I've been a competitive swimmer now for 18 years (makes me feel old just to say it) and I'm pregnant with my first child. I keep reading that you don't have to modify your swimming workouts when you're pregnant, but in those same websites, I see things like "Try doing *** stroke to eliminate the strain of torso rotation" so I know they haven't the slightest clue about competitive swimming or real training.
So my question is, does anyone have any good resource for how hard you can push yourself swimming while pregnant? And don't tell me to ask my doctor because I'm guessing she knows even less about swimming than "babycenter.com". My primary concern is with becoming slightly hypoxic while swimming (during flip turns and underwater pull outs). I often come up a little breathless, but am okay within a stroke or two. If I weren't pregnant, I wouldn't think anything about this, but it's hard to know if that's "bad" for the little one.
Any thoughts or direction would be greatly appreciated.:drown:
Parents
Former Member
Congratulations swimchick!
Although I was not a swimmer during my pregnancies, my team has recently had three expectant mommas in the pool, one of whom is now doing an encore.
All three were very fit, competitive swimmers before thier pregnancies, so thier experiences may not be typical. All swam with our team practices throughout, moving to slower lanes as needed when feeling tired, or when they got bigger towards the end.
I remember hearing them talking about doctor recommendations. They were all told to watch thier heart rates (there was a max heart rate one mentioned, but I can't remember where it was. Maybe your doc could answer this one?). The other caution was about swimming in warm water, but it seemed that that was more applicable to therapy pools or hot tubs.
Realizing that you're not sure your doctor understands swimmers, maybe he/she could give you general guidelines for athletes. One would think that target heart rates should be the same for runners, cyclists, or just pre-natal aerobic or yoga.
Good luck!
Dana
Congratulations swimchick!
Although I was not a swimmer during my pregnancies, my team has recently had three expectant mommas in the pool, one of whom is now doing an encore.
All three were very fit, competitive swimmers before thier pregnancies, so thier experiences may not be typical. All swam with our team practices throughout, moving to slower lanes as needed when feeling tired, or when they got bigger towards the end.
I remember hearing them talking about doctor recommendations. They were all told to watch thier heart rates (there was a max heart rate one mentioned, but I can't remember where it was. Maybe your doc could answer this one?). The other caution was about swimming in warm water, but it seemed that that was more applicable to therapy pools or hot tubs.
Realizing that you're not sure your doctor understands swimmers, maybe he/she could give you general guidelines for athletes. One would think that target heart rates should be the same for runners, cyclists, or just pre-natal aerobic or yoga.
Good luck!
Dana
