Fit Mom: My Guide to Fitness and Pregnancy

If you have followed along my journey to become a mom you'll understand me when I say that learning that I was pregnant again was a major shock. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever experience a surprise pregnancy. Years of infertility treatments made me the ultimate planner, I was always able to prep for a possible pregnancy months ahead of time.This unexpected pregnancy was nothing short of a miracle but the news also caused me to start analyzing every part of my current lifestyle. Call it an instant attitude adjustment. Coming off a very restricted pregnancy with my son where I could do close to nothing physical, I had so many questions come to mind when starting to mentally plan the next 9 months.I'm a bit of a fitness addict so when I found out that I was pregnant I needed to discuss a game plan along with my doctor about what I should, shouldn't, could and couldn't do. Would I be able to continue the healthy lifestyle I was used to living?  My doctor explained that a good rule of thumb to follow is that if you are physically active before you were pregnant, it is likely safe to remain active during your pregnancy as long as it is comfortable. Pregnancy is not the time to try something new or exercise for weight loss.There are too many benefits to staying active throughout pregnancy. Sure, getting myself to the gym may take an extra dose of motivation from day to day but the payoff is huge. Exercise helps me with common discomforts of pregnancy by minimizing aches and pains and always helps me sleep better. Not to mention (along with a healthy diet) lowers your risk of gestational diabetes and depression. Staying active those 9 months may even help with having a shorter, less complicated labor. A huge motivator for me? Maintaining good workout habits during pregnancy will help you get your body back faster after delivery too. Win win win!

What I've Been Doing

Staying physically fit is something that is always important to me, pregnant or not. It helps my body feel strong and healthy and eases my mind. With that, experience has taught me that pregnancy can be very unpredictable. Week to week, day to day, even hour to hour can be different and I'm feeling the dramatic changes more this pregnancy then ever before.I will explain the exercises that have been working for me but I need to discuss the importance I've placed of the mental part of fitness and pregnancy. Pregnancy puts you in a natural state of unselfishness, with that said creating a mind set that shifts your focus off of you (relatively speaking) and onto the health of your baby is something that (with practice) should become second nature as you accept your pregnancy. What does that have to do with exercise? Listen to your body. If it feels good, I'm doing it. The minute it's uncomfortable, I stop. If I'm unsure of something, I don't do it. With both pregnancies, especially the first, I had SO many questions so I created a "note" in my phone of things I wanted to discuss with my doctor. I recommend talking to your doctor when you are uncertain about anything; food, beauty products, exercises, travel, etc. because there are so many restrictions when you're pregnant. CardioWhen running feels good I do it, however during month five it was giving me bladder pain so I stopped.  Most runners know to let your body tell you when it's time to switch to walking; nearly everyone does at some point. Walking is usually safe for everyone, it is easy on your body and joints, and it doesn’t require extra equipment. It is also easy to fit into a busy schedule. Only when I'm pregnant I prefer to walk on a treadmill because it's smooth and I can control the terrain. I like to add incline when I'm up for it, or flatten it out when it triggers a cramp. Occasionally I will also do the stair climber to mix it up or the elliptical machine because it places little stress on your joints.Strength TrainingWhether I'm at the gym, taking a bootcamp class or working out at home, I'm always working on improving my strength when I workout. Especially important is strengthening your abdominal and back muscles that can help prevent the lower back pain that's common during mid-to-late pregnancy. I find that when I'm pregnant I do a ton of workouts on my hand and knees, it indirectly works my core while strengthening my low back and butt at the same time. If you keep up with the weight training it helps you build stamina, which you need during labor and delivery. Strength training throughout pregnancy can also help you keep your weight gain within a healthy range for your body and make the bounce back process even easier through muscle memory. Note: As my pregnancy has progressed I have switched my reps to lighter weights and increase the reps.YogaI'm proud to say I'm a yogi and I've been able to continue my practice throughout my entire pregnancy so far. Yoga not only strengthens your core and improves flexibility it puts an emphasis on breathing and meditation, which fosters a sense of calm. I've taken heated sculpt yoga for 8 years now so my doctor gave me to the OK to continue these classes as long as I'm conscious of my body temperature and I'm not getting lightheaded. Yoga feels good and if it didn't I would stop. When I feel like I'm getting overheated I quickly walk outside and bring my body temperature back down. I drink tons of water during class and am no stranger to modifications, especially as my belly has continued to grow.  I avoid any core exercises that involve crunching or make my belly point up, I don't do exaggerated twists and movements that tug on my belly and moves that require me to lie on my back or belly for prolonged periods. When I was pregnant with my son and even more when I was a new mom, there were days when getting a workout in was challenging. One thing I did while I was pregnant (and am doing again) and even into the first 6 months after Brock was born was getting my work outs done at home, especially while he napped.  I'm working on a post all about this and can't wait to share it with you. Please let me know if you have any questions related to pregnancy and fitness, I would love to answer them for you or incorporate them into my next blog post.Love: Pregnancy is the ultimate act of balancing unselfishness and being selfish. As you take care of your unborn baby, you are also taking care of yourself. Pregnant women give up a lot, that cannot be argued against. They do it all for their babies. While three trimesters may not seem very long, anyone who has been there will tell you that it is much longer than one can imagine. That said, those carrying deserve to be selfish in some areas before the baby arrives. It's our jobs as future mommies to make the best unselfish yet selfish decisions purely out of love for all involved. No lie, this post inspired me to get my sweat on today so I'm heading out for some gym time right now. Thank you so much for reading and following along on my pregnancy #2 journey!Xo, Shawna