Exercise? « Back to Group Discussions

[Linnaea]

I haven't been exercising much lately, mainly because I'm too tired, too cranky or my feet hurt   Ever since about 8 weeks along, if I stand on my feet for too long, they hurt and I have to rest for awhile.  I'm surprised that started so early, but what can ya do.  I'm frustrated that I'm not exercising as much, but walks typically don't sound good due to my feet and tiredness, so I try to squeeze in some yoga or some squats when I muster up the energy & motivation.  

Who is exercising?  How much exercise do you do and what type?  I'm thinking about getting a pregnancy workout DVD, not sure which type.  Any recs?

[buko]

Before I got pregnant, I had this crazy goal of working out 200 days from conception to birth (so, if I gave birth at 40 weeks, then that's 200x in 38 weeks, or about 5 and 1/4 days per week).  Then I revised it to 150 days (so that would be less than 4 days per week, on average).

I know it sounds insane, but I was actually hoping for consistency over intensity-- "working out" could be as little as one purposeful 20-minute walk.  Unfortunately, during my first tri, I just felt so tired and yucky I was lucky to get in 1-2 walks a week, and nothing else.  But I've actually done some sort of exercise 18 out of the last 20 days, so yay! 

I need to make sure not to overdo it, but I think I'm okay in that respect-- it's mostly been walking, though mostly long walks (40-80 minutes), sometimes with DH.  I added a little jogging a couple days ago and then was somewhat sore in my pubic area for a couple days, so I will go slowly adding that back in.  (I had been a semi-runner for a few years-- ran my last marathon about this time last year-- until I injured a tendon last December.  I have done minimal running since then, and barely since I've been pregnant.)

I also recently started a prenatal yoga class-- 1.5 hours per class, 1 time per week, 3 times so far.  It's really more like 1+ hour of yoga and 20 minutes of meditation and it's very beginner-y, which is great, because I've never really taken yoga before.  I figure it will help keep me flexible and injury free, and it's already helping with my weak lunge/squat muscles.  I bought a beginner-y prenatal yoga DVD to supplement it, and plan to do it 2x/week at home with DH (who loves yoga), but have only done it once so far.  I do like it, though!

http://www.amazon.com/Crunch-Yoga-Mama-Prenatal/dp/B0001LJCSO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348802561&sr=8-1&keywords=crunch+yoga+mama 

[spughy]

I keep trying to get back to the gym (I do weightlifting) but the universe is conspiring against me.  For my first trimester I had 2 days a week of fairly heavy farm work so I didn't worry about it too much, and I have a dog who requires a decent walk (at least 45 min) every day so I've been getting some exercise, but I really, really want to get back to the gym.  I have found though that a recurrent shoulder injury I've had has pretty much disappeared so I suspect my deadlifts were to blame for that so I'll maybe step those down a lot. 

And now I have a bad cold (damn you, back-to-school viruses!!!) so no workouts for me until next week.  But next week! I will try to stay blissfully ignorant of the fact that it's our Thanksgiving and my sister is coming at the end of the week and expects some big-time dinner at some point and maybe I will hire my neighbour to clean my house again and actually get to the gym.  Oh, YMCA, I miss you so... you and your barbells and your large smelly men... well, not that last bit, but there aren't so many of those when I go at 9:30 am.

[writermama12]

Hmmm, I'm not really the "workin' out" type of person. I do enjoy walks outside though, especially in the cool autumn air with rich colors all around. I've been walking just about every day since becoming pregnant, at least half an hour, and on the weekends I take longer hikes in the woods with the fam for like 1.5 - 2 hours. In the first tri, I climbed a few small mountains but I don't know how I will feel about doing that right now. We are going camping in Maine for peak fall foliage over Columbus Day weekend and we usually fit in one good long hike in the mountains so I don't think I will be able to resist, but I am afraid of getting too tired before making it to the top! 

Linnaea, I used two pregnancy DVDs with DS2 that I cannot find in my attic at the moment, but  remember one was called something like "The Ultimate Pregnancy Workout Video: Volume one" and it was pretty darn good. All strength training stuff without weights or props, led by a pregnant acrobat with a body of steel. The second one was a belly dancing DVD that was cool but I didn't use it much because a lot of times I just didn't feel like doing a difficult kind of dance, I'd rather boogie to Paul Simon or something. 

[scruffy too]

I am not doing well on the exercise front.  I have been doing at least 7 hrs a day of house-addition related stuff - framing walls, drywall, vapour barriering - and that's involved going up and down a very steep staircase enough that my legs feel the burn.  Some of my energy is coming back, and I'm hoping it continues so that I can get into walks (I, too, love the crisp air this time of year.)

I thought I'd be doing better, but that 1st trimester really kicked my ass!

[cocoanib]

walking is about all I do these days. We have a treadmill and weights at home, but there was no way I could fathom doing that these past few months. I'm better now, but even walking is a challenge.

[withlittlelungs]

It has been hot, so I have mainly been walking (at least 30 mins/day). If I can get my butt up early enough, I will go for a run (3 miles, or longer if my bladder can stand it!)
I also looked up prenatal pilates on youtube. But half the time I feel like I'm not doing the moves right lol

[writermama12]

Oh, I totally blanked on prenatal yoga!! With DS2 I went to yoga once a week from 8 weeks to 39 weeks with a month or two gap in the middle and I must admit that even though I loathed having to go, the stretching felt really good, my squat was perfected by the end and with a giant belly I could hold it for many minutes, and over-all I just felt more physically ready to take on birth (which only lasted 3.5 hours). If I were smart I'd take my own advice here, but going to yoga just doesn't sound appealing to me this time around. I know I can do the poses at home if I can muster the will. 

Buko, I think you will really dig it. 

[Linnaea]

Originally Posted by withlittlelungs 

I also looked up prenatal pilates on youtube. But half the time I feel like I'm not doing the moves right lol

 I've never been very good at pilates, I don't know what it is about it, but it just feels awkward to me.  I danced a bit tonight to music, it felt good!!  

[cactusita]

Running about 20 miles/week at a pace that's one to two minutes per mile slower than usual, and about to go for a 9 mile run with my husband.  I'm coaching a high school cross country team and we ran six miles as a group yesterday.  I got mad at my fastest runners because I caught them walking and cutting the route short.  They said they were "tired."  I haven't told them I'm pregnant yet, but I wanted so badly to bust out with "you think you're tired? I'm seventeen weeks pregnant!"

[buko]

Originally Posted by writermama12 

Oh, I totally blanked on prenatal yoga!! With DS2 I went to yoga once a week from 8 weeks to 39 weeks with a month or two gap in the middle and I must admit that even though I loathed having to go, the stretching felt really good, my squat was perfected by the end and with a giant belly I could hold it for many minutes, and over-all I just felt more physically ready to take on birth (which only lasted 3.5 hours). If I were smart I'd take my own advice here, but going to yoga just doesn't sound appealing to me this time around. I know I can do the poses at home if I can muster the will. 

Buko, I think you will really dig it. 

Yes, it's going really well!  Didn't turn out to be too intimidating, but is appropriately challenging as well...  My instructor is also a BlissBorn (kinda like HypnoBabies) instructor and doula.  We also signed up for her 1-day "Yoga for Childbirth" couples workshop, which I think will be really helpful (and DH is excited about). 

Plus, I've already ordered that 10-minute Pilates DVD someone mentioned elsewhere! 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RIWARG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Last few days, I have noticed that my belly feels like a bowling ball on my bladder/intestines (thought it was a little early for that feeling!) and that when I activate my transverse abdominals, it feels much better.  So I figured stronger abs would help me a bit, before I try a preggo belt or anything.

Cactusita-- Go, Go, Go!  How I wish I hadn't injured my glute in December...  I was hoping to run through this whole pregnancy, but I think I'll be lucky to build up to some intermittent jogging, maybe 3 miles, 3x/week. 

[maydaymom10]

Originally Posted by cactusita 

Running about 20 miles/week at a pace that's one to two minutes per mile slower than usual, and about to go for a 9 mile run with my husband.  I'm coaching a high school cross country team and we ran six miles as a group yesterday.  I got mad at my fastest runners because I caught them walking and cutting the route short.  They said they were "tired."  I haven't told them I'm pregnant yet, but I wanted so badly to bust out with "you think you're tired? I'm seventeen weeks pregnant!"

I had to laugh when I read this. When I was pregnant with DS, I taught two periods of high school yoga and was also the school's athletic trainer. Anyway, I taught up until my due date & I would have this kids complaining that they could do the yoga or whatever mild cardio we were doing that day & it just ticked me off. I finally got to the point when I was about 38-39 wks pregnant where I told them if they weren't at least working as hard as me (with my bulging belly) then they were going to fail. The next year I had one of those students in my sports med class and she told me that I was a little cranky at the end of my pregnancy -- you think!!!

As for this pregnancy, I'm staying home this year so there is not build-in exercise for me with teaching classes. I have been so tired. I've been able to get some walks in and started doing some light weights last week (only 2 times). I'm also hoping to start a prenatal yoga class that begins next week. It is time to start getting myself back in shape.

[scarletsmiles]

Buko. I JUST got this in the mail yesterday!

We have an exercise room in our apartment. I had health issues prior to pregnancy where I aerobic exercise was an necessity. Recumbant bike was the low impact aerobic exercise of choice. 30 min 3x a week and get I listen to my pregnancy podcasts:) Some weeks only make it twice, but I figure something is better than nothing.

I just got the pilates DVD and a pre and post natal yoga video so I can work on strengthening my core and lower body. I figure that's important for labor or something. :)
 

[chocolatechip]

Bump!

I think I need the accountability of talking with other people about exercise. 

I was so tired during my first trimester that I did very little except occasionally go out for little walks. In the last couple weeks, though, I've been doing much better. Most days I manage to either do a good walk (~1 hr) or yard work, and I find that weeding is really good for me, because I do lots of squats in the process! I did a prenatal yoga class last Sunday, and hope to do that every Sunday, because it was awesome.

Running sounds horrible, but I do also hope to get back to my pre-pregnancy Zumba classes soon!

What about the rest of you? What physical activity are you getting this week?

[buko]

Go, chocolatechip!  It was the same for me-- zonked out most of the first trimester, killing it this trimester.

I have exercised (mostly 40-60 minute brisk walks and/or 40-90 minutes of yoga) 24 of the last 26 days.  Woo hoo!

[madelaine]

Totally with you on accountability, thanks for bumping!

I did yoga twice this week... Savasana has an extra bonus for me in that I seem to usually feel some baby wiggles then!

I got a (second) (free!) replacement fitbit (pedometer) for the one I lost recently, so that'll get me back on track with making sure I'm getting in my steps... My 3yo DD has a strider balance bike that she's really into lately, so pretty much every night this week I've taken her to a park after work and walked (or run) after her as she rides around. She's getting faster, so this is a nice way for both of us to get some fresh air and exercise.

Last weekend, I did some yard work and lots of walking around at a festival, and this weekend will probably be the same.

[chocolatechip]

Go buko! Go madelaine!

Today I went for a long walk on the beach with a friend of mine. We didn't walk so fast, but I'd forgotten how much you can get a workout when the ground is really soft (it was rocky not sandy, but small rocks, so you still had to work at it). It felt good! And it was *such* a beautiful day, and I'm trying really hard to appreciate every day of sunshine we're getting right now, because sunshine in Seattle in October is NOT usual. September's not even usually dependably sunny. But this year, we all happily enjoyed a sunny September (especially me, since I actually felt up to being outside), and I'm not sad in the least that it's still sunny, but it's starting to get weird. I think this is our last six days of sun coming up though, so I definitely need to make sure to get outside all of those days, before the clouds come in. 

[spughy]

Chocolatechip - no kidding on the WEIRD.  We're having our Thanksgiving dinner tonight and we're planning to eat it outside.  If it's anything like yesterday (which the weather forecast tells me it most likely is) it'll be about 18 degrees (uhhh... comfortable) with no wind and sunny at about 4:30 this afternoon.  I've NEVER had Thanksgiving dinner outside before.

[maydaymom10]

Go buko and madelaine! I need to feed off of your energy.

I really need some accountability. I was doing OK two weeks ago with getting some fitness in, but I was a total sloth last week. I'm really having a hard time getting exercise in and juggling all of the other things going on in my life. Somehow I think I've managed to overschedule myself. I need to work on that this week. Oh, and forget working out while DS is napping, because I'm napping too. Still so tired! I really want to get something of a routine in place quick! I'm nearing the 1/2-way point of this pregnancy, and I'm afraid that if I don't get myself in shape physically, that I'm not going to be able to handle the demands of labor. KWIM? 

I have a Nike+ Fuel band that I use to try to keep up with my exercise, but it stinks in that it won't pick up exercise that is done when you're arm isn't swinging (such as pushing a stroller). I know what I've done, but it's nice to get the visual "congrats". 

[maydaymom10]

Well, I did it. I finally got my butt to the gym. I decided to do a step class, which was good but also a little overkill. Of course I ended up at the one that was more advanced and where they had been working on a progressive series for the past month. I hung in there. I chatted with the instructor afterwards and she mentioned that there is a more beginner/intermediate level that meets on Weds & Fris, so maybe I'll try that one next time. I'm just happy that I got over there.