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:
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Former Member
Congratulations, swimchick! I hope you have a comfortable pregnancy and a smooth delivery. Like you, I wanted to continue swimming during my pregnancy, and my doctor was in favor of it. (I was worried b/c this was my first, and I'm over 40--but my doctor had no worries. I even swam a meet when I was 11 weeks; it was, though, a slow go for me.) I found an additional good resource was a book called Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James F. Clapp III, MD.
I found swimming to take the edge off of morning sickness, and it also helped me get through the foggy & sleepy period that comes w/the first trimester. Second trimester was great b/c I felt good, but as I got bigger, I had to modify workouts somewhat. (Open turns, etc.) I found breaststroke to be very difficult as my belly expanded, and I swam mostly freestyle and backstroke. Longer distances became pretty challenging, but I just continued to modify. If the group was doing 200s of something, I did 150s. As the pregnancy went on, I moved to a slower paced lane, but kept swimming. During third trimester, I recall asking my doctor if I could still swim hard (sprints) and he had no problem w/it. He kept reassuring me that swimming would have a big payoff during delivery, and he was right!!!
Overall, I felt confident in my doctor's ability to assess my situation, so I felt comfortable swimming. I also know that each situation is different, so I hope the anecdotal info as well as the book give you some guidance. Keep us posted on your progress, and best of luck to you in the coming months!
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Former Member
Congratulations, swimchick! I hope you have a comfortable pregnancy and a smooth delivery. Like you, I wanted to continue swimming during my pregnancy, and my doctor was in favor of it. (I was worried b/c this was my first, and I'm over 40--but my doctor had no worries. I even swam a meet when I was 11 weeks; it was, though, a slow go for me.) I found an additional good resource was a book called Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James F. Clapp III, MD.
I found swimming to take the edge off of morning sickness, and it also helped me get through the foggy & sleepy period that comes w/the first trimester. Second trimester was great b/c I felt good, but as I got bigger, I had to modify workouts somewhat. (Open turns, etc.) I found breaststroke to be very difficult as my belly expanded, and I swam mostly freestyle and backstroke. Longer distances became pretty challenging, but I just continued to modify. If the group was doing 200s of something, I did 150s. As the pregnancy went on, I moved to a slower paced lane, but kept swimming. During third trimester, I recall asking my doctor if I could still swim hard (sprints) and he had no problem w/it. He kept reassuring me that swimming would have a big payoff during delivery, and he was right!!!
Overall, I felt confident in my doctor's ability to assess my situation, so I felt comfortable swimming. I also know that each situation is different, so I hope the anecdotal info as well as the book give you some guidance. Keep us posted on your progress, and best of luck to you in the coming months!
