V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER

We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/coachdirectory/searchbydiscipline.asp#MarilynTrout

Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at marilyn@mountainpedals.net, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.

^{V-Club member Bek M. is our 32nd winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate!  Her training question follows...}

Staying Fit During Pregnancy

Bek,

Congratulations! There is no better trophy than cradling the precious life that you will hold in your arms. The tiny “trophy” I was given just about 16 years ago, is now 6’2” and still very precious.

With all the thrill that comes with the “win”, there certainly is much concern about the many unknowns that come with pregnancy. There are fears that are common to all women no matter what level of fitness or “out-of-shapeness” one is in when given the news that they are pregnant. However, for women like us whose lifestyle is very much involved with an optimal level of fitness and being competitive about it, we need some practical guidelines to help us maintain this form without risking the development of the baby. (Deep down inside we also crave the assurance that we haven’t given up our racing form forever. Some days it definitely will seem like you have. You haven’t. Enjoy the journey, it’s a season.)

I found out I was pregnant the morning of the Athens Twilight Criterium, just after I returned from racing a very hot Tour of Bisbee. When I returned home, my doctor advised an ultrasound and realized then that there definitely were two of us racing in Bisbee. I was quite concerned about the tough training and racing I had done up until that point and voiced my fears to the doctor. I am so thankful for having a doctor who understood how to deal with a situation such as this. He put my fears to rest. Here are a few of the myths that have circulated about pregnancy and exercise.

Elevated Core Temperature: It was thought that exercise during pregnancy would elevate the mother’s core temperature enough to negatively impact the developing fetus. However, medical science demonstrates that pregnant women moderate their core temperature better than non-pregnant women.

Adrenaline Response: It has been said that women who exercise during their pregnancies experience premature births because of the catecholamine, or adrenaline, response. Although there is a transient elevation of fetal heart rate following exercise, it returns to baseline heart rate very quickly.

Oxygen and Nutrient Delivery:  It was also believed that the developing fetus’ rate of oxygen and nutrient delivery was shunted away to the internal organs during exercise. With the mother’s normal physiological adaptations to pregnancy being increased cardiac output and blood volume and the placenta’s development to ensure constant nutrient delivery, there is no need for concern that either oxygen or nutrients are being diverted elsewhere.

Although knowing that it is safe to exercise during pregnancy, it is most important that you know the contraindications (Table 1 & 2), see your health-care provider regularly and have been given the thumbs up to continue with your current exercise regimen (Table 3 recommendations). Once you have been given the OK, set yourself some goals that will help you maintain fitness, manage weight, combat fatigue and provide refreshment. Be willing to change your exercise regimen as your body changes.

Soooo … what can you do to make sure you don't lose too much power and speed afterward? I’ve given you some training parameters to help maintain your current fitness without compromising the development of your baby. Keep in touch with your new teammate, your doctor, go into this season with confidence and not worry or fear and by all means, enjoy the journey!

Table 1: Absolute Contraindications to Exercise During Pregnancy (Adapted from ACOG Committee Opinion 267,2002)

• Restrictive lung disease
• Hemodynamically significant heart disease
• Incompetent cervix or cervical cerclage
• Multiple gestation with risk for preterm labor
• Persistent second or third trimester bleeding
• Placenta previa after 26 weeks of gestation
• Premature labor during the current pregnancy
• Rupture of membranes
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension

Table 2: Relative Contraindications to Exercise During Pregnancy (Adapted From ACOG Committee Opinion 267, 2002)

• History of sedentary lifestyle
• Intrauterine growth retardation
• Poorly controlled hypertension
• Poorly controlled seizure disorder
• Poorly controlled insulin-dependant diabetes
• Severe anemia
• Chronic bronchitis
• Maternal cardiac arrhythmia
• Poorly controlled thyroid disease
• Extremely overweight (morbid obesity)
• Extremely underweight (BMI _ 12)
• Orthopedic limitations
• Heavy smoker

Table 3: Exercise Recommendations During Pregnancy

Avoid:

• Scuba diving
• High altitude activities
• Activities with risk of fall
• Activities with risk of abdominal trauma

FITT principle (frequency, intensity, time, and type) for elite athletes:
Frequency = 4 to 6 X per week
Intensity = 70% to 80% maximum heart rate or hard PE
Time = 60 to 90 minutes
Type = competitive activities as tolerated during pregnancy

Adapted from: Paisley T.S., E.A. Joy, and R.J. Price.
Exercise during pregnancy: A practical approach. Current Sports Medicine Reports
2:325–330, 2003.

Marilyn

Print | posted on Wednesday, October 07, 2009 8:39 AM