Published: 18 November 2015 Edwina Sutton, Running through menopause.
Tips on running during pregnancy
If you're heading out on a run whilst pregnant, follow these top tips:
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Connect with your baby on your runs.
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Slow down, walk when you need to and always stop if you’ve any pain or feel tired.
3. Take your time
Trying to run the same distances will leave you exhausted, so cut back and compensate by walking to feel you’ve still done a session.
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As you get bigger your gravity changes; running downhill gets tricky as the bump gets bigger, and it can feel uncomfortable. Pick flat routes and walk the downhills. Try trails or grass if you find roads jarring, and stay close to home in case you feel tired.
Tips on running post-pregnancy
Here's Sutton's top tips on getting back into running post-birth:
5. Connect with your baby on your runs
The recommended guidelines to return to running are six weeks after vaginal birth and 10 weeks after a caesarean. But I recommend spending the first 12 weeks working on your core, and check with an osteopath about spine and pelvis alignment.
6. Build slowly
After my pregnancies I built up to walking 10km a day with the pram before even starting running. Once running, I kept my expectations low – six times two minutes, with five minutes walking in between.
7. Be aware of your body’s changes
While breastfeeding, my bra size increased and I found I needed to wear two sports bras to minimise bounce.
8. a personal trainer, ultra runner and mum-of-three
You need to do pelvic floor work to avoid stress incontinence. Try abdominal bracing: lie on your back and pull your abdomen in, as if someone is about to hit you in the stomach. Then perform different movements with your stomach pulled in. Try lifting one arm overhead, then the other, then both. Once you can do this progress to legs, then legs and arms, then opposite legs and arms. After finishing each movement, release your abs.
