In the gym…running and stretching…17 weeks. Getting some stares 🙂
*None of what is shared below is construed as medical or fitness advince, consult with your doctor or a personal trainer/certified fitness before undertaking any fitness routines while pregnant*
Context for Staying Fit in Pregnancy
As our bodies grow, shift and change to welcome our growing babies, it’s often so hard for us mommas to stay grounded in who we are, and to make those daily choices for health.
There’s a ton of research that’s been done showing that babies who’s moms were physically active during pregnancy benefit tremendously due to increased blood flow to the brain (makes sense!)….You can read more about these below. And another study I just found showing that heart rates in babies up to 6 months after birth are positively impacted by mothers being active in pregnancy. Definitely worth a try.
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/20/mothers-exercise-may-boost-babys-brain/?_r=0
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110407101406.htm
Maddy’s Tips:
*Be gentle with yourself, listen to what your body needs from day to day–which changes! And work on moving mindfully daily, but assume that you’ll have to get creative with what will work best for you in a given day or month.
*Lots of extra hydration when exercising/sweating while pregnant. I used this natural electrolyte replacement almost daily (certainly when running/racing with my 3rd pregnancy) and it made a huge difference for recovery and stamina.
*Adjust your fitness routines for the size of your belly, and what interests you; what works in one trimester or 1 week might not work for the next. Be flexible and have fun! When in doubt, walking is always an amazing form of movement, something that you can do daily, and will clear your head and give you some of the same benefits to baby as mentioned above in articles.
*If you have never run before, pregnancy might not be the time to start. Same with weightlifting, but going back to what we said above, if you got the clearance and it sounds like fun, give it a try! Certainly endurance sports increase your pelvic floor strength, and weight lifting/toning can be a powerful full body workout to strengthen all your muscles as you add the extra weight of baby!
*Heart rate in pregnancy: We have to be careful especially at the end, not to let this get too high.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: you should be able to talk while exercising–if you’re not able to, then you’re probably revving your heart rate up too high for what your needs are.
*Have goals, stay flexible: I wanted to run a race in my 3rd pregnancy, so I trained and got the doc’s OK, but I knew I had to take it week to week, and if my body wasn’t having it, I would back off the running, etc. It’s great to have fitness goals but remember this 9 months is also a time to work on feeling amazing and caring for baby; there’s plenty of time to break records with your fitness levels later:) Mindfulness around fitness has never been more important or more beautiful as you embrace your changing body and acknowledge you can be fit and healthy all 9 months! But that will look different for each of us!
1st Trimester:
*Yoga/Stretching (especially if feeling sick, this helped me!). Good to focus on full body, but I’ll start you off with a core and booty workout, which, while gentle, is toning up key areas that you’ll need to have really strong as your body changes!
*Pilates (highly recommend using someone local if that’s an option, having someone guide you through the exercises is incredible effective).
Here’s a quick one that I use: good blend of pliometrics and pilates type core/balance work
(enjoy her accent!)
*Barre is great during this time, because low impact (on joints etc) but great for toning and cardio. I use this website, and they have studios in many cities as well! So many of my friends have had great results with this while pregnant, and I’ve used it for post-partum, which is a whole other post (lucky for you:))
www.barre3.com–$10 off here….http://mbsy.co/jnLl9
*HIIT. Be careful with the intensity/heart rate, but here’s some fun ones done by some amazing trainers I know down in SC…available to us thanks to you tube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d332iLvtAI
*Walking as often as you can!
*Running, if your doc says yes and you’re comfortable with it. Definitely don’t overdo distance running, keep distances shorter until baby is past 10 weeks and you’ve got knowledge that everything is going great!
Zumba, any other group fitness classes, as long as approved by the instructors
2nd Trimester:
*Your muscles are starting to soften/seperate to make space for baby; be very careful with ab work, though it can still be done with the guidance of trained professionals, ideally.
BUT…you have (hopefully) TONS of energy at this point. Great time to have a daily workout schedule and build strength, endurance, especially muscles that will help in birth; pelvic floor–ie, lots of squats!
All the exercises mentioned in 1st trimester, though being mindful with HIIT, running and other impact exercises about how your joints are doing, and how your ligaments and low back feel as baby expands.
(I use alfalfa as a wonderful natural anti-inflammatory and also helps with joint pain).
*I did a 5 mile (8k) race at 17 weeks with my 3rd pregnancy, and felt amazing, so let me remind you that the pregnant body is capable of tremendous things, it’s just a matter of finding that balance of activity, nourishment and rest to be our best selves* Don’t let people intimidate you with their opinions of pre-natal fitness, the only opinions that matter are your doctors and your own 🙂
*Swimming! You’ll feel amazing when you get in the pool and can work your muscles without impact or gravity!
3rd Trimester:
Slowing down the pace; everything is expanding. Your joints and ligaments can’t always take the same impact they took in earlier parts of the pregnancy. BUT…Let yourself remain active up until the last day, in all the ways that you can and that feel good!
*Yoga highly recommended, especially the legs up the wall practice to improve circulation/blood flow and give your circadian rhythms a reset. I did this nightly on hot summer nights with my 1st and 2nd to reduce swelling (alfala, linked above, also is hugely helpful!)
https://www.doyouyoga.com/5-health-benefits-legs-wall-posture/
*Walking!! This is the recommended daily movement, though of course you can zumba, weight lift and waltz your way through to the end!
*Running–with support. I recommend a supportive tanktop starting 2nd trimester. These are fantastic (designed by some friends of mine—revolutionary pregnancy support wear!) https://www.blanqi.com/ (pants and tanks–you will not regret getting them!). You may be slow, but you don’t have to stop running up until the day you have the babe.
*Weights–you’ll be needing to modify but can definitely do gym-time through this trimester with great effects for you and babe…toned and happy to the end.
*Elliptical and Bike are great at the end when you want a workout without alot of impact. These machines allowed me to sit/stand and use my legs even when my weight would’t allow for comfortable running.
*Swimming! Of course!:)
Enjoy staying fit and finding new routines that support this wonderful season of your life!
If you’re still enjoying this, here’s my story:
I have 3 kids. I’ve always loved to run, play soccer, ski and be super active. In my first pregnancy, I tried running around the 9 week mark and felt like I was going to throw up. I stuck to walking for the rest of the pregnancy, and living in the city, easily did a few miles per day. In the 2nd trimester I started doing weekly pre-natal yoga and that was a game changer. But I wasn’t really focused on fitness, I was more focused on learning how to eat well for pregnancy–getting enough protein and the good stuff for baby and I (my diet up till this point was mostly coffee and croissants while working crazy hours for a non-profit), and also concerned because I was borderline gestational diabetic (at the young age of 25).
As you can imagine, after delivery, and getting back into workout, it was tough! I hadn’t done anything too exerting in over a year. I had a plateau and didn’t lose the baby weight quickly, I felt tired and sluggish, and didn’t have alot of motivation to become fit again. I was in a demanding career with an 18 month old and was giving so much of myself in all areas but not able to manage it—I was stressed and exhausted….at the age of 27:))
(At this point, enter Shaklee! A friend introduced me to it for the cleaning products (amazing!) but I also wanted to try the nutritional support, and it was a game changer for me in terms of getting back to feeling motivated to work out, and taking back my nutritional game so I could handle working out. The rest is history! It’s been a daily part of my routine ever since and I am SOOO incredibly grateful I found it when I did, since I went on to have 2 AMAZING pregnancies, that were so much more energized than my first one. Shaklee allowed me to have very fit and active pregnancies while caring for other little people, and managing my gestational diabetes markers which have never appeared again in subsequent (which is truly unheard of and my midwives can’t really believe it. The power of nutrition and lifestyle is real my friends.)
Well, fast forward a few months, I was at my lowest weight, had learned about some food sensitivities through healthy cleansing/elimination, and felt great, I trained for and ran my first half marathon (Oct 2012) and then within weeks got pregnant with baby #2 (Yay! Corinne). Well this pregnancy I did all of the above recs: I did pilates during 1st trimesters with a private instructor friend, I ran and walked whenever I could, and I did yoga. I started personal training with a great instructor in my 3rd trimester, I remember he laughed when I showed up with my big belly and said I wanted to start lifting with him. Corinne was 10lbs (yep!) so walking and running at the end was a challenge, but because I had stayed fit until the end, it made for a smooth and wonderful recovery time and by 4 months postpartum I was really at an ideal weight & back into my fitness routines (Shaklee life shakes helped!)), no PPD or other challenges, and while I’d sustained some pelvic imbalances/strain from her birth, I was able to move forward with racing and daily fitness.
Fast forward to pregnancy #3, by this time, I had found that my best new friend was a physical therapist. She helped me feel amazing and kept my pelvis and low back in great shape to allow me to keep running and exercising during this pregnancy. Chiropractors are amazing too, but since this PT is located in my midwives office and specialized in helping moms stay balanced, I loved adding in that part of self-care to my routine. It’s so easy to over-do it, or to tweak things when our bodies have been through so much with pregnancies and births. Massage, and other things (regular lavendar epsom salt baths) help with recovery, which is just as important as the fitness side of things. I ran and raced with my 3rd pregnancy, and then at the end was walking 3-5 miles daily, and feeling great. My 3rd (Ambrose) birth was a test of physical endurance, and I know all the pre-natal fitness helped so much in preparing for that!
I’m so grateful you read to the end! Thanks for letting my share my story too, and give some context for why I’m so passionate about helping moms find their groove and feel confident in working out while pregnant. Your baby will thank you too!!! Healthy and happy mom = happy pregnancy!
Resources:
https://www.fitpregnancy.com/exercise/prenatal-workouts/should-i-monitor-my-heart-rate-when-exercising