Fit Pregnancy; Week 16

It was not my intention to make Monday and Tuesday rest days, but they definitely were. Monday I was not feeling well, and Tuesday was my first day of school(!), so I took my "spare" time in the evening to get myself set up with the class' online portal and do the chapter 1 reading. It's hard to do homework when you're trying to simultaneously feed your 3 year old dinner and block out whatever your husband is watching on TV. I'm going to have to start setting aside designated homework time where I am to be left alone. Oh, the things we take for granted when we are in our 20's and can lock ourselves in our rooms with no interruptions for hours.

Fit Pregnancy; Week 15

Monday I had the day off work! I got a massage and did a little bit of gentle swimming at the pool. A little later I went to Equinox, did 20 mins on the stair climber, and then ran through the Anna Saccone 2nd trimester workout. I did a little extra yoga and stretching, and I added some 3 lb weights to most of the exercises because I felt like they were a little wimpy.

Tuesdays my son goes to karate, so figuring our my workout plan every week is a bit of a challenge. This week, we packed up and went swimming at my parents' house. We swam around for just under an hour. I tried to keep moving as much as possible, instead of just floating around on an inner tube or sitting on the steps. After the kiddo went to bed, I put on my running shoes and went on a little VERY MELLOW jog. I ran about a mile and a half. It was my first jog since May. The first half mile was really hard, but as I ran, I slowed down a bit and it got easier. I got a good stretch afterward, then hopped in the shower and ate a late dinner.

Wednesday I went back to Equinox for another attempt at Firestarter. It was harder this week than last week. I felt sorta crummy for a few days this week, so it probably wasn't the best day to attempt a HIIT workout, but I did all the low impact options. No jumping, unless it felt right (which it actually did at one point, but then I went back to not jumping again). I move at a much slower pace than I used to. I did regular mountain climbers instead of cross body mountain climbers. So, just lots of modifications.

Thursday turned out to be a rest day. I was feeling pretty crummy, so I took some tylenol and took Joey to go swimming with my sister and nephew. I just grabbed an inner tube and enjoyed the weightlessness.

I actually ended up resting Friday and Saturday too. I just wasn't feeling up for much other than lounging about.

Sunday I got up and went to Vinyasa Flow at Equinox. In the beginning it was really hard, and I realized very quickly how much that class focuses on the rectus abdominus (the 6-pack), so I ended up having to modify quite a bit more than I expected. Once I got going though, it felt really great and I was very happy to have had the time on my mat.

Until next week!

from power to prenatal; transitioning my yoga practice

You guys know me a little bit, right?

I'm a fitness fanatic and I like to push myself to the limit. I think I've briefly mentioned this is some of my posts lately, but the transition from my former to current yoga practice has been tough - not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It's hard to go from your personal limit - where the line is usually in your head because 9 times out of 10 you ARE strong enough to finish this set - to your pregnancy limit - where your body says "Nope, sorry dude." and you actually need to listen because otherwise your body will crap out and really, you don't want your body making that decision for you when you're 7 or 8 months pregnant.

Working out so hard that you pass out or throw up is not really an option at that point. Not that that's comfortable in any situation. I've only worked out that hard once and I immediately regretted it, but going from a super active and fit person to someone who goes on walks, gets winded walking up stairs, does prenatal yoga, and dances with an Xbox in her living room... has been a challenge.

Despite wanting to push myself to my former limits, my body just won't do that anymore. Now that my belly is actually starting to get in the way during yoga, I thought I'd take some time to document how my practice has changed and why...

Here are some of the ways I've had to adjust my yoga practice to accommodate for this little person.

Take a wide stance
...in everything.

Forward fold - I cannot fold forward with my feet together or even hip distance apart anymore. The belly will not allow, so I take my feet wide apart so there is room between my legs for my bump and I can still get a good stretch in my hammys.

Don't be afraid to step off the mat. I did this for the first time about two weeks ago. I've been doing this modified twist for months, but just recently I had to step my front foot off the mat so my belly didn't get squished by my thigh. I was surprised, but it happened and that was that. Now my front foot is nearly always off the mat in this pose.

No more headstands (at least until this extra weight stops throwing off my balance and compressing my spine). I've been doing handstands and supported shoulder stands when I feel like I need to invert. I can't do regular shoulder stand either because it's too difficult to breathe.