MY WORKOUT JOURNEY THROUGH PREGNANCY

Being active has been a huge part of my life since I was just a little girl. I started working out when I was just 12 years old, and began sharing my fitness journey with the world at 22 years old on social media.Through every change in life, working out has always been that constant, so figuring out what “being active” looks like when pregnant has been a big challenge for me to work through  (if I thought finding the motivation to do a 5am workout before pregnancy was tough, DURING pregnancy it is a whole different ball game lol). Dealing with mental and physical hindrances that kept me from maintaining my “normal” workout routine really pushed me to face this topic head on and accept the fact that things change and sometimes all you can do is adapt to that change. At the start of my pregnancy I made it clear that I refuse to spend these 9 months worried about what I look like and how my body is changing. So, I have no other option but to simply look at this change as an exciting new chapter in life and give myself grace as I work through it. I am at a point now where I have come to understand that life will look a lot different from here on out (especially when baby boy gets here) and I am perfectly ok with that. 

Before I get into more detail about my workout experience throughout my first and second trimesters, I just want to make it clear that this is my personal journey and every single person and every single pregnancy is different!! Some women are so nauseous they can't leave their bed, while others don’t experience a single negative symptom throughout their entire pregnancy. So just remember that as you continue to read about my experience (and anyone else’s), and be kind to yourself if your workout journey looks completely different than mine. 

Alright, let's start with the first trimester…
I have mentioned this before in my TTC newsletter as well as on my socials, but after experiencing a loss in May, I decided to dial back my workouts a bit. I thought maybe the stress on my body from working out had been contributing to me and my fertility, and I was willing to try anything that would potentially help me maintain a healthy pregnancy. So, I took a break from the gym and ended up getting pregnant a couple months later. In total, I ended up taking about  a month or so off (outside of sometimes walking around the neighborhood) and right as I was about to start back up my workouts again around 5 weeks pregnant, my nausea hit me like a bus. Because of that extreme nausea, my workouts changed dramatically and I had to be much more in tune with my body to figure out the perfect circumstances to workout and be the least nauseous - which usually ended up being first thing in the morning after a couple of waffles, some crackers and a cup of coffee. I ended up doing 1-2 days per week of F45 weight training, 1 day/week of lifting glutes/shoulders, and 1 day/week doing lagree. All of  those workouts were done at about 50% intensity of what I typically did. I honestly felt very winded and weak that first trimester, but I was just happy to keep up with maintaining some type of movement! But there were also days where I was just feeling so bad that I couldn't bring myself to get up off of the couch, and those days I just had to be patient with my body and give myself grace. It is OK if you literally cannot even consider working out even one day of the week. You are  growing a whole human!!! Remember that and give your body credit for the amazing things it is doing. 

Ok now moving on to the second semester…
Oh boy. When I tell you I legit cried happy tears the day I hit that second semester and no longer felt sick, I am being dead serious lol. Second trimester has been a complete 180. The burst of energy plus nausea disappearance has made it SO much easier to stick to working out 4-5 days a week. Additionally, I know that staying active can help me to have an easier labor and I want to have the best labor/delivery experience possible, so keeping that in mind has helped me to stay motivated to prioritize keeping my body strong throughout this pregnancy. I also know postpartum recovery will be easier if I stay active, so that has been another motivator. So, if you are feeling good at any point in your pregnancy, take advantage of those moments and push yourself to stay strong and stay active - for both you and your baby. I will say, things start to get a bit harder as you get bigger, but you just learn to adjust and make modifications as you go. With all of that said, second trimester I have been gravitating towards Lagree 2-3 days/week and weight training 1-2 days/week (everything but ab movements or hip thrusts/laying on my back). Then, on the weekends if it is nice out, Steve and I take walks around the neighborhood that last about an hour each! Overall, I am taking it a lot slower because if I go too hard, I am wiped out the rest of the day and it becomes hard to get everything else done in life. At the end of the day I am just doing my best to stay active and maintain my strength to have as easy of a delivery and recovery as possible and to keep myself and baby boy healthy. 

I enter the third trimester next week. Stay tuned on how those workouts will go :) 

I hope this gives you all some clarification on what my workout experience has been while pregnant, as I get a lot of DMs about that topic. I hope you also feel a sense of peace knowing that it’s perfectly ok if things look a bit different for you, whether it’s less frequent workouts or no workouts at all. As long as you are listening to your body and doing whatever feels best and will be best for you and your baby then that is all you need to do. Whatever you are feeling right now, know you are not alone and you’ve got this. 

xx,

Tay