Athletes -- especially those who are competitive -- can be fanatical about their regular training program, so pregnancy can present a challenge in terms of necessary modifications to ensure baby's safety. However, pregnant athletes needn't anticipate a complete overhaul of their normal routine, as medical guidelines for prenatal exercise are now much less conservative than in years past, says according to pre/postnatal fitness expert Lisa Druxman, founder of Stroller Strides and Fit4Baby, national franchise businesses with work-outs in Providence. We had another posting about the organization on Wednesday's blog.

"Original guidelines for exercise during pregnancy cautioned women to never exceed a heart rate of 140 beats per minute, which most fitness enthusiasts would hardly consider a workout," said Druxman. "Now, more and more experts agree that pregnant athletes, when properly trained and monitored, can safely exercise beyond these guidelines and are actually typically more efficient at handling the stresses of exercise during pregnancy."

Druxman advises that athletes must still use caution when it comes to protecting their own health and that of their unborn baby. She addresses the three primary concerns of the effects of prenatal exercise on the fetus, and how they can be avoided:

Prevention: Pregnant athletes should be most cautious about exercising in hot conditions and for long durations during the first trimester, as the fetus can't regulate its own body temperature at this stage and is thus more susceptible to the mother's. Wear light-colored, breathable fabrics to keep cool, and drink plenty of water throughout the day and during exercise bouts. Urine should appear clear in color, indicating proper hydration. To further monitor, some experts recommend that pregnant athletes also take their temperature (vaginally or rectally to ensure accuracy) immediately before and after their longest weekly workout.

2) SPORTS INJURIES
Concern: An extreme blow to (or fall onto) the abdomen during any stage of pregnancy can damage the placenta, although there is greater risk of damage to the fetus during the later stages, as it's positioned higher in the womb and unprotected by the pelvis, says Druxman. Although most medical experts agree that the typical falls and contact levels common in sports are unlikely to cause damage, there is potential for injury, so it's best for the athlete and her physician to ultimately decide what's safe.

Prevention: Because I've found they can be problematic to pregnant athletes, says Druxman, I usually discourage my clients from participating in contact sports, such as hockey, boxing, wrestling, football and soccer; as well as high risk sports, such as gymnastics, horseback riding, skating, skiing , hang gliding, racquetball and scuba diving, as all of these activities increase the risk of falls and/or abdominal trauma.

3) OXYGEN DEFICIT
Concern: The duration, type and intensity of the exercise performed can all affect the fetus' heart rate. When a woman performs extreme levels of exercise on an inconsistent basis, uterine blood flow can decrease to a point where the fetus experiences a serious oxygen deficit. Typically, a pregnant athlete who trains regularly will have a fetus that is better conditioned to adapt to the stresses of exercise, but monitoring is still important, says Druxman.

Prevention: Pregnant athletes should follow any fitness program with a thorough cool-down period of gentle exercise and also pay special attention to fetal movements in the hours immediately following a workout. Like us, babies stop moving when they aren't getting enough oxygen.

These practitioners are under the impression that yoga is a sport, where honors can be earned and winners can be judged. Heck, the Yoga Federation has started a movement to make it an Olympic sport by 2020, and Astanga yoga was a demonstration sport in the Beijing summer games last year.

But, are they truly yogis? Yoga's very definition is "unity" -- fitness of the mind, body and soul. How does one judge that? Poses are one thing, but how to do you measure what a yogi gets out of daily practice?

It's not just my opinion ... check out this thread on a Yoga Journal discussion board. The opinions are pretty fierce that yoga must remain gentle.

A woman with postpartum depression may find relief if she pushes her baby in a stroller accompanied by other moms and infants, according to Stroller Strides, a national franchise program with work-outs in Providence.

"Australian researchers found that among new moms who'd been diagnosed with depression, those who completed a 12-week stroller-walking class showed fewer symptoms than those in a mom-baby play group that didn't involve exercise," according to the group. "The scientists concluded that gaining fitness through the sociability of stroller walking may be a more effective treatment for depression than joining a sedentary new mother support group.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) examined stroller exercise effects of physical wellness, and found that it works. Results of the research are summarized here.

Suzanne Cadge leads classes in the Jewish Community Center in Providence. Contact her at 289-0444 or by e-mail here.

For the past several months I've been unhappy with my weight -- I've been lifting weights, building muscle, and scale was going up. My husband, who's lifted weights for years, says this is normal. It's only a few pounds, he tells me. But when my clothes started fitting me differently, I couldn't just chalk it up to muscle mass.

I tried cutting back on my food intake and adding more cardio in my workouts, but the scale wasn't budging. I had just about given up when -- out of the blue -- I dropped back down to my ideal weight. I was hardly keeping track at that point.

How did I do it? I was busy ... working nights here at the Journal's Sports department ... and not really focusing on food. Plus, I wasn't eating the large, sit-down dinners I typically have with my family.

The weird thing: I also cut back on some of my workouts because my schedule had been turned upside down and I was pretty tired. Halloween was also in the equation, with my candy nibbling and all.

I wondered if this has happened to other folks. I have a friend who's returning to college now that her kids are grown, and she too, reports she is very busy and losing weight.

The article, "Giving up on weight loss may be the best way to lose weight" on eHow.com leads further support to my little theory.

Author Paige Waehner cites a Preventive magazine item -- quoting a 2003 study out of the University of Rhode Island, no less -- that shows that short-term focusing on the bathroom scale is bad for long-term weight goals. Small changes that add up to a healthy lifestyle do the trick.

So, if ignoring the scale helped me I highly recommend it ... it's almost as good as falling in love.

The Westerly Land Trust's Grills Preserve includes more than two miles of the Pawcatuck's riparian environment.

The 482-acre property was purchased from Richard and Michael Grills in November 2003 with money from the Department of Environmental Management, The Nature Conservancy, and other sources. It is part of a larger river corridor that includes Burlingame State Park.

The trails are so clearly marked, with blazes every 50 feet or so, that it is hard to imagine getting lost here. The land trust has a trail map available for downloading here, and there is a large map in an information kiosk at the preserve's large parking area at the end of Bowling Lane in Bradford.

Beyond the entrance gate, a wide trail is blazed in red with the letters XC for cross-country skiing. (None of the trails appears to be suitable for wheelchairs or strollers.) The cross-country trail passes through a forest of mixed hardwoods with some white pine and pitch pine. The recent logging activity there creates a fragrant experience. The XC trail comes to a turn-around, and a hiker or skier can take a fork to the right to return to the parking area.

Soon after the entrance, the Blue Trail on the right takes hikers along a lazy stretch of the Pawcatuck. It's a pretty walk throughout the year, but the river's shore shimmers with red maples in autumn. The Blue Trail is a loop that takes less than an hour to complete.

To extend the hike and experience a completely different environment, take a turn on to the Yellow Trail which passes through a bog, covered with berry bushes and filled with the fragrance of coastal sweet pepperbush. The Yellow Trail loops back to the Blue Trail that returns to the parking area.

Though hunting is limited on the property, the preserve's rules require visitors to wear blaze orange after Oct. 1.

The entrance to the Grills Preserve is at the end of Bowling Lane in the village of Bradford. For GPS guidance, set the destination for 131 Bowling Lane, Bradford, RI 02808. The parking area is across the road from that address.

Maybe it's because my schedule has been so upside-down lately -- working at nights -- but I've been thinking a lot about the importance of rest.

Not just sleep, as Tom Meade wrote about last week, but taking a break from exercise so that your muscles can repair themselves.

As Helium.com notes, "when you exercise, you incur very small fissures or tears in the muscle. In essence, you damage (slightly) the muscles. When you take the next day or two off from working that particular muscle group, you allow your muscles to heal and thus increase in size and power. If you do not allow time for this healing to occur, your muscles may remain in a constant state of damage."

So, what should you do? Another site, Xomba.com, gives the following "rest recipe" to nourish your body:

1. "Rest between sets - Allow yourself time between repetitions to restore some strength, catch your breath, or replace some lost fluids." In other words, it's OK to take your time with your workout.

2. Exercise on alternating days - "Fitness professionals recommend three to four days of 45- to 60-minute exercise per week," the site notes

3. Active rest -- Try yoga on off days, or a leisurely walk. "Light activity will still stimulate blood flow and increase your heart rate," Xomba.com says.

4. Sleep -- As we've said before, eight hours of rest each night is imperative, both to weight loss and overall health.

5. Replace -- Replace your fluids with water. Eat a proper diet including lean proteins. "Both hydration and proper diet help repair those microscopic muscle tears in addition to giving you the energy you need to keep up with daily activities," the site notes.

Last year, I posted "This Halloween, don't do a drive-by" to encourage families to walk to their trick-or-treat destinations and get some exercise in the process.

I'll be working on Saturday night, but I hope you all have a happy Halloween.

"A new study, among the first of its kind to objectively measure sleep duration, reports that for every one-hour reduction in sleep, the risk of hypertension increased 37 percent." according to the newsletter. "Shorter sleep times were similarly linked with higher blood pressure levels and adverse changes in blood pressure.

"Previous studies have suggested that not getting enough sleep may be bad for your blood pressure, but these mostly relied on self-reported data. The new study, led by Kristen L. Knutson of the University of Chicago, monitored participants using actigraphy, in which a device on the wrist measures motion; since movement is reduced during sleep compared with wakefulness, the activity level indicates sleep duration. Sleep was measured twice for three consecutive days each time.

"Knutson and colleagues followed a subset of 535 participants, average age 40 at baseline, in an ongoing study of coronary disease. Given that most people need seven to eight hours of sleep nightly, the study group fell far short of adequate shuteye: 43 percent averaged fewer than six hours of sleep per night, while only 1 percent averaged eight or more hours."

Read the full story here.

If the series goes to 7 games, and the average game last more than 3.5 hours, that's a lot of sitting on your butt. And, if you're an adult who may also have a sedentary job, that translates into very little exercise.

So, as we did for the Super Bowl, Here's a few tips from eHow.com on exercising while you watch TV. (We're adding the baseball flavor.)

1. Instead of hot dogs and Cracker Jack, take a workout break. "If you get into the routine of doing a few during each commercial break or between segments, you may end up exercising 30 minutes or more while you are in front of the television," the Web site says.

2. Don't hold your breath: "Start each exercise with a deep, cleansing breath. Stretch your arms out, then above your head as you take a deep breath through your nose and exhale through pursed lips. Do three of these slowly."

3. Incorporate some pre-game stretches, like they do in the big leagues. "Stretch your muscles by doing arm and leg extensions. As you extend your leg, rotate and point your foot to stretch your calf muscles and increase circulation in your lower extremities. Stretch your right arm out at shoulder level. Bring the other arm behind your head to touch your right shoulder, stretching your rib cage as you reach."

4. Keep your eyes on the ball: "Eyestrain can develop when you look at the same object for too long, which may result in blurry vision and red eyes. Look away at a distant object and focus for a few seconds, then turn back and focus on an object closer to you. Repeat this often if you are looking at a television or a computer monitor for any length of time."

5. Step up the action: "Use a stationary stepper or mini cycle while sitting," the Web site suggests. "Use a larger exercise bicycle if you have it set up in front of the television. The idea is to keep moving. There are many exercises to choose from to fit your lifestyle."

Three Rhode Island State Police troopers have swept a national law-enforcement fitness contest, taking six first-place awards in the 2009 LawFit Trooper Challenge in Fairfax, Va.

Competing for Rhode Island were G. Thomas Chabot and Meredith Zenowich, both assigned to the Hope Valley barracks, and Joy Younkin, who helps teach recruits at the State Police Training Academy, in Foster.

Each had to compete in all of the following: one-repetition maximum bench press, timed sit-up test, sit-and-reach felxibility test, pullups, 200-yard agility course, and a 1.5-mile run.

The agility course includes scaling a brick wall, climbing over and under obstacles and through a window, climbing stairs, identifying the suspect from a description, dragging a 150-pound victim 5 yards to safety, handcuffing the suspect, running, and hitting a target with a laser to stop the clock.

Zenowich and Younkin were the top female team overall after placing first and second among female troopers. Chabot and Younkin won first place for a mixed team, and Chabot placed second overall among male troopers.

Chabot and Younkin each ran 1.5 miles the fastest in their gender groups.

The eighth annual competition took place Oct. 15-17 at The National Center for Public Safety Fitness at George Mason University in Fairfax. The center was established to improve fitness and health among law enforcement officers, whose jobs are often sedentary but require bursts of extreme exertion.

Last year, 62 members of law enforcement competed, 6 of them women. Younkin and Zenowich competed last year.

"Many people think of the flu as an uncomplicated disease," she writes. However, the influenza virus that causes the flu is far from simple and can cause very serious illness in some people. There are various strains of influenza, which are constantly changing form and structure. This constant shifting of the virus is why flu vaccine must be given each year--since the vaccine must be matched to the flu strain--and why limiting the flu's spread is difficult."

Assess your own flu sense:

One of the most-often asked questions I get is from people who want to try a new form of exercise -- mostly yoga -- but wonder if it's something a beginner can do.

The answer I always give them is an enthusiastic "yes." Just about every type of workout has entry-level modifications, and even if not, there are ways to ease into something ... such as starting with a small amount of weight to try weightlifting.

But I understand the hesitation. It's hard to try new things. I had the same experience myself a little more than a week ago when I attended, as a reporter, the New England Iyengar Yoga Conference.

Linda DiCarlo, a Cranston-based Iyengar instructor, was kind enough to let me participate in her "Intermediate Pranayama" class, established for conference-goers "with some home practice and up to two years experience."

I have had a steady at-home yoga practice for years, and have taken several classes -- all in different types of yoga -- since about 1998. I thought that qualified me for "intermediate," but it turns out, the teachers and yoga students who attended the conference at the Rhode Island Convention Center were far more advanced than I realized.

I tried to blend into the class without being "outed" as an Iyegnar beginner, but right away I had to come clean because I didn't have the necessary blankets for this restorative session.

"You don't have any blankets?" I remember DiCarlo asking me in front of the whole class.

"No," I said with a shrug. "I'm Pam, from the Journal, I'm just dropping in."

Immediately, most of the 20 or so students crammed into the small Convention Center meeting room started generously offering me some blankets. Even DiCarlo gave up one of hers.

Soon, I was well-equipped. But there was one other problem. Iyengar yogis use a Sanskrit, a lot. DiCarlo started the class with some nice relaxing breathing and then chants. I tried to join in -- but I had no idea what I was saying.

The poses, too, are called out in the ancient Indian language. For example, "Salamba Sarvangasana" is supported shoulder stand. "Halasana" is the plow pose shown above. Some of those names I had remembered from a class I took about a decade ago.

But there were others where I had to look around the room first to see what the yogis were doing. One woman, forgetting herself, asked me what one meant. Then she stopped herself and said, "Oh, you're the journalist."

The class itself was wonderful - I'll go into that in another post. But I want you to know that getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new can help break up a boring workout routine and teach you a little humility -- something I'm sure the yogis can support.

Even in the coldest weather, runners need to drink, she wrote in a bulletin published by the Berkeley Running Company, a store in Madison, Wis.

"During the fall and winter months, athletes can be tricked into performance declines associated with dehydration," she wrote. "As the cooling effect of air and rain sometimes mask our sense of fluid loss, many athletes fail to take into account the significant amount of water loss that is still occurring. The risk is compounded when runners layer their body with excessive clothing, thereby increasing fluid loss. In fact, fluid deficits of 3 to 8 percent of total body mass have been reported in individuals working in cold environments. So, despite many athletes perception that dehydration is a problem that exists only during the summer months, it is quite possible to run yourself dry as the thermometer drops. Join me as we explore water's role in human performance and address how you can maintain peak performance through proper hydration."

Read the whole story on winter hydration.

Want an easy, cheap and versatile way to work out at home? Install a chin-up bar. For around $20, a doorway pull-up bar gives you a about five different ways to exercise.

1. Chin-ups are resistance training because they require you lift your own body weight. They're difficult at first, but don't be discouraged because you can build up to more reps as you get stronger.

First, place the bar in the door frame so you can easily reach it with both hands extended straight up. Grab the bar overhand, with palms facing outward, slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Hang from the bar, bending your knees behind you. Pull up as slowly as possible, trying to reach your chin just above the bar. Slowly return the staring position, one set, 8-10 reps.

2. Underhand chin-ups: Use the same technique as above, but grab the bar underhand, with palms facing inward. Do the same amount of reps as you did with the regular chin-ups. Both ways work your biceps, triceps, shoulders and upper back.

3. Thigh raises: Grab the bar overhand, with your palms facing outward, hands slightly more than should-width apart. As you hang from the bar, bend your knees and keep them together, slowly lifting your thighs to your chest. Hold for a second, then lower legs slowly so as not to strain your back. Repeat for 8-10 reps, targeting your waist, abs, shoulders and lower back.

4. Leg raises: Using the same technique as #3, instead pull your legs up straight and horizontally -- using your abs to pull your legs up. Do 8-10 reps, working waist, abs, shoulders and lower back.

5. Push-ups: Pull the bar down to a low level near the floor. Grab the bar with both hands using and overhand grip. Walk your body out until it is diagonally lined up with the floor, with heels up and toes planted. Keep your body in a straight, plank position, but don't lock out your elbows. Slowly raise and lower your body for 8 to 10 reps. This method targets the chest, shoulders and triceps.

6. Sit-ups: Lie down on the floor, bending both knees and placing the tops of feet under the bar. Keep your heels on the floor. Bend your elbows and place both hands on either side of your head (don't cross your fingers). Using your abs, slowly lift your upper torso, keeping elbows pointing out.

Advanced fitness buffs and do a "crisscross" pattern, turning the torso gently to the right and left, so that opposite elbow touches opposite knee, for each rep of 8 to 10. This targets the obliques and abs.

Tai Chi on the beach in Middletown. Frieda Squires photo.

Tai Chi is often described as meditation in motion, but it might also be called medication in motion, according to the Harvard Women's Health Watch, a newsletter published by Harvard Medical School.

Researchers at Harvard have found evidence that the ancient Chinese martial art is effective in treating and preventing health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease.

"A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for Tai Chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age," said Peter M. Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai Chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard Medical School's Osher Research Center. An adjunct therapy is one that's used together with primary medical treatments, either to address a disease itself or its primary symptoms, or, more generally, to improve a patient's functioning and quality of life.

Among the health issue that Tai Chi helps to address are bone density, arthritis, recovery from stroke and breast cancer.

Take a look at the entire article here.