Pregnancy and Workouts

As my due date quickly approaches (a little over 6 weeks until Baby Mumma arrives), I've had a lot of women tell me that they want to know all of the little tricks and secrets that I've picked up on during pregnancy.  The truth is, the more educated about pregnancy that I've become, the more I realize I'm just working on instincts.  That's a good thing.  My body was designed to grow this little life inside of me, and I'm glad it knows what to do.  I'm almost 34 weeks pregnant now, and still working out five days a week.  People have an idea that when you're pregnant, you should take it easy or rest, but my body says differently, and I listen.I've under-trained for races before.  I've only completed two marathons, and I didn't get past 16 miles during my training for either one.  That was a mistake.  The last 10.2 miles are vastly different from the first 16, and I would have fared much better if I'd actually trained fully.  In my personal and professional opinion, women who remain inactive throughout pregnancy are skipping ALL of the training for what is essentially a marathon.  No one in her right mind would rest for 40 weeks and then try to do the biggest workout of her life.  And more research is coming out about the lack of benefits to bed rest, even for those at risk of premature labor.  According to a commentary citing multiple Cochrane reviews in the June 2013 journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, "Prescribing bed rest is inconsistent with the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice. Hence, if bed rest is to be used, it should be only within a formal clinical trial." (1)  So unless we're studying these women on bed rest, it shouldn't be prescribed!So why are we still prescribing bed rest if there's no evidence to back it up?  Unfortunately, I don't have the answer.  My best advice is to do what your body tells you to do.  I'm still training five times per week because my body is okay with me doing that.  There have been days I've missed because I know I need a little more rest.  There are days when I slow down because my body says to.  But most days, my body says that it's okay to push through.  I know that by continuing to exercise, I'm maintaining a healthy environment for my baby as well as preparing my body for the arduous upcoming task of birth.Yes, this post is mainly geared towards my fellow prego's or those considering the idea, but the same ideas hold true for those who aren't expecting.  Listen to your body.  If something hurts, don't just ignore it and push through.  Your body is sending you a message that it requires your attention (or the attention of a skilled manual therapist, *ah hem*).  On the other hand, if you feel great, don't sell yourself short: give it everything you've got!  The body is an amazing thing, and incredibly intelligent.  The problem is that we don't always pay attention.As a side note, if you are expecting or planning to be, check out Dr. Lindsey Matthews over at BirthFit http://drlindseymathews.wordpress.com/ .  She's doing great things to promote healthy pregnancy and birth, and is an excellent resource! (1) McCall, Christina A. MD; et. al. “Therapeutic” Bed Rest in Pregnancy: Unethical and Unsupported by Data.  Obstetrics & Gynecology: June 2013 - Volume 121 - Issue 6 - p 1305–130