Finally, I’ve found something I can enjoy doing to keep me fit while pregnant!! YAY! I’m at week 24 now… 25 on Sunday and have found my want to exercise has really come back. I was really into the gym before being pregnant and was there 4-5 times a week doing a variety of classes, so it is good to feel like I want to workout again. The first Trimester was so hard as I was so sick so was unable to continue with any workouts then, and even into the Second Trimester, I was still experiencing nausea and sickness so found it hard to fit in a decent routine. Now, I’m heading towards the Third Trimester (week 27/28 depending on what you read and want to believe) and have a burst of energy. This is probably also helped by the fact that it is the summer holidays now!
I love to exercise for many reasons… it’s ‘me time’, I feel good when I’ve done it, I know that I’m looking after myself, I feel better about myself as I know I look better (happier and toned). But now, there’s another reason – I want to have a healthy pregnancy and as much as the whole birth thing freaks me out, it’s got to happen and as long as I am keeping myself fit and healthy, I am doing all I can to prepare myself for D-Day!
Speaking to my own mum, I know how much she enjoyed swimming both when pregnant and then afterwards when my sister and I were small (and even now… we all love swimming and find it a great way to relax and tone up). So, this was an excellent reason for me to give it a go. And, of course, she was right and I loved it and am now trying to go a few times a week.
I’ve also been enjoying doing some VERY light free-weights in the evenings… Not much, just some simple reps of arm exercises. These only take me a maximum of 10 minutes and I try to do these in the evening just to keep my arms toned up. Pre-pregnancy I was doing HIIT, Bodypump and Kettlebells so I was quite into my strength training, so doing some light weight work has been good to keep me focused although I am by no means pushing myself like I was before.
Occasionally I do an exercise DVD. These are great for switching up my routine while ensuring I am doing safe exercises for pregnancy. The ones I enjoy are ’10 Minute Solutions Prenatal Pilates’ and ‘What to expect when you’re expecting – The Workout’. These are both great as you can do as many of the 10 minute sections as you feel like and they are catered specifically for pregnancy. I’ve always been a fan of exercise DVDs and have a big collection of them that I would do pre-pregnancy, so these two DVDs have been great to give me a bit of a boost when I’ve needed it.
My other top exercise is walking – when the boy is home, we like going out in the evening for a walk around the local area and when he isn’t here, I like to walk into town, walk as much as I can when I’m out or if my friend is dog walking, I love to tag along and head out for a walk in the countryside. It’s low impact and I find I sleep a whole lot better when I’ve been out for a decent walk.
What exercises do you do while pregnant?
What exercises did you do?
Have you any tips or advice?
What about DVD suggestions?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions – rubellesmoon@gmail.com
Rubelle’s Moon
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