Castle Personal Training
Castle Personal Training is a Corstorphine, Edinburgh based company who specialise in weightloss/toning and Pre and Post Natal exercise.
IVF and exercise
Hi all,
Hope you’re keeping well.
I seem to write about pregnancy a lot these days
As you’ll know I have written about pregnancy and exercise from both an ante- and post -natal perspective. “What are the do’s and don’t ‘s” and all that sort of thing.
One thing I haven’t covered yet however is exercise and IVF and it has come up at the studio a lot lately so it’s about time I covered the basics.
I have several clients that are going through, or are preparing to go through, IVF treatment and I take a different approach with them than I do with other pre and post natal clients, especially in the first trimester.
A lot of people planning their IVF have health targets they want to hit. Weight loss is the main reason women preparing for IVF treatment usually come to me but the benefits of exercise obviously go further than that. Studies have shown that being active, training well etc., increases the chance of pregnancy threefold. Hormone balances, stress relief etc. are all a big part of helping make IVF treatment a success and this is what a good exercise regime can help with.
The difference between exercise regimes, and it’s only a relatively small and temporary one, starts during the actual pregnancy.
During a normal pregnancy you can do pretty much most things you used to do, bare in mind I don’t do high impact exercises with any client in their first trimester, when you have IVF I suggest taking a break from all training for at least the first 4-6 weeks after the first treatment.
This includes weightlifting, TRX training, kettlebell training etc. This is because studies have shown that any stress on the body, including that caused by intense exercise, changes your hormone levels and this might have a negative impact on the pregnancy in those undergoing IVF treatment. I do recommend yoga and light exercise but you don’t need a Personal Trainer like me for that, I’m happy to recommend some awesome yoga teachers in Edinburgh for that so email me if you need .
Add onto this that IVF is a massive investment, both emotionally and financially, and it’s a no-brainer to take a few weeks off.
After that first period it’s basically back to normal exercise, though I still don’t do high impact training for a while. I always do ask my pre – natal clients to be aware of what their body is telling them. During pregnancy, more than at any other stage in your life, you HAVE TO listen to what your body tells you. It’s one thing to push yourself to breaking point when you’re 100% and fit as as a fiddle but during pregnancy if your body tells you to stop, you have to stop and take a break.
Obviously after 5-6months you amend the exercise regime and really start focusing on your pelvic floor etc, the ground works for this should already have been laid in the previous months, to make giving birth and recovery after that as easy as possible.
In short; exercise can really help you when you are trying to get pregnant however, once you are going through treatment, give your body a bit of a break and focus on what’s really important.
Remember what you’re doing it for.
After a few weeks you’ll probably be ready to get cracking again but please be aware of what your body tells you.
Take care of yourself,
Peter
Castle Personal Training 
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