pregnant women against exercise, fearing that the heat or high heart rate would harm the fetus. Plenty of women listened and felt stressed, tense, and fat throughout their pregnancies.Doctors now say that women who don’t exercise may be doing their babies

labour I had, and he was my biggest baby. Research suggests that it is safe and probably even beneficial to exercise in pregnancy, as long as your pregnancy is normal and you adapt your exercise. See your midwife regularly, and review your training

When we posed our Reader To Reader question about running and pregnancy, we were particularly impressed by the detailed and well-informed answer from RW forum member Minks. Here's her answer in full."I recently found out that I'm pregnant, and have

, though, that I won’t get back to the standard I’d reached before my pregnancy. What should I do?A There are plenty of examples of female runners who’ve come back just as good, if not better, after pregnancy. Liz McColgan and Derartu Tulu are just two. I

of lavender and rosemary filling my nose. The light was sharp and refreshing. Life felt good and pregnancy was at last fitting into my routine. Running formed the backbone of my day; the familiar sensation of a raised heart rate and sweat on the skin soothed

biomechanic structure to men, which means different shoes - and different injuries - and physical changes like pregnancy and the menopause are likely to affect your training. Whether you're taking your first tentative steps into the world of running or you

performances or just plain fun. In this article, you’ll find loads of useful information to help you reach your goals. These facts and tips cover health, psychology, weight loss, pregnancy and motherhood, training, racing and more. Some apply to all runners

. Complications during pregnancy are rare, but if they do arise they may prevent you from carrying on with your training, no matter how committed and motivated you are to running. A frank and open discussion with your obstetrician – particularly

with women athletes achieving lifetime bests, despite having recently had children. So what about us lesser mortals? Can we expect to see our running performances improve after nine months of pregnancy? We spoke to three ordinary women whose fitness gains

couple of months. Take it gradually, and definitely do some core stability and pelvic floor exercises. Don't expect to be anywhere near your pre-pregnancy fitness. – Jayne EcottYou know your body better than your midwife doesThe key thing is to do what