As you know, exercise means a lot to me. It’s how I unwind, re-energise, destress, socialise, test my limits, exceed myself, feel empowered, the list goes on and on…
Yet during my pregnancy weeks 5 to 10 I did little of it due to fatigue, nausea and most recently, an awful cold. I restricted my exercise to walks (plus a few gentle jogs) and body weight exercises when I felt up for it. While feeling this way is completely natural and I clearly needed to slow down, it did drag my mood down a bit. Of course, feeling tired and sick isn’t exactly mood lifting in itself, no matter how lovely the cause behind it would be.
But FINALLY I’m back on my feet – yay!
To celebrate my “gym comeback” I got myself a new lovely floral gym kit for the summer from Fabletics. I upped to size S to have more room for my growing belly and boobs! Having strategically positioned myself directly facing the mirror, you can hardly see my mini-bump! (side profile is something else…) I have lost muscle definition already, but that’s ok – no need for six pack this summer haha!
So, on my 11th week I finally got a new gym membership to replace my beloved 1Rebel. This gym has locations both next to my office and home, has a large weights area, pool and a wide range of classes. My plan is to keep doing weight training to maintain strength and muscle mass during pregnancy, but at my own pace. I’ll aim for three times a week to have recovery days in between. I’ll couple that with LISS cardio, like swimming or walking. Walking on gradient (on the treadmill) is really efficient actually – works your bum and legs! I will also try a spin class, but not pushing too hard and monitoring my heart rate not to get it all the way up.
I will have a session next week with the prenatal PT at this gym to create a second trimester-appropriate workout routine. Looking forward to that!
In the meantime, I have been to the gym twice, having a rest day in between, and boy am I sore! Apparently in the last month my muscles had forgotten what it means to work!!
Here are my two spontaneous and simple workout routines from this week so far, both about 60min (the second is a slight variation of the first):
Workout routine 1:
Cardio 30min:
- 10 minutes of power walk on a gradient
- 10 minutes of light jogging on flat surface
- 10 minutes of power walk on flat surface
Resistance training 20 minutes, 2x 12 reps (light 6-8kg dumbbells):
- goblet squats
- lunges with alternating leg
- shoulder press standing up
- tricep extension sitting on a bench
- deadlifts
- bent over row – single arm, knee on a bench
Cool down 10 minutes: stretches and foam rolling.
Workout routine 2:
Cardio 30 minutes:
- 15 minutes of power walk on gradient
- 10 minutes of jogging on flat surface
- 5 minutes of power walk on flat surface
Resistance training 20 minutes, 2x 12 reps (light 6-8kg dumbbells) :
- traditional squats
- lunges with alternating leg
- bicep curl combined with shoulder press
- deadlifts
- tricep extension sitting on a bench
- bent over row – single arm, knee on a bench
- lateral raises
Cool down 10 minutes: stretches and foam rolling (notably more painful than on day 1!).
The idea behind these (spontaneous) combinations was to work the full body while avoiding any twists or crunches to my mid section. I also think it’s important to strengthen my bum and hamstrings to prepare for the heavy bump as well as keeping my upper body strong for carrying the baby around!
I started with cardio to get it done (not my favourite). Since my weights are small, it doesn’t matter if I’m a little tired from the cardio when I start the resistance section of my workout and this way I’m definitely warmed up,
Just a little reminder, while I’ve got some experience with weight training, I am by no means trained in the field and I don’t recommend anyone taking advise from me. This is just me sharing what I’ve been up to 🙂
Rest day tomorrow and spinning and swimming on the agenda for the weekend! Excited!
xoxoxo,
Sini