I really enjoyed the long bank holiday weekend in Finland, my last trip to my home country before our baby will be born. Now at 6-months pregnant, feeling energetic is far from obvious but this weekend I felt better and took advantage of my improved energy levels to spend time outdoors with my favourite workout buddy ☺️ My partner didn’t mind adjusting the pace to my preggo condition which was nice so we could spend time together.
We escaped the heat wave in London as autumn had clearly arrived to Helsinki. 14 degrees Celsius but sunny – a bit chilly but perfect weather to workout outside! On Saturday we went for a long cycle ride in the countryside to visit a nearby farm (still only 12km from Helsinki city centre). On Sunday and Monday we powered walked into the forest and improvised a circuit half way through the cardio at an “outdoor gym” we discovered. Scenery was on point!
30-minute circuit:
- Squat jumps
- Squats with alternating knee lifts
- Skater’s lunges
- Step-ups with alternating knee lifts
- Triceps dips
- Press ups
- Shoulder press
For a few years now I’ve worked on changing my mindset from “training to improve my body” to “training to improve my performance and to feel good”. I’ve recently discovered that it’s much easier to adapt this attitude while pregnant! Now my number one concern is naturally the wellbeing of my unborn baby and myself – I keep active to maintain good health, relieve stress and prepare my body for labour. And to feel good 😊 During my pregnancy I don’t have fitness goals that relate to how my body looks, apart from avoiding excess weight gain (as defined by my doctor) which would be harmful for both my baby and I.
This is not to say I don’t care about my appearance or that I don’t enjoy seeing visible results but I hope this experience will help me in the post partum future to focus on physical and mental wellbeing as the primary goal for my training.
Exercising outside in the nature is the best! Therapeutic even. Excellent way to be present and enjoy the surroundings, the weather and the feeling exercising gives me 😊
Pregnant or not, give it a shot!
xoxoxo,
Sini