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:
Congratulations on your pregnancy- you're probably feeling pretty good right about now! I just entered my last trimester and I still feel really good in the water. I've been swimming 3 to 4 times a week the whole time, and have gone from doing 3K per workout to 2000- 2500 now that I'm slower. I'm still doing flipturns too, and I find that butterfly is the only stroke that I can't really do anymore, but I still do a lap or two each workout. I tell my doctor that I still work out 6 days a week and she just says 'That's great'; I too wonder if she knows that what I do now is probably more than what 'normal' people do when they exercise (which is still nothing compared to the old 4 hours a day in the pool!).
Just pay attention to your body and swim easy or take extra rest if you need it- you'll know your limits. Just stick with it the whole time- I have acquaintances that are pregnant that don't exercise and they always complain about how they feel. Maybe I'm an anomoly but I've felt good so far and I think maintaining a decent level of fitness has had something to do with it.
Good luck!
Congratulations on your pregnancy- you're probably feeling pretty good right about now! I just entered my last trimester and I still feel really good in the water. I've been swimming 3 to 4 times a week the whole time, and have gone from doing 3K per workout to 2000- 2500 now that I'm slower. I'm still doing flipturns too, and I find that butterfly is the only stroke that I can't really do anymore, but I still do a lap or two each workout. I tell my doctor that I still work out 6 days a week and she just says 'That's great'; I too wonder if she knows that what I do now is probably more than what 'normal' people do when they exercise (which is still nothing compared to the old 4 hours a day in the pool!).
Just pay attention to your body and swim easy or take extra rest if you need it- you'll know your limits. Just stick with it the whole time- I have acquaintances that are pregnant that don't exercise and they always complain about how they feel. Maybe I'm an anomoly but I've felt good so far and I think maintaining a decent level of fitness has had something to do with it.
Good luck!
