One thing I've tried to be really conscientious about during this pregnancy is exercise. The benefits of an active lifestyle are touted for people in all stages of life, and pregnancy is no exception. But I'm not here to bore you with why you should exercise during pregnancy (because let's be honest, I'm not an expert); instead, I just want to share some comments about what I found did and didn't work when it came to exercising while pregnant. Of course, what I enjoyed and what worked for me may not work for others, but I trust that since you are reading this blog then you at least have a little interest in my opinion. Which is why I'm going to share it.
Even before getting pregnant, I needed variety in my workout routine in order to stay committed to it. I'm just not one of those people who can just go out and run three miles every day and call it good. So I knew that during my pregnancy I was going to need options--and since the majority of my pregnancy fell during the winter months, I was going to need indoor options. While there are many local options for prenatal fitness classes, classes have always intimidated me, so I opted instead for home DVDs. And for the most part, I've really enjoyed them. Rather than turn this into a super long post about specific DVDs I did and did not enjoy, though, I'll review each of the prenatal fitness DVDs in their own posts.
In addition to the exercise DVDs, Darrell and I also took walks whenever the weather permitted (or I would go walk on the treadmill at the gym). While I know plenty of people who maintained a running regime during their pregnancy, that just wasn't in the cards for me. I was too fatigued during my first trimester to even consider going out for a run, and by the time my energy returned I had started to form a decent belly and running just never seemed like it would be comfortable (to be fair, I never really tried running while pregnant. But I kept myself busy with other activities so I never really felt the need to attempt it).
One thing that I made sure to include in my fitness regime, whether as a component of the DVDs or on my own, was weight training. For some reason, this often gets overlooked in discussions on pregnancy fitness; it seems the emphasis is more on being active, even if all you are doing is going for a walk (which, to be fair, if you aren't doing even that, then adding a walk to your regular routine is probably more beneficial than adding weight training). And even when weight training is discussed, it usually focuses on the lower body and core, since those are the muscles groups that will be most affected by carrying around a massive belly. Again--the logic behind that is sound, but when you consider that after the baby is delivered you will primarily be toting that weight around in your arms (or using your arms to carry a car seat), then it is important to make sure you are preparing your upper body as well.
Personally, I found that using fitness DVDs that had a weight-lifting component was the easiest way to incorporate weight training, but there are certainly other options. Any sort of free weight exercises are good, and I found that incorporating a stability ball into the exercises added some nice variety while providing a safe way to work the core (since most traditional crunches are not advised during pregnancy).
Of course, no matter what you are planning to do, you should always make sure that you have permission from your doctor to begin/maintain an exercise regime, as well as ensure that the exercises you are choosing to do are safe during pregnancy. Every body and every pregnancy is different, so what works for me or your neighbor down the street may not be the best idea for you.
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