the rink moms are starting to organize babysitters for me so I can get right back out there after the baby comes. I guess I've got a pretty good support group both at home and the rink, for which I'm very grateful. :D

[Mrs Redboots]

[quote="Ice T"]Here's a little update on me......

First, I'm not experiencing any morning sickness (knock on wood!) -- YAY![quote]

Yet!!!! You may, of course, get away without having it; lots of people do, especially for a first baby.

The other thing I have just remembered was prompted by Roaringskates' post - when my coach's wife had her baby, she was on the ice until the day before (and, apparently, was still insisting she could go in and teach on the morning the baby actually arrived!). She was back teaching within three days - you can imagine what her adult pupils said to her, but she was adamant that she could - although it was at least a fortnight (ha!) before she was back on the ice. And, at that, she moaned for some time about things that hurt unexpectedly - camel spins, I believe, were the worst.... well, if you think about where you are liable to have stitches, you will see why....

But it is certainly possible to be skating, after a fashion, right up until you go into labour, and the more exercise you are able to take throughout your pregnancy, the better for both you and the baby.