Fit Pregnancy

By Gordo Byrn

On October 14th, Monica gave birth to our daughter Alexandra (she's the one in the photo above). Seeing as I'm the writer in the family, I will share some observations across the last ten months.

We have all heard stories about massive weight gain during pregnancy. I've heard stories of women gaining up to 80 pounds across their pregnancies. Listening to these tales, many women must wonder if large amounts of baby weight are the norm. Do I have to become huge, to have a healthy baby? Monica's experience might be relevant to you.

Before we start with the pregnancy, I want to mention a little bit about the year before the pregnancy. When you look at the athletes racing in Kona, or ITU Worlds, you will see that most participants are optimized for performance, rather than personal health. In fact, I'd guess that many very fast elite athletes (male and female) would have trouble conceiving when they are peak athletic condition.

So my first recommendation for athletes seeking to conceive is to get a medical check-up and shift the basis of your athletics from performance, to health. That is something that Monica and I did across last winter. Although I continued to ride my bike, my overall training stress was low enough that I had sufficient energy to devote to fatherly duties...

Monica didn't ride and focused her training on swimming, running and yoga. She was in excellent health and physical condition. While we were trying to conceive, she kept both the volume, and intensity, of her program. She didn't do much fast running but she would swim fast three times per week.Continued...