RE: Swimming and pregnancy

Former Member — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 06:35:08 GMT

You should be here. forums.usms.org/forumdisplay.php Hi there "mvanrooden", I'm Danielle, and I've been writing the workouts for the Expectant and New Mom's for the past 2.5 years here at USMS. I've heard from many women since I started about this same thing you are describing. One woman described it to me as hitting a wall and feeling as though they could not literally take another stroke. You are in excellent shape from the description you give about yourself and your training background - so in addition to what the others have said about talking with your OB, I will add in this advice: 1.) Make your warm-up longer, and be sure to include at least a 50 or a 100 of some easy Backstroke and/or Breaststroke, as doing 90% Freestyle can wear you out 2.) If you feel this sudden onset of tingly legs or dizziness, stop swimming for a while and just float on your back, lightly kicking and focus on your breathing. You can even do a light pulling action like you're swimming Elementary Backstroke while doing this, if you want. 3.) If you still feel tingly or dizzy, stop and stand up - do some water-walking for a little bit until you feel back to normal, then try swimming again, starting off with some easy Backstroke, while focusing on your breathing. 4.) Every pregnant woman comes to a point in their pregnancy where they can no longer do any kind of "strong" swimming, and descending sets become near impossible. If 23 weeks is that point for you, don't fret, but keep swimming nice and slow! Even slow, short workouts will benefit you as your progress in your pregnancy. I always say, "a short swim is better than no swim!" You could even use the time in the water as "me time" where you can zone out on all things baby - thinking about fun stuff like decorating the nursery, places you want to go for stroller walks after the baby is born, etc. In my workouts that I post in my forum, I do mix up the workouts with strokes, drills, kicking, build sets, descend sets, moderate sets, vertical kick sets, etc. I write 3 levels of workouts - ranging from 2200 yards up to 4500 yards. You don't have to do my workouts exactly as written - you can always alter them to your preference or shorten them if needed. If you have any specific questions, please let me know! Happy Swimming-through-Pregnancy! --Coach Danielle

RE: Swimming and pregnancy

Britt03 — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 07:53:02 GMT

have a 14 week old and swam until the day I delivered. I swam with a heart rate monitor because I tend to just "go". It helped me a lot although towards the end, only a 25 "float-freestyle" would make my heartrate skyrocket. Everyone is different though and I talked a lot to my OBGYN about working out throughout pregnancy. I encourage you to talk to your doc about it and find a way to stay active but not overdo it. That's the most important thing during pregnancy.

RE: Swimming and pregnancy

Bobinator — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:41:39 GMT

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.

RE: Swimming and pregnancy

Bill Sive — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:24:31 GMT

You should be here. forums.usms.org/forumdisplay.php