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disco piper
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 10:27 pm |
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Hello Bellas!
I'm 5 months pregnant and am looking for advice: How hard can I ride? For how long into the pregnancy? Do I really have another 4 months of no wine? And anything else you want to share... What was your experience? What have you heard? I originally posted this on the VB listserve so will be posting other's people's replies so far below - but feel free to ask your own questions and give your own advice! And what other Bellas are expecting?
Piper
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disco piper
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 10:30 pm |
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This was a response from Eliece Horton:
Here is some info I received from Wenzel cycling coach Roger Rintala whos wife did the Death ride pregnant!
When pregnant your training goal is to not to overheat and no to starve you baby of oxygen. This means mostly training in your endurance zone, which is 70 to 80% of max. or below. Even more important is not overheating, because your baby cannot control its own temperature, and you and your body cannot respond quickly to temperature changes with the life force and fluid in your belly.
You can safely train and build within your endurance and recovery zones and should be able to sustain these efforts for workouts of the same length you are accustomed to provided you listen well to your body and hydrate/nourish well. I’d suggest giving yourself a strict limit of not exceeding your anaerobic threshold. Exceeding AT causes your body to access rapidly available energy that is in limited supply and which is relatively expensive to use. Anaerobic energy systems allow you to generate short duration power/speed but without the efficient use of energy systems. (The name anaerobic is a bit of a misnomer as you continue to use aerobic systems also during this time.) This occurs when there is not enough available oxygen to support the effort you are demanding from your body. Crossing your AT is indicated by increased breathing and a slight warming of the leg muscles (after you are fully warmed up).
I’ve attached some notes from a Heart Rate Training clinic I’ve done for you. It includes heart rate testing instructions. There is no reliable method for estimating your max heart rate, you can only test to determine individual heart rates. While pregnant, you can safely do a self-test for anaerobic threshold (AT) (use the test by feel method if you can) but SHOULD NOT perform a max test.
Do you know what the highest heart rate you have ever seen is? I'll use Dawn as an example. Her max heart rate was 185 when she was training while pregnant. (HRmax is stable when healthy and only decreases slowly with age, ~1BPM per year). Her AT at the time of pregnancy was 162 bpm (AT is subject to change based on fitness, fatigue, and hearth). Her heart rate training goal while pregnant was to have ample warm up in zone 2 (60-70% of max); then build in endurance, zone 3, 70-80% of max, or 133-151 bpm, and not to go beyond her endurance zone.
It takes practice and training at these heart rates to become fit enough to ride with more power here and to accommodate hillier terrain. This is established by training consistently in these zones and not above. Also note that while pregnant, the physiological demands are substantial (you know this well already!) so additional recovery time is required and rides may need to be shorter.
In conjunction to effort management, Dawn also used some of the following to lower heatt rate:
She used yoga breathing to keep her heart rate at or below 151. Remember this number is 80% of max HR, and is normally well below AT so body tissues are not deprived of oxygen. When racing or training, if her HR exceeded 151, Dawn slowed her pace, still used yoga breathing, and started counting to 10. Only one time (at the top of Diablo) did her heartrate not immediately fall back into her endurance zone (the rapid falling of HR is a result of fitness and something you should also see I expect). At 10 seconds she stopped, got off of her bike, and continued counting. In only a few seconds her HR dropped back down, and she was able to resume cycling to the top staying within her endurance zone.
Breathing, mind control (think happy thoughts) and decreased effort are ways to lower heart rate.
Not overheating is more important. Stay hydrated: Start superhydrating 2 days prior to a big training day or event (what the heck, you have to pee all the time anyway). Use your water pack or bottles on your head and feet. Dawn wore her hair in double braids to keep it off of the back of her neck. Dress in easily removable layers so you keep warm during warm up, and cool during more exertion.
Using age to calculate max HR is not accurate. This formula was developed to describe the general population as a whole. It was never intended to pertain to individuals and simply reflects the average of the general population. Interestingly and predictably, when we plotted the HRs of all Wenzel Coaching clients a few years ago exactly zero had HRmax that matched 220-age. The line of best fit however, fell right on the 220-age line. It was another validation that fitness does not affect HRmax. I’ve had one athlete over the years who happened to fall on the 220-age, a coincidence. I know another athlete that at age 50 had a HRmax of 225 (small heart so higher pumping rate).
The 140 bpm "not to exceed" is arbitrary but safe for the general population. It doesn’t take into account much for individual variance much less individual fitness. I've seen that come up before, and Dawn's doctor said the same thing at first. When we presented her with the scientific data and numbers specific to Dawn, the doctor agreed and said to make sure we didn't exceed AT. Most people don't track it very closely, and as long as we were keeping an eye on it and not exceeding 80% of max and not depriving any tissues of oxygen and not overheating, our doctor was satisfied.
There is little to no clinical research on exercise intensity during pregnancy. Most of the data is anecdotal, come from sheep on treadmills not people on bikes, or uses small samples in highly controlled environments. I’ve heard of one study that showed even a brief maximal effort was safe as the mother’s body protected the child but I’ve never seen it and would never recommend such a test. My favorite article on the subject is by a cyclist/mom and can be found here: http://www.velonews .com/article/ 3767
Rest when you are tired and don’t push it. You will develop fitness as well at recovery intensity as endurance intensity without inducing as much fatigue. Also watch how your connective tissues feel as they will relax a great deal during pregnancy and this can have an impact on your pedal stroke and riding position/technique. You will likely want to ride more upright as the pregnancy progresses.
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disco piper
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 10:31 pm |
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This was a response from Lisa Dryer:
Hello friends!
There actually is quite a bit of research about exercise in pregnancy,
but most of it isn't readily accessible to most of us (for example,
comparing placental oxygenation and bloodflow rather than tidily
telling you what's safe and what isn't).
If you are interested in reading more about fitness in pregnancy - and
finding out why a HR limit 140 is nothing more than an arbitrary
number for most women (the Americal College of Obstetrics and
Gynecologists abandoned it years ago), plus reading lots of
well-summarized and helpful clinical research beyond treadmills and
sheep, pick up a copy of James Clapp's "Exercising Through Your
Pregnancy." It's a few years old but much better than the magazine
"Fit Pregnancy" and goes well beyond the lightweight suggestions most
pregnancy books have. There's even contact information if you're
interesting in participating in clinical research while pregnant!
(Sounds like a great idea and I plan to do it.)
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disco piper
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 10:35 pm |
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From Shannon Holden:
Hey guys,
So I have been sitting back reading a lot of these e-mails about riding and pregnancy. I thought I would just share my own experience and thoughts. Although I am definately not an expert. I am a Pro Mountain biker and have raced for VB the last 2 years. I have a little boy who is almost 3 so... busy busy. I rode my entire first pregnancy clear up until the night before I went into labor. Some people gave me crap for that but I followed everything my doctor said, keeping heartrate below 140-150, staying hydrated. I came back and was racing at the National races 8 months later. I am now 22 weeks pregnant second and trying to doing the same. Cycling is great for pregnancy and great for the baby, although "training" isn't. When your pregnant my personal opinion is that your number one concern should be to have a healthy baby. In then end, to me that is all that matters, knowing you did everything you could to have a healthy baby. So every ride/run/hike/ swim I do weather it be less that 1 hour or 3 hours I focus on what is best for the baby. Low heartrate, lots of water, and food. There is just no need to push any limits of any kind. Make sure you always listen to your body and what it needs. I was lucky with my first and was able to ride the entire pregnancy (albeit most of the last trimester on the trainer), but you never know. It may not be that way this time. So I guess what I am saying is do what is best for you and your baby, not what research says you can do. Listen to your doctor!!! What other time in your life can you put on a few pounds and have it be healthy!
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disco piper
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 10:36 pm |
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From Angie Koppa:
I totally agree with listening to your body. I rode as far as I could into my pregnancy and I could tell when I needed to slow down and take a break. I think that it helped to ride and keep the fitness there, but you just have to take it easy and get out of training mode and just enjoy it for the fitness, sanity of mind and the love of being on two wheels. There were many breaks and many rides, but the number one thing was always a healthy baby, and now she likes to come along on my rides in her bike trailer, so it all works out great!
Angie
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snorkelies
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Posted: Tue May 27th, 2008 11:35 pm |
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I biked to work 3 days during the week before Siara was born (15 miles each way), and I was going to bike in the Monday she was born, but my midwife kindly recommended against it. And I ran 8 miles the day my contractions started (Saturday). So you can keep going as long as everything feels ok.
I switched to riding only my mountain bike after about 5 months, I think. It was difficult for me to breathe on the road bike - I think leaning over pushed the uterus up into my lungs and I was always short of breath.
And I never raced or did hard workouts. I just didn't personally think it was worth it. I felt like my energy was supposed to be going towards the pregnancy, not intense training. Intense training can wait. I kept my heart rate around 150 running (~75%), probably even lower biking.
I continued to get slower and slower every day of the pregnancy... I was a good 2-3 minutes per mile slower running by the end. And it normally takes me ~55 min to bike to work, and I was up to ~70 min by the end. And I would regularly either cry at or scream at my husband for not loving me enough and riding slower on the way to work. But that is another issue all together :-)
Another thread on pregnancy/motherhood and biking is here:
http://velobellabb.com/forum23/100.html
Mindy
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disco piper
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Posted: Wed May 28th, 2008 03:16 pm |
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From Dianna Rose:
I would have to agree with all of you that say you have to listen to your body! I heard all the stories of women that rode up to the day they delivered and it became very apparent I was NOT going to be one of them.
I was in the best shape of my life when I became pregnant with my son. By month 3 of my pregnancy I was completely and totally unable to even do a 10 mile ride. (Or even walk to the fridge for another chocolate malt!) tee hee I *think* the way he was laying made it difficult to breathe. This was further complicated by the amount of fluids I retained. (by month 2 I no longer saw my ankles!!!)
Ah, but there is a bright side to this. Although I hadn't ridden or even trained for 7 months, 30 days from the day I gave birth to my son I did a century ride. Was I tired??? Yep..... Did my legs ache a bit the next day??? Yep..... Was I able to hang with the old group?? Yep.... Contrary to how you are feeling...you do not lose as much fitness as you would think! In fact, later that year I was riding with the A group again. (Call it 3 months after I had him.) Pretty miraculous considering I couldn't even do a 10 mile ride when I was pregnant! And....I was by no means out there training all day since I had a new little life to care for!
Don't sweat it..... you'll be ok... Your child is really the most important thing. You'll always have riding, but you don't get another chance to make it right by your child while you are "growing" him/her. My little guy is almost 2 now and I don't regret a thing!
Hope that helps!
Dianna
Michigan Bella
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katieb
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Posted: Wed Jun 4th, 2008 08:05 pm |
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A friend of mine told me that this topic came up again and I thought I'd share my experience.
I posted here about two years ago upon learning that I was pregnant. I had been racing at a Cat 3 level on the road and training 12-20 hours/week. My last race was Mt. Hood. I was anxious about losing my fitness and identity as a rider. I needn't have worried.
I didn't follow strict HR guidelines, mostly because I stopped wearing my HRM. I'd been wearing it for training for so long and I think it symbolized the discipline and rigor and structure of competitive cycling--all of the stuff that was starting to make me nuts. I learned quickly, however, that I couldn't overdo it, especially in the summer heat. One day about two months into the pregnancy I did a long, hilly ride with a former teammate of mine. She's naturally competitive and really pushed me beyond my comfort zone (w/out meaning to!) It was hard--I had to stop and recover--and I learned that even though I hadn't actually gained much weight at that point, I really couldn't let myself get dehydrated or come close to bonking. I needed to measure my effort more. After that, I only rode with people who were comfortable going my pace.
I also ended up choosing routes that were less traveled--lots of slow, methodical, base-pace climbing, with cautious descending. I never really had to make adjustments to my bike because my body adapted to it. I kept thinking that I would need to stop, but it took a long time. When I was 32 weeks pregnant, I climbed King's Mtn. A week later, however, it was starting to feel uncomfortable. Also, my family really objected to the risks that I was taking. None of them were cyclists and I don't think they realized how comfortable and balanced I was feeling--but they exerted a lot of pressure and I could tell that they were very upset. I ended up giving up riding for New Year's (baby was due 2/16) and going for hikes/swimming instead. It was hard, but probably for me the right decision.
I didn't start riding again until 6 weeks after having Henry. I felt very shaky at first--ironically, it was harder to balance without the huge belly that I'd been used to! Now, a year and three months later, I'm riding a fair amount and doing the occasional race, although I'm still not training the way I used to and my love for competitive cycling has diminished significantly. It's harder to justify the time away from my little family:-)
I encourage everyone to research the risks, be aware of them, and listen to your body. I don't think it's necessary to give up riding, but it is going to be a very different kind of riding from what you're probably used to doing and your riding buddies will probably have to either adapt to your pace or wait for you a lot. I'm happy with what I was able to do and will probably do something similar next time.
Katie
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Cathy Boland
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 04:55 pm |
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Hi Piper,
Congrats on your pregnancy. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (Alyse) 8 weeks ago. Here are some of the things I learned, did or didn't do, etc:
1) Alcohol and pregnancy - do you really have to abstain from all alcohol? No. Contrary to the element of fear here in the US, moderate drinking during pregnancy is just fine. The Europeans recommend no more than a glass a day. Even my ob said it was just fine. I continued to drink the occaisional glass of wine, beer or cosmopolitans from the day I found out I was pregnant until the day before I gave birth and Alyse was born perfectly healthy.
2) Exercise and pregnancy - I read James Clapp's "Exercising Through Your
Pregnancy" and found it to be the best source of information on the topic. I didn't bother with structured workouts - my goal was just to remain reasonably fit and do whatever I felt like. I listened to my body and if it was uncomfortable, I didn't do it. I managed to ride a single bike or the tandem for about seven months. After that, my belly got in the way of my breathing (and put so much pressure on my bladder that I had to pee every 30 minutes whether I needed to or not) and the saddle was just too uncomfortable to continue. I did lift moderate weights and walk/hike consistently through my pregnancy though. Some of the walks were pretty challenging until I just couldn't breathe anymore. Once again - if I felt for a hard effort, I did it. If I didn't, then I would just do something easy. Toward the end I really had to beat myself to do anything, so I kept the workouts easy. I have no idea how some women manage to do somewhat intense workouts throughout their pregnancies. I was just too physically uncomfortable to push it. But more power to them - if I got pregnant again (which I won't), I might be able to do more.
3) Weight gain - do you really have to gain 30+ lbs? Nope - I gained only 19 lbs and Alyse was born a healthy 6 lbs 10 oz. She was perfectly proportional with her height and weight. I didn't try to diet or anything - I just ate normally (healthy food and ate until I wasn't hungry anymore) and didn't indulge myself. It probably helped that I carried high and basically had no room in my stomach for food. Acid reflux from hell didn't help with the appetite either. I was down to my prepregnancy weight in a week.
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katieb
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 05:31 pm |
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A couple of other thoughts: different OBs have different levels of risk tolerance. Mine encouraged me to have a glass of wine now and then after making it through my first trimester. I took advantage of this a few times but it definitely felt weird--it's certainly not culturally acceptable in the US, although in Europe it seems to be more common. I also never quite gave up coffee, although there was a point late in the third trimester when I had severe heartburn and wasn't interested in it anymore. I *was* pretty strict about avoiding uncooked fish (can contain parasites) and unpasteurized cheeses. Apparently listeria is no joke.
I read recently (re: sushi, which was the hardest thing to give up) that in Japan, most restaurants only serve fish that has been frozen, so the organisms that would be harmful are all killed. This is not necessarily the case in the US, so sushi here is probably not as safe. I thought that was interesting.
There are two schools of thought: one is that most things can be enjoyed in moderation (e.g. biking, wine, coffee, dessert, etc.) and most babies end up fine, so there's no need to go nuts. The other school of thought is that you have a nine-month window during which you might wish to make sacrifices to optimize your chances of having a healthy baby. Why not do everything right, since it's for a limited amount of time? One of my friends, who didn't think much of my biking ways, said "you'd never forgive yourself if something happened." I have sympathy with both viewpoints although I tended to be more of the moderation camp. Exercise keeps me even-keeled and helps me get through the day and moderate attention deficits and mood swings. I don't think it would be good for anyone to have me give it up.
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Cathy Boland
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Posted: Fri Jun 6th, 2008 05:58 pm |
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| yeah - the caffeine thing...I would have continued with coffee if I hadn't lost all taste for it between the first trimester sickness and the continual acid reflux after the sickness was gone. I did drink black tea though.
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ladyroadie
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Posted: Thu Jul 17th, 2008 04:11 pm |
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I have about 9 more weeks to go--and I'm ready to get my baby out! I miss my bike. I've been too big in the belly to reach the bars LOL! Prenatal Yoga and light weightlifting have been my exercises of choice since walking/running is too uncomfortable--having trouble with sacroiliac joint pain.
FYI, exercise in pregnancy is recommended, and as a physician, i have long been tooting this fact. The reasons not to bike are due to balance problems from the bigger belly, etc. As long as you can balance and aren't at risk for toppling over onto your pregnant tummy, go for it. Just keep your core body temperature in check so you don't overhead--with ANY activity--as its the inc heat that is problematic.
Good luck to any of the other ladies out there who are also expecting 
sheryl
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