Pregnancy Workout!
I am not by any means a trainer or should give tips for staying in shape while pregnant. All I can give is my personal experience in and out of the gym. I am a petite person, standing 5’2” tall and weighing 113 pounds. I blame it all on my genes. I am built exactly like my father’s mother, she was petite even after 3 kids and stayed that way until she passed at age 86. So the thought of gaining a lot of weight and being “big” scared me when I realized that I was pregnant. I am determined to stay in as best shape as possible.
The 1st trimester was hard. I was sick all day long and exhausted. I would sleep till 730 am and get in bed at 530 pm. Everyone kept saying the 2nd trimester you will get your energy back and you will begin to start feeling normal. They were right! The day I went into my 2nd trimester it felt like I was a new person. So needless to say I didn’t work out at all for the first 12 weeks. I also didn’t eat that much because nothing would stay down.
Once I was in the 2nd trimester I went back to the gym and started doing yoga again. I continue to do the exact same work outs I did prior to pregnancy. I have researched many things the pregnant do’s and don’ts. The thing I took from all of the research is, if you did it before it should be okay to continue while pregnant.
I will be honest I am not on a strict fruit, veggie, protein diet. I eat what I want, when I want. I have noticed I can eat more than I used too but I don’t overdo it. I can portion control which is the best thing for maintaining my figure.
The one thing I will stress is walking! Walk as much as you can. I truly believe this added cardio has helped me to stay in shape and only gain 15 pounds at 27 weeks.
Here is an example of my Weekly Workout Routine. I do switch up the exercises occasionally.
Monday
30 -45 minutes of cardio – walking on the treadmill at 2.8. I can’t walk any faster than that because of my knee problems.
Legs: 3 sets of 12 reps
Leg press
Squats
Leg extensions
Lunges
Hip flexors
Hip abductors
Tuesday
30-45 minutes of cardio – treadmill
Back and Biceps: 3 sets of 12 reps
Assisted pull ups
Lat pull downs
Seat rows
Dumbbells curls
Barbell curls
Band work for the neck
Wednesday
30-45 minutes of cardio – treadmill
Chest and Triceps: 3 sets of 12 reps
Pushups
Flat bench press
Incline bench press
Dumbbell fly’s
Cable pull downs
Dips (on bench or on assisted machine)
Dumbbell for triceps
Thursday
30-45 minutes of cardio – treadmill
Shoulders: 3 sets of 12 reps
Lateral raises
Single arm dumbbell raises
Dumbbell should press
Arnold press
Friday
Rest
Saturday
Prenatal Yoga
I found a great prenatal yoga class at Still Point Yoga in King of Prussia, PA. I purchased a 20 class card for the remainder of my pregnancy. They had classes on Thursday evening at 730 pm and Sunday mornings at 930 am. Which worked out perfectly. They switched their classes up and now they are Wednesdays at 645 pm and Saturdays at 830 am. I do my best to make it to either but I am going to take advantage of all the sleep I can get right now!
Sunday
Rest
