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They Say: Pregnancy Can Make You a Better Athlete
What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger. That old school adage apparently can be applied to going thru a pregnancy. While many new moms complain of the stretch marks, weight gain and that whole exhaustion thing, some become more physically powerful.
The Times is reporting that becoming a mother could make the body “better able to cope with the extreme physical demands than ever before.” Case in point – Kim Clijsters. After this Belgian tennis player took two years off to give birth and case for her daughter, she came back a stronger and better player having a superb performance at last weeks’ US Open. The Times also stated that. “Among those to have experienced the “‘motherhood effect” are the distance runners Paula Radcliffe and Liz McColgan and Catriona Matthew, the Scottish golfer who won this year’s women’s British Open ten weeks after giving birth.” All of these athletes claimed that pregnancy was the key to their recent successes. But is there any fact behind this?
According to a professor from Michigan State University, he said that due to the increase in blood volume during and after pregnancy, that this may improve oxygen being delivered to the muscles. Another professor – Greg Whyte – noted about the finding that “This could improve aerobic capacity, enabling a woman to run, cycle or swim at a certain pace for longer”. He also notes that the hormone relaxin which increases to get the body ready for childbirth may help an athletes mobility.
Also there is the psychological change that could happen, after giving birth a woman’s pain threshold could be raised, letting her endure both than before.
Whyte says: “Women re-evaluate where they can anchor pain and many psychologists believe that woman’s pain threshold is effectively reset so that when she resumes or takes up training again, nothing ever seems as uncomfortable.”
If you’ve had a baby, did you feel stronger after giving birth?
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GiantPanda commented on Sep 15 09 at 8:10 amAfter having mine I have never needed to work out with arm weights. He is now two and weighs a ton, but I still have to pick him up all the time….arghhh! On the bright side, no “bingo wings”! My biceps look very toned.
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