Benefits of Exercise During Late Pregnancy Revisited
Me at 6 days post-partum. The tummy is still there, but the legs are lean.
Back in January I blogged about the advantages of being highly active throughout an entire woman’s pregnancy. For myself, I taught boot camp classes consisting of high intensity interval training work up until the week before I delivered (I did exercises such as jump squats, jumping jacks, burpees, plank-ups and band squat rows done intensely in an interval training session for an hour or more), and lifted heavy in the gym (including exercises such as heavy deadlifts, bench press and rows). In my last week of pregnancy, I did take it easy, but still lifted weights lightly every other day and walked my dogs every day.
Overall, my pregnancy was incredibly healthy, which is evident by the fact that I very easily birthed a 7lb, 5oz little girl who was given 9 out of 10 on her APGAR scores at birth and who sleeps well, breast feeds well, and is not fussy at all.
My body loved the exercise too – my total weight gain through the whole pregnancy was 15lbs, and resulted in no stretch marks, with fat loss off my legs and butt. Even with my bad back (I have a spondylolithesis), I did not have ANY major issues with back aches or pain, despite being told I’d be in a wheel chair when I was pregnant by one of my sports medicine doctors (moron…).
Now post-partum, I’ve returned to my pre-pregnancy weight. Considering that this new weight is with added “milk” and a shrinking uterus, it supports the notion of fat loss DURING pregnancy and the ability to birth a very healthy baby. You can see in the picture above how I look right now. I'm pretty happy with myself like this for now.
As I posted back in January, there was a list of other benefits that researchers, particularly James Clapp III, have uncovered when women stay very physically active. Let’s look at those again, now with a new perspective:
- First, the mother accumulates less body fat. This is completely TRUE, in my case at least. As I noted, I LOST body fat during my pregnancy and am continuing to lose it now.
- Second, you have a positive sense of well-being and vigor when you might tend to be pessimistic, depressed or lethargic . TRUE. I only had one negative week during my whole pregnancy. For the rest, I was very positive and happy (tired sometimes, but still happy).
- Third, you have a reduced incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (colds, sinusitis, etc). TRUE. I only had one cold during my pregnancy around Christmas time. I didn’t need any antibiotics and just let my body work it out.
- Fourth, you'll tend to have an easier, shorter and less complicated labor. TRUE. My story couldn’t be farther from the truth. If it was any truer, this baby would have been born in the car on the ride to the hospital.
- Fifth, you can actually IMPROVE your fitness level and physical performance. TRUE. I was fitter during my pregnancy than I was before.
- Sixth, your baby has developed an improved tolerance to stress and as such, can handle the stress of labor much better. TRUE. Probably the fact that baby April had to put up with jumping jacks and squats, she actually started crying the second her head came out and BEFORE her body had finished birthing. It was a little freaky, but completely cool. Also, even though I had Group B Strep, she didn’t contract it at all and didn’t have to be put on antibiotics (neither did I because labor went so fast).
- Seventh, your baby has less body fat, but is still able to maintain its body temperature. TRUE. Baby April is lean, but still healthy. The doctor who examined her was very impressed.
- Eighth, your baby will most likely be more mature at birth, meaning, they respond readily to environmental cues and will self-quiet themselves if disturbed when napping. TRUE. April is so aware of her surroundings and she doesn’t have any issues napping. Only if she’s hungry or has a dirty diaper does she wake. And, that’s ok with me J
- Ninth, your baby will also be a better sleeper (less likely to wake easily). TRUE. Baby April sleeps in 5 hour stretches or more during the night and 3 to 4 hours during the day. It’s perfect.
- Tenth, your baby will probably perform better on standardized intelligence tests as they advance in age. NOT SURE ABOUT THIS YET. But, I’ll report on it in time.
- Finally, your baby will grow to be a less-fat adult. NOT SURE YET – she’s only a week old. But, with how active her father and I are, and how good our nutrition choices are, I can’t see her growing into an overweight adult at all.
And so, that’s it. As you can read, most of what was stated turned out true for me and my baby April, and I couldn’t be happier. If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, I encourage you to be as active as you possibly can while eating well and not ignoring when your body wants something (be it food, rest or less activity).
Ok, back to motherhood! This is a great time in life! Thanks for visiting my blog!
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Books by Cassandra
The New Rules of Lifting for Women
Finally, a weight-training book that doesn't treat women like weaklings! The New Rules of Lifting for Women is for the woman who's ready to throw down the "Barbie" weights and start a strength and conditioning program that will give her the body of her dreams. The book puts to rest the shop-worn notion that women who train with heavy weights will bulk up. Nonsense!
Perfect Body Diet
Cassandra Forsythe is the author of Women's Health first-ever diet and fitness plan book. In the Perfect Body Diet, she helps you understand why women are different from each other and how they can address these differences with a personalized meal plan to help them achieve their own perfect body. She's incorporated a revolutionary hunger-reducing aid, that will help women feel fuller, eat less, and stay satisfied while losing weight safely and effectively.
Comments for This Entry
Cassandra,
Congratulatons to you and your baby! You surely are an inspiration to other pregnant women. I am happy to hear you espouse the positive benefits of regular, high-intensity exercise and strength training during pregnancy, and benefits of living a healthy lifestyle!
I have been able to train many pregnant females, but always (as a male) find it hard to push a female beyond 'maintaining' their fitness level.
I often found that many of these female clients would sometimes develop abdominal pain (docs attribute it to a round ligament strain) and or contractions during the latter part of their pregnancy. Did you experience any abdominal pains or contractions with training during the latter part of your pregnancy?
Hi Cassandra! Congratulations on your new baby girl and healthy pregnancy! You look great and I know April will benefit from your healthy habits and example. I was curious about when you plan to resume exercise and what kinds you will start with. What is it like to recover from birth? Thanks!
You are a great example! I am 14 weeks and still running. No double digit runs, but 7 miles has been quite doable several times a week. I am hoping to keep it up for as long as I can!
Cassandra,
Congratulations! I stumbled upon your blog and what a lucky find. I do have one of your books but it took me a little bit to put two and two together.
Anyway, I am in my 27th week and have been exercising regularly and was so happy to hear your success story. The question I have for you is about your diet- what was a regular day's diet like for you while pregnant? I'd love to get some perspective.
Thanks!
At first, congratulations on the birth of your beautigful daughter. There is nothing better than that, isn`t it?! Second, congratulations on exercising troughout your pregnanc! I am a mother from Germany and I exercised as well until the day I had my daughter who is now 9 months old. I am a long-distance runner, I stopped running but I continued weight training, epiliptical and fitness classes. i only worked with machines for I was not accustomed to free weights but now I have switched to free weights which is much better! I actually possess the book "New rules...for women" that you co-autored - it is cool (especially that you needn`t eat low calories)! I also only gained 15 pounds during my pregnancy and my child was at a normal weight (as she was born at 36, 5 weeks but she was perfectly developped fro that stage of pregnancy).
I would like to know your opinion of the following: I have read on a blog of a woman who is seriously weight training, ususally between 14-16% of body fat and continued to exercise while pregnant that she felt she lost about 8 pounds of muscle while pregnant. Is it a known phenomenon that pregnant woman that were higly athletic before tend to lose (that much) muscle? I also felt (though not to such a high degree) that my body composition had changed a little until I worked out again at my pre-pregnancy level. Do you have an opinion about this? Thank you very much and all the best!
Thank you everyone!
Hi Dan - No, I didn't have any pains like that at all or any early contractions. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't affected by those. Thanks for asking though!
Hi Ginger - well, I'm not feeling up to returning to exercise at all yet. I am moving during the day doing a lot of housework and lightly walking my dogs, but that's about it. I really am low on energy, but am flying high on the joy of motherhood. I'll blog about my return to exercise as soon as that happens :) Thank you!
Shannon - That's great! Keep it up! It feels great! :)
Faith - I'll blog about this in detail, but to be honest, I just ate well and that's all I can say I did. I didn't count calories or any macronutrients. I just ensured I ate protein with most meals, included lots of good dietary fat (I lived off coconut oil and egg yolks), and ate lots of fruits and vegetables. I'll outline a typical day so you can see what I did.
Iris - I think there is some muscle loss definitely if a woman is not eating enough food to at least maintain her muscle tissue. This woman you describe does seem to be one that isn't eating enough. But, I can't say that for sure.
As far as the second part of your question: I'm not sure I understand what you're asking. Can you re-state your question and I'll do my best to answer. Sorry for the confusion.
Best, Cassandra
Thank you for your detailed reply! I just wanted to add in my comment that I thought that I lost some muscle during pregnancy as well, but certainly not as much as eight pounds. The lady I described ate an adequate amount of calories, if I understood her right, from what she guessed her loss of muscle was from havinf worked out really hard before pregnancy and than switching to a more moderate level while pregnant.
I've heard about great articles about exercising during the time of pregnancy! If done properly it will you to easily labored your baby. It also need proper precautions..Not to much would be best!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing your healthy pregnancy! I have heard awesome things about NROLFW and I hope you write a book on healthy pregnancy after your experience. It is so wonderful to benefit from your combination of experience in nutrition, exercise, and motherhood! Thank you!
A very interesting experience, thanks. I don't know many mothers who have gone through pregnancy in such an active way! You seem to have enjoyed many benefits.
I still remember when my wife was pregnant and confused about her weight. Exercise during pregnancy is very necessary to maintain the health of the mother and baby. Congratulations on your new baby!
Exercise during pregnancy is one of the best thing to do for every pregnant women,and for her baby.
Congrtulaions on your new baby girl I 'm sure you're going to enjoy her.
Cassandra,
I have been reading your blog for a month or so and I thoroughly enjoy it. I was referenced to you from Kevin Neeld at Endeavor Sports Performance where I work part-time with them! When I started looking at your blog, ironically for a class I am in, I need to start finding some peer-reviewed research on pregnancy and exercise(pretty vague I assume). I was wondering if you could lead me in the right direction of a website for some research articles to reinforce the importance of exercise during pregnancy.
-Matt Siniscalchi
Cassandra,
I have been reading your blog for a month or so and I thoroughly enjoy it. I was referenced to you from Kevin Neeld at Endeavor Sports Performance where I work part-time with them! When I started looking at your blog, ironically for a class I am in, I need to start finding some peer-reviewed research on pregnancy and exercise(pretty vague I assume). I was wondering if you could lead me in the right direction of a website for some research articles to reinforce the importance of exercise during pregnancy.
-Matt Siniscalchi
Congrats for having a cute baby and thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
I was doing some research on high intensity workout while pregnant and came across your blog. I am really into high intensity workouts and was concerned about doing it while pregnant. You have eased my mind.... thank you! I am only 4 weeks along.
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