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| POSTED 3/20/2006 |
Fit and Pregnant |
Many athletes worry about losing their fitness level when they become pregnant. While that may be true for some women, a new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that with enough safe exercise, a woman who is already fit may be able to maintain her strength and stamina.
The Norwegian researchers compared two groups of expectant, stellar athletes who had no pregnancy complications. One group performed eight-and-a-half hours of strength training and aerobic exercise weekly. The other group did the same strength training but less aerobic exercise for a total of six hours weekly.
The athletes who worked out longer maintained their initial fitness levels during pregnancy and experienced higher maximum aerobic capacity 12 weeks after delivery compared with their prepregnancy initial fitness level. They also burned more fat as fuel in the first 12 weeks postpartum than the women who performed shorter workouts.
Date Posted: March 20, 2006
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