Happy Wednesday! This month is flying by which means I need to kick things into high gear to get ready for little mister. Anyways, as promised today I'm sharing my pregnancy workout. Before baby, I worked out 4-5 times a week and loved it. I always worked out after work and it was a great way to decompress at the end of the day.
Not much has changed in when I work out now that I'm pregnant. I still like to get in at least 30 minutes after work. This seems especially important as I have a desk job and my ankles get swollen and my body stiff after sitting too long. It's always great to keep my body's circulation going and stretch everything out. It's amazing how different my body feels pre versus post workout. However, I'm always accessing how my body is feeling. If I'm too tired or don't have the energy, I don't push it. Now I work out about 3 days a week.
Here's my basic routine:
Walks: Every day around 10AM I go for a walk around the parking garage at work. I make sure to walk down the 6 flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator and walk through every level of the garage for at least 20 minutes. I get a little leg work in because of the incline and it's such a great way to break up the morning and keep everything loose. The days I miss, I notice how sore I am from not getting up and moving.
Tracy Anderson: The Pregnancy Project: Many of you are familiar with this magician as she's the trainer for Gwyneth Paltrow and Molly Sims. I love her workouts because she focuses on getting everything slim and tight, not bulky and muscular. She does a lot of reps which can be killer but is so effective. When I saw she had a DVD for pregnant mamas, I was hooked immediately. She focuses on your body's needs each month which is crucial during pregnancy. The workouts I was doing in the my first trimester look a lot different than the workouts I'm doing now. Now it's all about circulation (faster reps), leg work, and prepping for labor (lots of stretching).
Yoga: On days when I want to do something but don't have the energy to do a full workout, I'll do a 10-15 minute yoga sesh. Think a lot of downward facing dog, warrior II and triangle poses. Nothing too crazy, but it always feels great to stretch. My back and chest always thank me for it! I wrote a post about my favorite yoga moves before I was pregnant if you want to check it out. I still incorporate a lot of them.
Honestly, this is all I need. Obviously I'm not trying to lose weight or gain muscle, just trying to maintain and keep some of the weight off as much as possible. During my first pregnancy, I literally didn't work out once and boy, can I tell the difference between that pregnancy and this one. I've gained weight slower (although my doc would probably say otherwise!), I'm less swollen, and the bump itself seems a lot more compact and less..."full." Ha.
If you have any questions about my workouts, let me know in the comments. :)