Physical and psychological changes with vigorous exercise in sedentary primigravidae.
OBJECTIVE
The present study examined the effects of exercise on physical and psychological variables in sedentary primigravidae (PRA).


METHODS
A total of nine women randomly assigned to an exercise (E) (mean age = 31.3 +/- 3.1 yr) and six subjects randomly assigned to a control (C) group (mean age = 27.8 +/- 3.1 yr) fulfilled all requirements for the study. Exercise included a variety of exercise activities performed to a target heart rate of 150-156 beats x min(-1), three times per week for 15 wk.


RESULTS
Results showed no significant differences between E and C groups in physical characteristics initially. A repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant group effect (P < 0.05) and a significant group by time interaction (P = 0.001) with the E group showing a significantly longer amount of time on the PWC150 test than the C group. There was no significant group, time, or group by time interaction for lactate accumulation. This occurred, despite the fact that the E group spent 56% longer on the PWC150 test and the C group spent 30% less time on the same test at the conclusion of the study. Finally, the E group in comparison to the C group showed more favorable improvements in several items related to health and well-being on the Body Cathexis Scale. There were no significant differences between E and C groups in any pregnancy outcome measures. All babies were delivered healthy at term.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that a vigorous exercise program can lead to significant improvements in aerobic fitness at similar lactate concentrations compared to a control group and can be well tolerated by low risk sedentary PRA without any deleterious effects occurring to herself or unborn child.
Marquez-Sterling
S
S
University of Miami, Exercise and Sport Sciences, and Department of Anthropology, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA.
Perry
A C
AC
Kaplan
T A
TA
Halberstein
R A
RA
Signorile
J F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001828:Body Image; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D020073:Gravidity / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D013997:Time Factors
D019344:Lactic Acid