Gravel Cycling and Pregnancy
At one time, the medical advice given to pregnant women was to take it easy and keep their heart rate below 140 beats per minute with any exercise, which was a challenge as on average a pregnant woman’s heart rate increases by 15 bpm in the first trimester. Unfortunately, some medical professionals will still give this advice or will be reluctant when a woman says she wants to continue to ride her bike throughout her pregnancy.
First let’s level set by saying there may be valid medical reasons for that advice, like high-risk pregnancy, extreme morning sickness that keeps a woman’s body from being able to fuel properly, or another comorbidity. Some women also feel exhausted or uncomfortable and don’t want to ride during pregnancy. Olympic Gold Medalist Gwen Jorgenson is in her second pregnancy. She ran on average 70 miles a week during her first pregnancy because she felt good running. Now she finds herself with no desire to run and is swimming and biking for exercise. The best thing any woman can do is listen to her body throughout her pregnancy.
It also helps to understand some of the ways hormones and physical changes are impacting the body as well as how to adapt your riding during pregnancy. This is meant to be a broad overview to help you get started, not as targeted medical or training advice.
Relaxin - A New Hormone
Although your estrogen and progesterone are surging and hCG is often giving you morning sickness, an overlooked hormone that can have a big impact on active women is called Relaxin. One of the biggest challenges that some women face during pregnancy is they no longer feel stable on their feet. This is due to more than just the growing baby bump, it’s because of Relaxin. This hormone is produced by the placenta and surges when the baby has a growth spurt. Its goal is to soften the cervix and relax the ligaments in the pelvis for delivery but its effects are not limited to the pelvic region! It will also soften the ligaments and tissues throughout the body, resulting in joint instability and pain.
When riding, you may feel more wobbly on your bike, or have pain in your wrists, hips, or ankles. It’s likely your friend Relaxin, preparing your body for birth. There’s nothing you can do to mitigate the effects of Relaxin on the body but if you’re feeling more unsteady on your feet at certain times, you may want to try a flat route or stationary bike option. Switching to flat pedals may also help you feel more comfortable when getting on/off the bike or when stopping.
Strength
Core strength is really important for women who want to enjoy exercise throughout their pregnancy and return to exercise quickly post-pregnancy. I even had a conversation with a woman who says her biggest regret was not focusing on her core strength when she knew she wanted to get pregnant or in the early months of her pregnancy.
A strong core will help you maintain posture throughout your pregnancy and has been associated with a faster recovery after labor. Keep in mind that the core is everything from your shoulders to your hips including the back, pelvic floor muscles, abdominals, glues, and diaphragm muscles. Focus on exercises that help you strengthen the entire core with a focus on the low back. Planks, bird dogs, side planks, and then if you want to add weight-loaded carries like a suitcase carry.
It’s not recommended that you perform exercises laying flat on your back for longer periods of time after the first trimester. The weight on your uterus can restrict circulation and cause you to feel dizzy or short of breath.
Another caution is to avoid rotational exercises. The abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy (called diastasis recti) and the addition of rotational movements can accentuate that separation.
Fueling
Although we’ve long been told to ‘eat for two’ during pregnancy, there is a general baseline of calories that pregnant women should be adding.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends the following general guidelines for calorie increases per trimester :
First trimester: no required extra calories
Second trimester: approximately 340 calories a day above baseline needs
Third trimester: approximately 450 calories above baseline needs
So once you’re giving your body a baseline of what it needs during pregnancy, plan for your riding fueling on top of that. If you’ve always used liquid nutrition, your body may adapt better to real food during rides.
Note, that it’s important to listen to your body and not restrict calories. If find yourself starving all the time, feed yourself!
Your hydration needs also increase during pregnancy so take that into account when planning a route. Aim to drink at least one bottle per hour during a ride, and plan on more.
Velocio//Exploror Team member Caro Poole rode throughout her pregnancy and had this advice: ‘Definitely bring more than usual. I found myself to be a little more dehydrated than usual and of course a lot more hungry. I learned that the hard way and bonked a few times at the beginning of my pregnancy and rushed home to pick up McDonalds’.
The ride
Rather than monitoring heart rate, the best measure of intensity while riding during pregnancy is that you should be able to pass the ‘talk test’. This means that you can maintain a light conversation throughout the ride.
Often women will switch from a gravel bike to a mountain bike during pregnancy. Depending on how you carry the baby, the more upright position of the mountain bike is often more comfortable. You also may be able to adjust the handlebar or saddle position on your gravel bike to make things more comfortable. Having access to an e-bike can also make riding with friends more comfortable during pregnancy.
Poole also advises that the biggest thing you can do for yourself when riding during pregnancy is to not compare yourself to others, or to your pre-pregnancy self.
Your body will dictate what you can and can’t do. Some women can comfortably ride right up until their due date, while others start to feel very uncomfortable on the bike as they get further into their pregnancy.
Listening to your body becomes more important than ever during pregnancy. As endurance athletes, we often learn to push through fatigue, cramping, or pain. During pregnancy, those things could be a sign that something is off and is an indication to talk to a medical professional for further advice.
Further reading :