AboutHelene Byrne Expertise I can answer all questions regarding prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise.
I will not answer any questions that are not related to prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise. I will not answer questions regarding getting pregnant, or signs or symtoms, only fitness and exercise during and after pregnancy.
No due dates, medical problems during pregnancy, signs or symtpoms of pregnancy, pregnancy tests, vaginal problems/smells/discharge, periods or ovulation.
Experience Pre-and-Postnatal Exercise Specialist
ACE certified Personal Trainer
Author: "Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best" Book
Author: "Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning" DVD
Founder: BeFit-Mom
Teacher: Post Pregnancy Exercise Workshops
Organizations IDEA Health and Fitness Association
Publications numerous regional parenting magazine
Education/Credentials Dancing Thru Pregnancy, Pre/Post Natal Exercise Specialist Certification 2000
Resist-a-Ball Core Program, 1999
American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1999
Peak Performance, San Francisco, CA, Pilates Instructor Training Program, 1992
Health and Fitness Institute, Cal State Hayward, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1990
American College of Sports Medicine, Group Exercise Leader, 1989
Boston Conservatory, BFA/Dance, 1982
Awards and Honors �Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning�, 2005. Winner of the Platinum Award from the Family Review Center, 2007.
Question I am 7 weeks pregnant and 12 weeks away from my 2nd 1/2 marathon. I am concerned that I am behind schedule due to fatigue and wonder where I can find a training schedule specifically for early pregnancy, as well as what diet changes I need to make to keep baby and me healthy.
Answer If you are in excellent physical condition, then running a half-marathon at 20 weeks gestation might be feasible. But pregnancy is NOT a time to keep to a rigid training schedule.
Fatigue is a common complaint of the first trimester. It's important that you listen to your body and if you need to reduce the intensity and or duration of your workouts, then you should do so. Trying to push through the fatigue dramatically increases your chance of injury, which is the last thing you want to happen.
The pregnant athlete is an area of very little study, so I do not know of any specific training regimes for the first trimester. Most women aim to maintain their fitness routines during the first trimester, then gradually begin to taper down their workouts from about 20 weeks onward.
But every pregnancy is different. Some women breeze through the first trimester, others don't. Some women can continue to run safely into the third trimester, others need to stop running and switch to non-impact exercise by 26 weeks.
As to nutrition, you need to eat the highest quality diet that you can, in the proper amount. This means that you need to add an additional 100 calories per day for the first trimester, and then 300 calories for the second and third trimesters to account for the additional metabolic load of pregnancy. On days that you train, you'll also need to approximate the number of calories that your burned while exercising, and eat that amount so that you are never calorie deficient during pregnancy.
