During the second trimester of my pregnancy I was able to remain active and continued my gym workouts keeping in mind the modifications and tips I got from the prenatal personal trainer in early pregnancy. To be honest, as soon as I regained my confidence at the gym and got my head around the idea of training safely while pregnant, I became a bit more liberal at the gym and trusted my instincts when training. By this I mean that I have not religiously followed the programmes I was given when 10-weeks pregnant but have complemented them with exercises which I feel I can safely do at an intensity (reps, weights) I feel comfortable with. Listening to my body has been the key. I have been feeling my baby’s movements since 16-weeks pregnant, and following her activity levels has also put my mind at ease.
That being said, it’s good to remain cautious and so I wanted to have a session with my trainer to go through further modifications and recommended exercises now that I’m only a few months away from labour. We went through a new programme and some general advice which you will find below. Note, I personally take people’s advice with a pinch of salt because no one else is an expert of my body or baby. I listen, I try it out, and if it feels good, I add it to my routine 🙂
General advice for third trimester training (note: some apply to all of pregnancy):
- No more static holds
- No more exercises with arms above the head. Blood pressure often drops towards the end of pregnancy and arms above head can make it worse
- No exercises lying on the back as this disturbs the flood flow to the uterus (or stomach, although you would probably not even think of that…)
- Do not hold your breath; baby needs oxygen. Also holding your breath can be an indication of you over-exerting yourself, which in itself is a no no
- Be mindful of squat/lunge depth because of softer joints and possible weaker coordination/balance
The PT left the sets, reps as well as weights used for me to decide. I told her at the moment my energy levels vary from day-to-day and so I adjust the workout accordingly. But as an example, on a good day I would do 3 sets of 12 reps, on a slower day only 2 sets of 8 reps (or take a rest day entirely).
As a warm-up, I like to to 10-15min on a stationary bike (easier on my back than walking).
Gym programme
1. Upper body (chest, back, shoulders) using cables:
- Standing cable pulls (can be seated)
- Incline standing cable pulls (can be seated)
- Standing chest press
- Incline chest flies
2. Lower body (legs, glutes):
- Wall squats with stability ball (can hold a ViPR to increase intensity)
- Static lunges (I added dumbbells to increase intensity)
- Cable pulls for glutes both to the back and to the side
3. Core (on the floor):
- Cat cows
- Supermans aka Bird Dogs (start on all fours and raise and reach simultaneously the opposite arm and leg forward/back
- Leg slides (propped up to a half sitting position)
- Leg arches (propped up to a half sitting position)
I’ve really enjoyed using the cables as it solves the problem of not being able to lie on my back/stomach. It’s also a fun change as I haven’t actually used them in ages!
I aim to continue to do resistance training 2-3 times a week, plus swimming, cycling (or spinning) and pregnancy yoga. This week I did a little less (2 days of resistance training, 1 day of swimming, 1 day of outdoor cycling) because I got the whooping cough vaccination on Thursday and I wanted to rest Thursday and Friday just in case my immune system was compromised somehow by the vaccination. Luckily it wasn’t so I was fit to exercise this weekend!
Below a snapshot of last week’s fitbit stats. Even with more rest days, I think the general activity level has been good! And now with the belly band helping with my back ache I can do a bit more walking again 🙂
Sweaty training!
xoxoxo,
Sini