Those issues aside, early pregnancy can provide some performance benefits. She is going to be much more aware of her body because she is going to be listening to her body, just as a Formula 1 car would have more monitors on it than a Fiat would be going around town.” “The machine has to be much more finely tuned an elite athlete, in her own body has to be more finely tuned. “They are both cars but are completely different - and because they are completely different you have to have different ways of handling them. You are at a different level of training, physical ability, mental ability and risk. “You are doing the same thing, but you are doing it at a different level. Michael Dooley, consultant gynaecologist at King Edward VII's Hospital in London, said: “The question you are asking is, ‘what is the difference between driving around the streets of London on a Sunday jaunt compared to being a Formula 1 driver racing at Silverstone?’ The advice is not to exhaust yourself or get overheated and not suddenly take up strenuous exercise if you were not active before.īut what if you are used to pushing yourself to your physical limit? NHS guidelines state that exercise during pregnancy can be beneficial in terms of helping women cope with labour and get back into shape afterwards. I thought: ‘Oh no, everyone’s going to know I’m pregnant, they just need to look at me.' I’m used to not really needing to bother with a sports bra so I did have to do that,” world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe told BBC Sport. That was the first sign that I was pregnant with Isla. The first 12 weeks are when you are most likely to suffer with morning sickness, have sore breasts, a surge in the hormone that relaxes ligaments and increases blood flow (relaxin) - and yet no bump that gives the game away to others. “But you are adjusting your training load according to your circumstance, just as you would if you had another physical challenge like injury.” "It’s completely impractical to be off training for as long as a year, so you are continuing to train towards that goal of Tokyo in this case. “I don’t think you have maternity leave as an athlete," she said. Sarah Storey, the swimmer turned cyclist and Britain’s most successful Paralympian, is expecting her second child in the autumn. ![]() This is about keeping your mind focused on a gold medal while you can’t see your toes over your belly. This is about having stitches in your nether regions and wet patches on your vest that haven’t come from sweat. This is about running while being kicked in the ribs, dashing to the loo during training and swapping a six-pack for a big balloon while still managing to do squats. This is not about juggling night feeds, nappies and a career - the things a male athlete who is a parent can also go through. She has been training through pregnancy and there are plenty of examples of athletes winning less than a year after having a baby - such as Jessica Ennis-Hill’s world heptathlon gold and Paula Radcliffe’s New York Marathon victory.īut how exactly do they get to that point if their well-honed bodies have been stretched, torn and flooded by hormones? With Serena Williams having had her baby, attention is now focused on when the former world number one will return to tennis and start adding to her 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
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