The Pregnant Athlete: How to Stay in Your Best Shape Ever--Before, During, and After Pregnancy

273 Pages·2014·7.44 MB·English

by  Brandi Dion

7.375 × 9.25 SPINE: 0.68 FLAPS: 0
P
The Go-To Guide to Help Keep You
ACTIVE AND HEALTHY R T H E

YOUR PREGNANCY
DURING
E
PREGNANT
A N D B E Y O N D T
GH
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a dedicated weekend warrior, you’re serious about your E
N A T H L E T E
sport and your commitment to fitness. But now that you’re pregnant, you may be getting con-

flicting health and exercise advice from your family, friends, and doctors. With all the concerns
and misinformation, it’s hard to know where to turn for accurate, supportive guidance so you can A
have a safe, healthy pregnancy and maintain a high level of fitness. Now, in The Pregnant Athlete,
triathlete/trainer mom Brandi Dion, fitness professional Steven Dion, and OB/GYN Joel Heller N
have teamed up to offer:
✺ Practical information on how your body changes each month, and how to gauge T
your own limits

✺ Flexible workout plans for strength, cardiovascular conditioning, agility, and balance A
for each stage of pregnancy and the post-partum period
T
✺ Facts and tips about eating well to support pregnancy and fuel your workouts
H
✺ The truth about old wives’ tales and common pregnancy myths and misconceptions
L
With expert advice and medical insights from an OB/GYN, useful information for the pregnant E
athlete’s partner, and inspiring stories from other athletic moms-to-be, The Pregnant Athlete will
T
help you stay happy, healthy, and in top form during your pregnancy and beyond.
HOW TO STAY IN
E
BRANDI DION, BS, NSCA-CPT, USAT Level 1 Coach, CrossFit L1, CrossFit Endurance L1,
YOUR BEST SHAPE EVER
is an athlete, certified personal trainer, triathlon coach, and mother. She is a co-partner at
B&S Fitness Programs with STEVEN DION, EdD, CrossFit L1, a professor of
BEFORE,
health education and chair of the Sport and Movement Science Department at
Salem State University. They live with their two children in Salem, Massachusetts. S B
T R
E A DURING,
JOEL HELLER, MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist and a fellow of the American College V N AND
of Obstetrics and Gynecology. His patients include marathon runners, triathletes, and fitness and E D
N
Pilates instructors. PERRY MCINTOSH is a freelance writer and fitness buff living in Salem, D I D AFTER PREGNANCY
Massachusetts. I I
O O
N N
$17.99/£11.99/$21.00 CAN PREGNANCY / FITNESS
BR ANDI DION & STEVEN DION, EdD
DA CAPO PRESS
Lifelong Books
A Member of the Perseus Books Group Cover design: Jonathan Sainsbury WITH JOEL HELLER, MD AND PERRY MCINTOSH
www.dacapopress.com Cover photograph: © Steve Boyle/Corbis
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How to StAy in
Your Best shape ever—Before,
DurinG, AnD After PreGnAncy
BrAnDi Dion,
nScA-cPt, uSAt Li
Steven Dion,
e D
D
JoeL B. HeLLer, MD, Perry M intoSH
witH witH c
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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copyright © 2014 by Brandi Dion and Steven Dion
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher. Printed in the united States of America. for information, address Da capo
Press, 44 farnsworth Street, 3rd floor, Boston, MA 02210
Designed by trish wilkinson
Set in 11-point Minion Pro
Library of congress cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dion, Brandi.
the pregnant athlete : how to stay in your best shape ever—before, during, and
after pregnancy / Brandi Dion, nScA-cPt, uSAt Li, Steven Dion, edD ; with Joel B.
Heller, MD ; with Perry Mcintosh.
pages cm
includes index.
iSBn 978-0-7382-1726-0 (pbk.) — iSBn 978-0-7382-1727-7 (e-book)
1. exercise for pregnant women. 2. Pregnant women—Health and
hygiene. 3. Physical fitness for women. I. Dion, Steven. II. Heller, Joel B. 
iii. Mcintosh, Perry. iv. title.
rG558.7.D66 2014
618.2'44—dc23
2013045525
first Da capo Press edition 2014
Published by Da capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
note: the information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
this book is intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about
health issues. In no way is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with 
the advice given to you by your own physician. the ultimate decision concerning care
should be made between you and your doctor. we strongly recommend you follow his
or her advice. information in this book is general and is offered with no guarantees on
the part of the authors or Da capo Press. the authors and publisher disclaim all liability
in connection with the use of this book.
Da capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the united
States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. for more information,
please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300
chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, or call [phone], ext. 5000,
or e-mail [email protected].
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To our inspirations:
Mackenzie Spider-One Dion and Maddox Wolverine Dion
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by Joel B. Heller, MD xi
introduction 1
warm-up: How to use this Book 7
Before you conceive: Get ready for the event of a Lifetime 25
Month 1: Looking Good, feeling Great 37
Month 2: Looking Good, Sucking wind 49
Month 3: working out for two 61
Month 4: Believe Me, i’m Pregnant! 73
Month 5: Does this Pregnancy Make Me Look fat? 85
Month 6: not Giving up My Jeans (thank you, elastic waistbands!) 97
Month 7: running through Molasses, but Still running! 109
Month 8: Just Tying Your Sneakers . . . the New workout 121
Month 9: the Longest Mile, or Maybe five 133
After Delivery: Back on track, Back to fit 145
exercises 161
Index 249
vii
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to all who helped make this munity and coaches, our mothers, who help
book a reality. Although it was in- with our kids so we can live a sane lifestyle
spired by a lack of information and exam - of racing and training, and of course our
ples to keep me in top shape during my first two energetic, challenging, life-sucking chil-
pregnancy, help arrived early on from my dren, Mackenzie and Maddox, whom we
ob-gyn, Dr. Joel Heller. Thanks, Dr. Heller, love dearly—we couldn’t have done it with-
for the initial nudge to write this book and out them!
for contributing so much to its content! We We must also give a shout-out to Joanne
also want to thank Perry McIntosh for all Wyckoff, our agent, and to Renee Sedliar
her efforts in helping us tell our story, Jenna and the talented folks at Da Capo Press for
Dudevoir for being our pregnant model, the believing in our book and recognizing its
B&S Fitness and CrossFit IronSpider com- value to all pregnant athletes.
ix
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