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Today, I’m sharing my personal pregnancy fitness experience. I’m using fitness to stay healthy, but I’m also enjoying every moment of these nine months.
Pregnancy, to say the least, has been life changing. I knew it would be, but I didn’t really know what to expect. I didn’t know if it would be easy, I didn’t know if it would be hard, but I didn’t really expect my fitness routine to change (that much).
I’ve been living an active, healthy lifestyle for almost eight years and I’ve stayed consistent without much effort. I assumed I would still be able to pop right out of bed at 5 a.m. and squeeze in my regular fitness routine with no problems. Shortly into the first trimester, I realized that wasn’t going to be the case! I’ve made some adjustments to my fitness throughout my pregnancy, but things are still changing week after week.
My Pregnancy Fitness Experience
What I’m Doing
In the first trimester, I found myself completely exhausted — like falling asleep on the couch at 7 p.m. I expected some fatigue, but nothing quite like that. I also found myself less than enthused to get up early in the morning to squeeze in a workout, but I did my best.
For the most part, I kept my workouts the same, but I stopped running. Part of me was afraid (working through so many pregnancy emotions!), but mostly I just didn’t have the energy to pound out the miles. I stuck to my typical strength/resistance workouts and did bodyweight cardio to get my blood pumping.
Related: An Honest Studio Tone It Up Review
In the second trimester, I got a good bit of my energy back and it was a lot easier to get up before school in the mornings for a workout. I eased back into my six-days-a-week (most weeks) schedule, and started to add some prenatal-specific workouts in. I’ve bounced around between Studio Tone It Up, the Jillian Michaels app, and Lauren Gleisberg‘s workouts.
I also made the decision NOT to run during my pregnancy because A) I didn’t run during the first trimester, and B) every time I tried, I could feel pressure on my pelvic floor. As much as I love running and miss it so much, I decided the right choice for me was to save myself from as much pelvic damage as I could.
Related: Second Trimester Must-Haves
Now that I’m in the third trimester, I’m realizing I need to be more mindful of the things I’m doing and just because I CAN do something doesn’t necessarily mean I SHOULD.
What I’ve Changed
Not much changed for me in the first trimester, except that I backed off the intensity a lot. My lack of energy made that an easy fix. When I hit the second trimester, I cut out any exercise lying on my back, including bridge style exercises, but I was able to pick up the intensity some. In the third trimester, I’ve started to notice some signs of Diastasis Recti, so I’m paying even more attention to the exercises I’m doing. My upward facing dogs have disappeared and my push-ups are completed against a wall. I can’t help but wonder what other changes I’ll need to make in these final two months.
What I’ve Learned
I’ve learned that pregnancy isn’t predictable and it’s different for everyone. All of those “what to expect” things are pretty standard, but you can’t predict how you’ll feel from day to day. Some days, working out is the easiest thing in the world for me, while others I want nothing more than to stay on the couch. This has become especially true on the weekends — my weekend AM workouts have turned into PM workouts and are sometimes non-existent.
I’ve also learned to give myself a little bit of grace. As “normal” as I feel most of the time, my body IS changing with each day and I can’t (and shouldn’t) be expected to do all the same things at the same intensity I used to. I know pregnancy is temporary, and while I’m using fitness to stay healthy, I’m also trying as hard as I can to enjoy every moment of these nine months.
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