Staying Active During Pregnancy

I've been incredibly lucky. I enjoyed one complication free pregnancy in 2013 and am about to conclude another in March. And yes, if you've started trying to calculate how close in age my sons will be...that'll be 18 months to be exact. It's beginning to sink in that I will have a toddler (who all of a sudden learned how to tantrum) and a newborn on my hands at once. Thank goodness for stress relieving sweat sesh's and wine (<-- j/k, sort of...). I digress... I'm incredibly lucky because I have been able to remain active and able to support two healthy pregnancies. Through my first pregnancy, and this one, nothing really had to change much until my third trimester. With both, I dealt with the first trimester exhaustion and shortened or eliminated a workout here and there depending on how I was feeling that day. Of course, rest is important too. But by and large, I think staying active actually helped me keep my energy levels up and I often commented to my husband that I felt so much better after getting my workout in than if I had skipped it all together.

I teach group fitness and with both pregnancies now, I have had to throw in the towel on leading my classes at the 30 week mark. The class I teach regularly, BodyFlow, is designed in such a way that the instructor is really required to perform the whole class along with the participants. Due to increasing mobility limitations for many of our poses, and my worsening symphysis pubis pain (sorry TMI but the struggle is real) I needed to change my routine. It also becomes difficult to lead a class when the cues and instruction can't be presented in the intended way. Though my darling participants always assure me they can follow along, and they can, I just feel my limitations impact the integrity of the instruction. Alas, I'm officially on maternity leave and plan to return to teaching in the spring. 

The break has given me a fun opportunity to explore some new workouts and prenatal fitness routines I may not have otherwise had the time to try. My doctor has given me the green light to continue light workouts unless I start to feel pain and discomfort, which seems to be a little more frequent than last time. At this point, I'm able to tolerate a 30 minute workout 3-4 times per week before I feel like I need to lay off. Last pregnancy, I kept mostly to walking and light weight training and yoga sequences of my own design through my last trimester. This go-round I discovered some awesome prenatal fitness DVDs. I exercised my Amazon Prime membership and ordered a few programs to take me through these last 2 months. I plan to review them here. Every few days, as I go through each new program, I'll publish my impressions and recommendations. Please feel free to share with all of your preggo buddies and if you're expecting, let me know if you have any questions! 

One month pregnant and Connor at 9 months. Love rides in the jogger.

Prenatal/postnatal fitness has become a passion of mine. I believe all pregnant women should be active in some way (if possible and not contraindicated medically!) This will look different for all of us but I promise, there is SOME activity you can engage in safely and enjoyably. Some of us will be Cross Fitting until week 39 (well, I hope not but you get my drift) and some will only count walking as their program for 9 months (which is awesome!) Either way, find something that works, that's safe,  and that you can stick with. You are giving such a gift to yourself and your baby with a healthy lifestyle and physical activity. And when you birth that beautiful bean, keep it up! You'll be amazed at how quickly they grow into toddlers and begin mimicking your choices... Connor loves to dance to workout music and flip himself around in yoga poses. What better example to set! 

25 weeks

Here are some tips to get you started:

- Consult with your doctor before beginning any fitness program. 

- Try to begin physical activity before pregnancy but don't hesitate to start a program once you discover you're pregnant.

- With either scenario, it might be a worthwhile investment to consult with a personal trainer who specializes in pre/postnatal fitness for a few sessions to learn proper form and receive recommendations on programs or exercises to take you safely from trimester to trimester.

- For many of us, with physician clearance, you can continue your regular workout program once you are pregnant. Always listen to your body. Begin to modify as needed by switching to low impact modifications etc.

- Keep body temperature cool and perceived exertion at the conversational level.

- There is a lot of chatter about avoiding lying flat on your back starting in the second trimester. Honestly, based on my personal research, the jury is somewhat out on this. The assumption is that the pressure of uterus and baby on the vena cava can impact blood flow to baby and make you feel winded, dizzy, etc. Generally, short amounts of time are probably ok. But always, talk to your doctor and listen to your body. I was personally able to lie comfortably on my back until about week 25 for short periods of time and now I need to avoid it because it makes me feel lightheaded. Exercise caution and do what feels right.

- Prenatal yoga or pilates are excellent low impact choices. Many have a light cardiovascular benefit and you can't beat the strengthening and flexibility they provide to prepare you for labor and delivery. On that note, always be mindful of form. The hormone relaxin is circulating through your body is generally at the highest levels in the first and third trimesters. Basically, this hormone can cause loosening of the joints and ligaments (especially for the pelvis, obviously) so extra caution should be taken regarding form. Be sure to exercise good alignment and avoid pushing past limits of flexibility to avoid injury.

- Now is not the time to begin achieving new fitness goals. Your goal is maintenance of current fitness or small changes to introduce activity if you're more sedentary to prepare you for birth. Labor is one of the hardest workouts I've ever done. Really, training for a half marathon shouldn't seem as daunting when I remember I survived labor and delivery...hmm, I should really think about that next time I make excuses for not working harder towards a fitness goal!

Do you have any favorite pregnancy tips or workouts? I'd love to hear them.