You guys! I am officially 37 weeks pregnant and feeling so ready for this little guy to get here. With every kid I have I seem to feel more pregnant earlier and earlier so by the time I get to this point it feels like I have been overly pregnant for a long time. Things that help me still feel like me even if I can’t see my toes include spending as much time as possible with friends and family, maintaining a reasonably normal schedule, and working out. I am so slow and so modified by this point but somehow I’m still making it to Burn two (ish) times a week, primarily thanks to my sweet husband, my gym buddy Jillian, and our Burn trainers.
**This is my story of working while pregnant, and yours may be different. Check with your doctor before starting anything new, and always be safe!**
Working out while I’m pregnant has so many benefits for me past just “staying healthy” or “feeling good”. I truly think it makes a huge impact on the way my pregnancies progress, how my deliveries go, and my mental status through the weeks. On stretches where I can’t make it to the gym I definitely feel the effects both physically and mentally from missing out on gym time.
When I was pregnant with Emily (our oldest) I was still teaching group exercise and worked out until the day before she was born. Literally went to the gym in the morning and then went in for an induction that night. My pregnancy with her was a total breeze. I felt good and my delivery was great. When I was pregnant with Sophie I dropped all my gym memberships and only worked out from home. It was a far more difficult pregnancy for me physically and mentally, but I still maintained a regular workout schedule as much as I could from home. When I was pregnant with Maggie I went to Burn multiple times a week until the pandemic forced us all into quarantine in the final 8 weeks of my pregnancy. I immediately felt differently but I wouldn’t say that was tied only to the change in my workouts but also because of the whole having a baby in the height of a pandemic factor too. This pregnancy I have maintained my two to three times a week at Burn plus some auxiliary workouts at home for almost the entire pregnancy (anything is fair game in first trimester) and yet again I notice a major difference in my mental and physical state. So what kind of workouts am I doing?
Burn Bootcamp:
This is where my primary exercise happens whether I’m pregnant or not. I’ve been a member at my current gym for three years and am a huge fan. I’ll admit that after working full time in fitness for multiple years I became a gym snob and for Burn to have kept my business for as long as it has is a major endorsement. I love the community that comes from being a Burn member and I love our trainers. It helps that they have now known me through almost two full pregnancies and postpartum journeys (I joined not long after Sophie was born). Cardio is a thing of the past for me at the gym right now so I mostly aim for the strength workouts (the schedule changes weekly) and then supplement with other workouts at home when there’s time.
Grokker:
This is my primary source for true “prenatal fitness” home workouts. There’s a program that has two different workouts for each week of your pregnancy plus a multitude of prenatal yoga videos. Pros are that you can do it from home with minimal equipment so it’s great for my off days from the gym, cons are that it can be tough with all the older kids around to get in dedicated time to workout. I also depend on Grokker for my first workouts back postpartum. I don’t jump back in to fitness, I ease back in so I usually take a few extra weeks away from Burn and do a Grokker program or two to help bridge the gap. Best part is they offer a free 14 day trial all year round!
Walking:
Ok walking is no joke when you are this pregnant but it’s great for cardio exercise and actually really beneficial for preparing your body for labor. Am I walking a lot lately? Nope. Can’t stand the heat outside. So I’ll call walking to my mailbox or up the stairs in my house exercise at this point too.
Beachbody:
I feel like you can’t mention any kind of fitness without also mentioning Beachbody. I was a coach forever ago and occasionally look at our “Beachbody On Demand” app for prenatal and postnatal fitness workouts. They have a ton, almost too many to choose from! I use these as supplements for my regular gym visits but I’m sure they would be great to help someone workout from home for their entire pregnancy. Shout out to my friend Sarah who is a coach if you need her.
That’s it! It doesn’t take much, just a few minutes a day for me to really feel like I’ve gotten some good exercise in. Working out while pregnant is as much of a mental challenge and it is physically. It’s not always fun to move a body that isn’t easily moved at times but the benefits for me have been major. I am grateful for my trainers at Burn who have gone above and beyond to help me keep working out. I have to modify almost everything at this point but they somehow make it happen for me and seem to make magical appearances to help me get off the floor when I need it.
Now we begin the final count down to meeting our little guy and I’m so excited! What kind of workouts did you enjoy while pregnant?
Parenthood and Pushups 