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Posts tagged with: pregnancy
Oct 26, 2014    |       3 comments

4 tips to modify your workout for pregnancy

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As my pregnancy progresses, I’m becoming increasingly aware that I’m umm.. yeah.. pregnant! Ding ding.. This means that my usual workouts are getting harder, my body aches here and there from the relaxin hormone that comes with pregnancy, my growing belly gets in the way, and (tmi?) my bladder thinks I’m crazy to be moving at all.

Are ya on the same page? It’d be so easy to just give up workout out at all, especially with all the people who say you’ve earned it, you’re pregnant! Sound familiar?  But seriously, don’t we want to try to stay healthy while growing a little human?

Here are my top 4 tips to modify your workout during pregnancy so you’re still staying fit:

  1. Widen your stance.  For squats, lunges, even child’s pose, it’s helpful to widen your stance. You’re creating extra space for your baby belly, plus you’ll have better balance.
  2. Go for less or no impact. Are you used to doing cardio? Tone it down a bit. You’ve probably noticed that all that jostling of your body just doesn’t feel good after the 1st trimester.  The workout programs I do all have modifiers, so there are always low to no-impact versions of the moves. My current favourite is PiYo, which I am now having to cut out any little bit of impact there is. Another great program with easy-to-follow modifications is 21 Day Fix.
  3. Slow things down. You just may not be able to move as fast as you’re used to. Remember to slow things down in order to prevent injury.  Most of our bodies are more prone to pulling muscles while pregnant since everything’s a bit looser than normal.
  4. Go easy on the ab work.  Here’s one I’m struggling with. I want to push myself and feel like I’m working, but at the same time I really want to avoid diastasis recti (abdominal separation).. Yeah, SCARY! This is common, so it’s good to be careful of what you’re making those abs do while pregnant.  Pay close attention, and if you think you’re straining those muscles, modify or cut out that exercise all-together.
  5. (BONUS):  Set your ego at the door.  Yep.  I don’t think you should have a free pass to sit on the couch or skip exercise completely, but when you are working out, you need to remember that your body isn’t the same as a few months ago. It’s going through a lot of changes, and it’s expected that you may have to take things back a notch at some point. Don’t feel bad about that! You can add in more upper body strength work if you’re really feeling bad, but I like to think that the workouts I’m doing are still setting myself up for a healthy pregnancy and a much easier road back to being fit after my sweet baby is born.
Sep 10, 2014    |      Comments Off on how i’m staying healthy while pregnant

how i’m staying healthy while pregnant

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Oh the pregnancy struggle.. The one time in your life when everyone else gives you complete permission to do nothing and eat whatever you want.. but is that really the best choice for your body?  In my first pregnancy I started out trying to run 4-5k as much as possible, but that quickly became a bit of a joke.  Runs turned into walks, which turned into skipping it altogether.  Not this time!  I don’t want that feeling of absolutely dying when I try to play my first game of ultimate, or spending a year + wishing about my pre-pregnancy clothing.

I’m at 20 weeks now, and am doing pretty well!

Fitness
This time around, I have a plan for fitness.  I’ve jumped into the PiYo workout program, and have found that it’s PERFECT for pregnancy.  I’d never been into yoga or pilates, but this is faster paced and upbeat, plus I just plain feel GOOD after I do it.

It’s easy to modify!  In the videos, there’s a modifier that is so easy to follow.  I just love her.  You bet I’m modifying already, and will likely be a whole lot more as the weeks go on, but I’m not just going to quit.  I don’t want the terribly hard road back to fitness when I have this baby. I have high hopes that it’ll be easier than last time because I’m not spending a year or two inactive.

Other bonuses: No impact, increased strength and flexibility, and I can do it whenever I have a bit of time at home. No heading to the gym.  I still try to get it done when the little one’s sleeping, but sometimes she just has to sit and play or eat while watching me. Even better is seeing her attempt the moves along with her mama!  Plus, some of those workouts are less than 20 minutes long!

Nutrition
I have a nutrition plan too, although let me tell you, this has been a STRUGGLE for me.  My cravings are strong and my willpower doesn’t exist right now.  Do I want to make a million cookies? Totally.  Do I do that sometimes, and then eat most of them? Yep.  Still, I keep pulling myself back towards my plan, which has got to be better than no plan at all.

This is where the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan comes in (the workouts are amazing too, but I’ve delved deep into PiYo).  There are easy to use containers for portion control, and food lists.  I have so much fun combining foods and making delicious meals that work with the plan.  Healthy can be good.  My favourite part is that there’s room for things like chocolate! YES!

Want to join my next challenge group for either of these programs, or have any questions? Send me a note here.  I’d love to help get you started on your journey too!

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Aug 11, 2014    |      Comments Off on never give up!

never give up!

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We’ve got struggles and excuses, right? Not enough time to workout, kids with demands on us, too much work, not feeling up to it, feeling too tired, or even an injury. I can give you ideas to work through those excuses, but none of that matters if you don’t really WANT to.

Here’s my injury story and how I almost did give up. I was just finishing up with a round of a mostly weights-based program. In retrospect, it was too much heavy lifting for my body, and not enough other stuff to balance that out. Still, I felt pretty good, and was in pretty much the best shape of my life, able to do about 7 full pull-ups. Yeah, a few years ago I couldn’t do ANY, even after completing P90X, so I was pretty proud!

Best shape of my life, hoping to grow our family and be super fit through the next pregnancy so I wouldn’t have to work quite as hard afterwards as I did last time. Heh. Nope, didn’t happen. Out went the disc in my neck and weeks of crazy excruciating nerve pain. Top it off? No meds because I WAS pregnant! (Yay/OUCH!.. Best/worst combo!)

I was pretty crushed, knowing the recovery was going to suck, and my hopes for staying super fit were gone. I could barely sit up on my own, let alone crank out a T25 workout! I stuck to physio and still headed to the Beachbody Coach Summit. I skipped all the workouts, but couldn’t really skip the Super Workout. I mean, miss the chance to workout in the blistering heat with 9 000 other crazies? heck no! I headed there and kind of mimed the moves, but did my best. No jumping jacks for this girl! BUT, as my body warmed up, I was actually able to do a burpee segment. Enter the one-armed burpees:

I was still pretty bummed that I wasn’t going to be doing any harder workouts as planned, especially in the early days of pregnancy. Weight gain, lethargy, blech. Along came the PiYo workout program, and I’m LOVING it. It’s hard, but doable for me, plus low to no impact with a focus on stretching and strength building. Perfect for a pregnant mama, or someone who’s just had a baby! (Honestly, it’s a good match for anyone wanting to work on strength, flexibility, or injury prevention in sports).

While things aren’t going as planned, they could be a lot worse, and I’m feeling good about myself for sticking with some fitness even when I want to hide under the covers most mornings!

Want to start your own PiYo journey? I’ll coach you through it. You can get that program here.