During my first pregnancy I was very fatigued in the first trimester and needed daily naps. I should have worked out more, but I was tired! Haha, great excuse, right? I did a little bit of TurboFire, a ton of walking and some prenatal yoga (my classes were twice a month so it was nothing too consistent). This pregnancy has been very different so far. In addition to the fatigue, I had extreme all day long morning sickness. I had 3 weeks where I could barely get off of the sofa and the only thing that kept my nausea at bay were Sour Patch kids. It was awful. I have honestly never felt that poorly in my entire life! At 8 weeks I went on anti-nausea meds and felt better immediately. Not 100 percent, but better.
If you are having an experience like me where you are very nauseous, throwing up and in general can't move off of the coach, the first trimester is all about survival! Yes, you might eat Sour Patch Kids and saltines and drink ginger ale and take a bunch of rest days, but you need to do what you have to just to get through it. During that time period I took 3 full weeks off of yoga and managed to get in about 2 other workouts a week. I was beating myself up a bit about it because I just wanted to work out, but I realized it was just a short time period and I couldn't really get in a good workout if I was throwing up nonstop. I did what a could, but I was mostly just trying to get through each day.
I consider anybody who doesn't feel terribly nauseous lucky, so if you are having my first pregnancy experience of just being tired, you can definitely keep going with your pre-pregnancy workouts (Doctor approved, of course). Working out really does give you more energy throughout your pregnancy and reduces your aches and pains. I am hoping to keep the awful sciatic nerve pain I had during my first pregnancy at bay this time around. Working out is also supposed to help with labor so fingers crossed that's true! It also should help with the weight gain, but as we all know, some people gain more than others no matter what they do. Try not to stress over the weight gain though, it will come off!
Tips For Newbies to Fitness:
1) Walk. Going on walks is a fantastic, easy way to get in some low impact steady state cardio. I walked a few miles every day with my first pregnancy. I haven't been walking much this time around though because my toddler likes to take slow strolls and doesn't like his stroller so the walks aren't much of a workout for me. I will, however, increase my walking later on in the pregnancy once my toddler starts preschool and I have some alone time.
2) Yoga. Yoga is fantastic while pregnant. I am still doing my hot yoga, which my doctor assured me was okay since I had already been doing it. It is not something to start while pregnant though! Prenatal yoga is great and is something people of all fitness levels can do to prepare for labor. Even if you plan to get an epidural, the breathing taught during yoga can help in labor. Prenatal yoga also really stretches you out and lets you take care of yourself in a loving way. I plan to do prenatal yoga later in my pregnancy when my hot yoga becomes too much for me.
3) Light weights. Obviously don't start lifting crazy heavy weights or sign up for CrossFit while you are pregnant, but everybody can benefit from weightlifting. If you start with very light weights, you can challenge your body in a safe way. Beachbody On Demand actually has a maternity series where Autumn (from 21 Day Fix) has a workout for each trimester as well as postpartum. It's nothing crazy, just some simple moves that you can do during pregnancy. I will be posting videos of me trying out some of those moves to my Facebook page!
Tips for those Previously Working Out:
1) Realize you won't be able to do what you were doing before. I made my weights lighter when I lift and I notice that I tire much more easily than before. I'm not trying to build muscle right now, I am just trying to keep some of what I have, so I lift, just not as heavy. I also stopped running, besides my Spartan Race, because I was spotting every time I ran. It's okay if you can't do what you did before. Your body is working hard to create another human. That's hard work!! You will return to your previous fitness level after baby is here. Even those women who post videos of themselves doing CrossFit at 40 weeks are still not lifting as heavy as they were before pregnancy. Work with your current fitness level and scale back a little.
2) Take breaks. I take a lot of breaks during my workouts. I just get worn out so much faster than I used to, so breaks are necessary. I pause my DVDs when working out at home and in the yoga studio I take child's pose a lot more often. It's okay. Remember the hard work of growing a baby? You are allowed to take breaks. My doctor told me how important it is to listen to my body while working out. Feeling nauseous or dizzy or are unable to carry on a conversation? Time for a break!
3) Take more rest days. I don't like rest days, but you know what? I take more now. I follow my Beachbody workout schedules but it just takes me longer than usual to get through a program. I really listen to my body. Some days I can lift and do cardio and go to yoga. Other days I just need a nap. Nobody gets a medal for most days spent working out during their pregnancy! Don't compare your pregnancy to anybody else's pregnancy. So what if somebody else is doing more. Every pregnancy is totally different and every person has different energy levels.
4) Hydrate! This is always important but even more so during pregnancy. When I was feeling sick it was a struggle to drink anything other than ginger ale. Now I drink a ton of water, especially when I'm at yoga. Coconut water is very good and hydrating too. My fridge was stocked with coconut water towards the end of my first pregnancy.
Basically the most important thing you can do during your pregnancy is take care of yourself. Physical activity is so beneficial and you will really feel those benefits post baby. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or if you want access to the BOD maternity workouts!
