Staying active - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[pennywhistle]

Aha!  Thank you!  And LilyTiger thanks so much for that blog suggestion - looks like a great resource.  Hope you're feeling better soon!

[Honey693]

I want to join!  I need to find something I can do at home since we're visiting relatives for 2 weeks.  Once we get back home I want to try and do Zumba 3-4 times a week and maybe get back into weight lifting.  i really miss that.  I only did it for 2 months before I blew it off, but it was fun.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I really want to swim the entire time but a membership to the only indoor pool is way above budget.  

[Ninetales]

I haven't done a darn thing.  It's been wet and rainy here for weeks and that's enough to keep my lazy butt from walking.  I hate walking.  I've been taking lots of extra shifts at work, while also trying to keep this sty of a house clean and myself and Elsa fed.  It's just not happening until after Christmas at least.  I'm just too tired and not motivated.

[Tizzy]

Since we have a farm, I have no choice but to stay active and in shape during my pregnancies. DH and I were pouring cement while I was in early labor with DD.

Fortunately I should be past the tireds when lambing time comes, that involves a lot of late nights/early mornings, and we'll be in full swing for milking when I am due. Which is good, because it would be hard to get the young sheep trained in the milking parlour if I was really pregnant then. But by August they'll all know the routine and the only major extra work will be moving fences every day.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I have to admit that so far being active has been hit or miss for me. I've not been feeling well. But it's still a priority for me, so I know that as I feel better and better, I'll get back on it. I have pushed myself several times so far, to do something, but when I've been feeling my worst, there's just no way. And I don't feel guilty about that. When you feel crappy, you feel crappy. But i know this won't last forever. I'm not immobile or anything I just haven't had the energy to go to the gym at night, which is usually when we go.

[Veritas Vitae]

I'm normally super active, working out in the mornings before work and at least once on the weekend. This is mostly because my bf is the best support and we always go together. However, before I knew I was pregnant, I ended up throwing up after a bootcamp class, prior to my first missed period, which is when I guessed I might be. At about 4-5 weeks I was completely exhausted and didn't make it to the gym all week. I take mostly athletictraining classes and they can be pretty intense, so I'm a little overwhelmed by the thought of them. I have a question though...two I guess, this is my first, so I'm a little clueless, and even though my sis is knowledgeable on all things pregnancy, natural parenting, and baby related, sheisn't reallythat active. I'm starting to feel less fatigued, would it be ok to go back to my normal workouts? There isn't anycontact, just sort of nonstop for an hour. Also, I run, normally 3-4 miles at a time, with some longer runs, maybe 7 miles. I had previously signed up for a 15k on March 3, I'm wondering if would be reasonable for me to try and do that race still, or if I should drop to the 5k.

[LilyTiger]

I've managed to average about an hour long workout every other day.  Some days you just can't do it, and I'm ok with that.  I've had a weird (and a little scary) surge of energy in the past few days, so I'll take advantage of that to workout while I try to ignore what else it might mean.  I've been incorporating more squats and deadlifts recently to keep things strong down there.  Hopefully it works! 

Veritas Vitae - I did a lot of research and the conclusion I came to is that you're fine to do your previous workouts even if you took a little break at the beginning.  Don't listen to the crap about keeping heart rates low or not lifting more than 25# (seriously... that's what the nurse told me at my first prenatal appointment... I didn't tell her I'd just been swinging around a 35# kettlebell).  Listen to your body though.  I felt some weird stuff in my uterus in one workout, so I dialed down that particular move.  If my hips are a little weird feeling, I do a little more stretching.  The only thing (other than getting hit or something) that's seriously dangerous is that you need a lot more water than you're used to.  Dehydration is a really big deal for preggos, so make sure you drink a ton of water throughout the workout (and don't workout when it's super hot).  As far as the 15k goes, that's pretty far away, so you may just have to see how you're feeling at the time.  I know people who ran throughout their entire pregnancies and others who pelvises/knees, etc., couldn't manage past 5 months.  Everyone is different, so you just have to listen to what your body is telling you.  I'm still ok with running so far, but we'll see how long that lasts.  I can already feel the hips opening up a bit.  Good luck and keep us posted!

For what it's worth, A few good resources I've found are sistasofstrength.com (she's a trainer who just had her first baby and she has posts on working out through the different trimesters) and CrossfitMom.com (even if you don't like Crossfit training, this site has good info on the different ways to dial down workouts in each trimester).  Are there other websites people have found? 

[IntuitiveJamie]

Great advice LilyTiger. I second it!

[eleuthia]

I'm really struggling with being active lately. I keep feeling like my body is telling me to REST - for instance, I was up & about cooking Christmas dinner last night and had that "I should sit down" feeling but couldn't for long. After dinner I ended up with pains on each side where my cysts are that only finally went away overnight. I really hate feeling those twinges/pains in my ovaries/cysts, since I'm concerned about them twisting or rupturing, and it seems like moving around a lot brings it on. I will feel better about things once the corpus luteum is no longer needed, and once I have another ultrasound at 12wks that will tell me what's going on with the cysts. But if I wait until 12wks to start prenatal yoga, longer walks, etc., will it be too late? I'm worried about having the endurance & strength to make it through labor. 

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by eleuthia 

I'm really struggling with being active lately. I keep feeling like my body is telling me to REST - for instance, I was up & about cooking Christmas dinner last night and had that "I should sit down" feeling but couldn't for long. After dinner I ended up with pains on each side where my cysts are that only finally went away overnight. I really hate feeling those twinges/pains in my ovaries/cysts, since I'm concerned about them twisting or rupturing, and it seems like moving around a lot brings it on. I will feel better about things once the corpus luteum is no longer needed, and once I have another ultrasound at 12wks that will tell me what's going on with the cysts. But if I wait until 12wks to start prenatal yoga, longer walks, etc., will it be too late? I'm worried about having the endurance & strength to make it through labor. 

I feel the same way. I can't exercise, I can hardly lift my hands to type. My toddler takes every ounce of my energy. I don't think there's a problem waiting until the worst of first trimester symptoms end. That's my plan.

[Lizbiz]

I don't know why I'm reading the "Staying Active" thread just now... I'm sick as a dog and have called in sick to work for the first time ever :).  But here I am :).  I too will likely be just hanging on to life until the 2nd trimester at this point - I just have to accept reality that 2 kiddos and a full-time job are about all I can handle until I start feeling better.  I don't have enough time to sleep or eat properly, much less exercise. 

I will say, during the 2nd trimester with both of my kiddos, I could amp my workouts almost back up to what they were pre-pregnancy, even though I did almost nothing during my first trimesters.  

I ran throughout my 1st pregnancy (minus the 1st trimester) and was doing 7 mile runs on the weekends and did a 5-mile race when I was 7 months pregnant.  I was not that ambitious with a toddler in tow during my 2nd pregnancy, but my little boy kept me on my toes too!  

I think the extreme advice given to pregnant ladies about not doing anything you weren't doing DIRECTLY before conceiving or keeping your heart rate low or not lifting above X-amount of weight is pretty much a load of garbage :).  Spewed by people who are very concerned about liability.  Each woman is so different.  My midwife told me to keep running with my first pregnancy and that my body would let me know when I needed to slow down.  When I was a bit over 7 months prego - my body did let me know and I knew I needed to listen.  It was as simple as that.  

Staying active makes a tremendous difference in how you feel when pregnant - and during labor/recovery.  I can't wait to feel well enough to jump back in and start exercising again!

[MsZelda]

Originally Posted by eleuthia 

I'm really struggling with being active lately. I keep feeling like my body is telling me to REST - for instance, I was up & about cooking Christmas dinner last night and had that "I should sit down" feeling but couldn't for long. After dinner I ended up with pains on each side where my cysts are that only finally went away overnight. I really hate feeling those twinges/pains in my ovaries/cysts, since I'm concerned about them twisting or rupturing, and it seems like moving around a lot brings it on. I will feel better about things once the corpus luteum is no longer needed, and once I have another ultrasound at 12wks that will tell me what's going on with the cysts. But if I wait until 12wks to start prenatal yoga, longer walks, etc., will it be too late? I'm worried about having the endurance & strength to make it through labor. 

I feel the same way, like my body is just screaming "sleep!" "sleep!" ... but then I wonder if that would go away if I could get more active.
 

[Veritas Vitae]

Thanks for the advice, ladies. It's comforting to know that it is ok to stay active...now I just need to get motivated again. Luckily the queasiness, fatigue, and really all the other symptoms I previously had have seem to subsided. I'm also glad to know that staying active helps with labor and recovery.

[LilyTiger]

I managed a 30 minute weight/cardio circuit this morning.  Felt pretty good overall.  I'm definitely moving out of the horrible fatigue phase, so that's good.  I'm starting a yoga class on the 3rd, and I'm excited to see what all that relaxin has been doing.  I'm hoping in the next few weeks to get my exercise up from every other day to almost every day.  We'll see how that goes.

Here's hoping everyone feel better soon!  Waiting until the 2nd trimester is the smart thing to do.  I to those of you doing this with toddlers or full time jobs!  I just have dogs who can't talk back. 

[IntuitiveJamie]

This thread got me motivated again. Got to the gym tonight with the family and did a 40 minute low intensity cardio workout. I feel pretty good. A little queasy upon leaving, but still feel better overall.

[Veritas Vitae]

I was almost motivated today, I packed my cold weather running clothes when I came to visit my sister for the holidays, and had every intention of going out this morning, but when I just went out to walk my sisters dog in 30 degree weather, I got a little less motivated.  My sisters tell me it is warm here, but I'm from Florida and brrrr, it is cold.

[fazer6]

I'm a half arsed attempt person. My first 2 pregnancies were back to back so with my ds my bump was bigger (OK he did end up 2lb bigger) and my back was sore. I was a whale. I was determined to have a strong stomach and back. I've been doing stomach stuff and recently really kicked up a gear as I know the window for that is shortening every day! The lower back exercises I do too are mainly on my front so that's going to have to stop too. I am sort of quite active normally, we work from home and there's a fair bit of walking about. I don't have time for so much with that and a toddler, but I did used to do a free online hip oppener pregnancy yoga thing. We don't really have a pool or gym where we live (I've never been to a gym so wouldn't even know what to do when I got there!) so I guess just not having an overly sedentry life will help. Oh that and living in Spain where virtually all the fruit and veg for europe is grown so that it's cheaper and tastier to eat fresh than junk. I don't put on that much weight in pregnancy because of that.

Does anyone have any recommendations for good stomach and back exercises for when the belly gets bigger? I really want to see how active I can keep so I'm not a beached whale at the end with the same back ache I had last time. Hopefully not being pregnant straight after giving birth will mean I won't feel quite as bad. But my body isn't the same as it was the first time! I sometimes wonder how michelle duggar does it.

[Knitting Mama]

The Tupler technique is supposed to be quite good for strengthening core muscles during and after pregnancy.

[LilyTiger]

Clare - A good ab move I've been rocking is what I've heard referred to as the "bird dog".  You get on all fours and raise your opposite arm and opposite leg out in front/in back of you until both are parallel with the floor.  Hold them there for 1 breath (or however long you want) and then switch.  I do twenty of these on each side and you can really feel it through the whole core area. 

Another good one that doesn't require being on your back or belly is sitting cross legged with your arms out in front of you like an "O" (again, parallel to the ground).  Depending on your ab strength you can also hold a weight.  Then just slowly twist your arms, keeping the "O" in place from right to middle to left.  The slower the better for all ab moves.  Both of these are good throughout pregnancy because you don't have to be on back or belly and they also work a range of muscles in the abs.  Let me know if you find anything else!  I'm always looking for new ab moves.

Today I managed a 35 minute spinning workout and then 25 minutes of weights.  I felt like total crap today, mostly I think because I ate like crap (a half a jar of pickles, anyone?  Also, salt and vinegar chips.... Mmmm....).  At any rate, my husband totally pushed me to workout, which I simultaneously love and hate about him, and of course I felt much better after.  My biggest problem is that my symptoms (most notably bloat and gigantic-feelingness) get worse throughout the day, so by the time 5pm hits I feel like I'm carting around a 200lb sack of potatoes on my stomach.  This might be an indication that I should workout in the morning.  Hope everyone is still doing well!