I am currently 23 weeks pregnant and am still pretty active. I will do some sort of workout at least 5 days/week. Mainly running and swimming. The last 3 or 4 weeks or so, I have noticed that I am struggling with the swim workouts. Barely make it to 1000-1500 yards. I break down my sets within the workout a lot and take more than plenty of rest in between. I understand the processes/dynamics that have changed due to the pregnancy (great article below), which explains the symptoms I am having at about 1000 yards into a swim: tingling in legs and arms and fatigue. I am assuming that is caused due to lack of oxygen getting to my muscles. My main question is if there is anything I can do differently/adjust so I can stay in the pool a little longer than I have been.
www.usms.org/.../articledisplay.php
Little bit of background on me: endurance athlete > marathoner, ironman distance events, etc. I like the long stuff. I have to admit that with swimming I am more a steady/long, than fast/short type of swimmer, but that is mainly due to the endurance events I am training for. Maybe that is why my VO2 is suffering faster during the swim now that I am pregnant. When swimming, I probably do 90% freestyle and right now I don't use any equipment, since that takes even more energy for me.
Any advice is welcome!
I swam and ran through 3 pregnancies and had 3 healthy and large babies. My advice is to discuss this with your OB. Every person and pregnancy is different. I'd explain the fatigue to your doc and let them advise you accordingly.
I swam and ran through 3 pregnancies and had 3 healthy and large babies. My advice is to discuss this with your OB. Every person and pregnancy is different. I'd explain the fatigue to your doc and let them advise you accordingly.
