It’s been a while since I’ve done a workout post! If you’re new around here, I was a personal trainer for 9 years and really only stopped once we moved down to Charleston and I became obsessed with interior design. But I still have a thing or two (or ten) to say about fitness and am still passionate about it. My college degree is exercise science so it’ll always be a little part of me!
I’m a big fan of doing full body movements and lifting weights. However, since being pregnant my workouts have changed drastically. During the first trimester I would go for a walk around the neighborhood and call that a win, I probably only got in one actual workout each week depending on how I was feeling. Read my entire first trimester recap here!
Now that my energy levels are up and nausea is down (thank goodness) I’ve been getting in 3 workouts each week and doing long walks the other days. A pre-pregnancy workout looked something like: squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, overhead press, sprints, plank variations, lunges etc. Big movements, 5-12 reps depending on how heavy the weight was and 3-5 sets depending on the plan for the day.
Over the past few months, however, I have been having pain in my upper back and rib cage and am seeing a chiropractor in hopes of fixing this. So I’ve toned it down quite a bit. I would like to think that if it weren’t for this injury I’d still be doing the above movements as long as they felt good for my body, probably with lighter weights as my belly continues to grow.
So all of that was a really long way of saying: Here are a few workouts I’ve been doing lately, and they are modified more so because of my injury rather than because of pregnancy. As far as being pregnant and exercise goes, whatever feels good for my body is what I’ll do. I wouldn’t start a new program or activity that my body wasn’t yet used to and I’m super mindful of staying hydrated and taking rest when I need it.
Workouts I’ve been doing lately:
- Start off with mobility work, specifically to open hips and thoracic spine
- Glute and core activation (bridges, dead bugs, bird/dog, miniband walks)
- Lower body exercise: I’ll choose one of the following- Squats, forward lunge, reverse lunge, rear foot elevated squat, step-up, deadlift
- Upper body exercise: This is limited because of my injury- bicep curls, TRX rows, lateral raise. If I weren’t injured: Overhead press, push-ups, bent-over rows, chin-ups, chest press
- Core exercise: One of the following: Plank, side plank, dead bugs, farmer’s carry, hollow hold
- Lower body: One of the following: Lateral lunge, hip thrust, squat jump
- Cardio interval: If I weren’t injured- quick sprints (this is relative to the individual. I may end up doing a fast run if sprinting didn’t feel good while pregnant!)
Because of the upper back/ rib pain I’ve been having, I’ve had to modify workouts quite a bit and I really do miss upper body pushing and pulling. Right now for any of the lower body movements listed above, I’m usually holding dumbbells or kettlebells, roughly 15-40 pounds depending on which exercise. Pre-injury those weights would be heavier and I also loved using the barbell.
I am looking forward to getting more intense exercise in once baby is here (assuming my injury is better by then) and in the meantime am just going with what feels best for me and the sweet little babe 🙂
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