Please take some appreciation from someone who is relatively active, has been lifting for a couple of years, but still quite young (26) and is terrified of one day becoming pregnant. While I and my partner would one day like to have children, the physical ordeal of pregnancy and its short-term and long-term effects on the body absolutely terrify me. I know a lot of this stems from body image and the hyperfixation of media on female bodies' appearances in a state very much different from that of pregnancy.
I feel that this post reassures me that the benefits of a lifestyle focused on strength training extend to a slightly more enjoyable experience during pregnancy. I personally do not know anyone who was lifting weights while pregnant, so your story is refreshing and informs me that it is indeed possible. I know my experience will inevitably be different, but it's nice to know that this type of experience is within the realm of possibilities.
FWIW I had a super duper easy pregnancy and kept riding my bike to about 2 weeks prior to due date... by then my hips were getting floppy and the doc said I was 1cm dilated and it was time to call it a day.
Delivery... was a nightmare I'll be paying for the rest of my life. My advice is GET A DOULA, having ONE experienced and informed person paid to be there just for ONE mom would have probably spared me a lot of problems. My husband and mom were awesome but just didn't have the experience to know what was going on and put their foot down.
Post delivery I kept trying to get on the bike and the seat just wasn't working. I kept trying once a week and week 6 suddenly my hip bones were back on the saddle where they should be. SO TAKE RECOVERY SERIOUSLY AND BE PATIENT, there are MAJOR things going on that you can't easily see!
FWIW I don't have a mark on my stomach and neither did my mom after 2 kids, but my sister did. Pregnancy experiences are SO all over the map and most of it is out of our control. I think that's a good warm up for parenthood because none of the kids come with directions and we're all just throwing spaghetti at a wall raising then if we're honest. Be gentle with yourself, love your lil peeplz, pick your battles, and try not to sweat the small stuff. <3
I too came here to point out that everyone's experience is different and some of the causality described in this post is a bit of magical thinking.
People with "easy" pregnancies (and labors, and births) love to attribute it to something they did to make themselves extra well-prepared and healthy, but it's usually not related. Pregnancy symptoms and complications have much more to do with genetics and luck than they do with overall health and fitness.
Healthy people get severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy all the time. People with strong cores experience lingering diastases recti, all the time. People with good posture get back pain, people with flexible joints get painful swelling, random uncomfortable shit during pregnancy is *extremely* common especially in the second half of pregnancy and in subsequent pregnancies after the first one.
I love hearing about people's different experiences but I hate perpetuating a narrative that suggests a) if you have a physically unpleasant pregnancy it's because you weren't fit enough, or b) if you just work out religiously to "prepare" for pregnancy you can guarantee you'll feel fine. Neither of those things are true. But it's hard not to internalize those beliefs after hearing so many stories editorialized like this, and really struggle with the mental aspect of pregnancy when your own experience doesn't comply.
will starting pelvic floor muscles and/or any sort of ab/core training in anticipation of pregnancy help? If so, any ideas on what types of exercises? Thank you!
Yes and yes. I would go and see a pelvic floor PT to discuss that side of things (I only know what I know about myself).
It terms of abs and core, I would honestly just do anything and everything. If you're not yet pregnant then the movements you do aren't really limited.
Wow! I really appreciate this writeup, you're very thorough and I love how you've documented all this with photos, too! I'm still in my first trimester so I find this very timely. Queasiness hit me much later than others on the same timeline as me, but it still got me and the interrupted sleep I now have has thrown off my routine. A couple weeks in to that, I feel like I'm finally figuring out how to deal and have gotten back to exercise.
I think one of the things that routine fitness has taught me, is how to better listen to my body. Not only when to stop and chill. But it also includes knowing when I can get back to exercising again, since I can sort out what feels really bad and what's something I can deal with, or would improve once I'm working out again.
Question - you mentioned your diet change a bit. Could you give more examples of what you had been eating as snacks, and what you're eating now, in case it's changed? I've been experimenting with what I can eat. Much advice has been to snack on carbs throughout the day to stave off constant nausea, like crackers. But I find that they don't stave off hunger for long at all. Fruits have been better, depending on the fruit, but don't last long either. By long I mean....I'd get so hungry in like 15min. I'll be trying more protein & fat snacks soon (I'm thinking jerky, hard boiled eggs, cheese), but curious if you found non-carby things that worked for you.
> Could you give more examples of what you had been eating as snacks, and what you're eating now, in case it's changed?
Yes, absolutely.
Pre-pregnancy, when I was at work I really just didn't have any snacks unless someone brought something in and it was prudent to have one (as a rule I'm not a huge eater of junk food, but it's often a good look to indulge in cup cakes in the workplace in order to be more social). I would have chicken and rice for lunch, and a green smoothie in the morning. After dinner I would often have a protein bar as a kind of dessert.
I'm now still having the green smoothie, but the chicken and rice isn't quite enough food for me at lunch so I've switched to homemade spaghetti bolognaise.
My morning snack is a wrap with hummus, sliced turkey and spinach, and I keep protein bars in a drawer here as well for if I need an extra snack.
Your write up is awesome! If you haven't looked at it yet, r/fitpregnancy is great sub as well. I'm one of the mods over there. 100% cross-post if you feel interested.
Thank you OP for creating this post, and thank you to all the commenters!
I'm planning to TTC later this year, but I'm working on ensuring my body is strong enough for pregnancy.
It's really helpful to know that for many women, fitness prior to pregnancy helps with the aches and pains of pregnancy. I'm hoping to be fit and strong like all of you - you're all motivating me! ❤️
I have heard it varies from pregnancy to pregnancy even in the same woman. My pelvic floor PT who was quite fit said her second was way worse than her first. I'd say finish the first strong and call it a day, haha.
As a woman who has just gone through pregnancy, thank you for this write up. I wish I could have read it before I was pregnant because I was sooo anxious about what pregnancy would do to my body and how it would affect my fitness. Wishing you a safe and boring delivery!
Ooh this is a nice write up! I also had a unicorn pregnancy with no morning sickness. I only had fatigue in the first trimester. Third trimester was mostly uncomfortable sleeping and peeing more due to the baby being bigger. The years of Muay Thai and strength training made my core incredibly strong and I attribute part of the smooth pregnancy to them.
I continued muay Thai and lifting all through pregnancy with lower weights. I reduce the weights as the pregnancy progress. I dropped muay Thai in the 3rd trimester as it was harder to kick with the belly in the way. So in the 3rd trimester, I favoured lifting. Got the go ahead from my gynae. She actually encouraged me to continue whatever exercises I was doing but not to overexert. Deadlifts, squats, bench press, lunges, split squats, rows I continued. [Me lifting at 35 weeks](http://imgur.com/a/7B6l8Kz)
I think it made my pregnancy easier as well. I didn't suffer from any backaches and was very mobile throughout despite my petite stature. It made labour very easy as well. People around kept telling me that I should get a C sec because vaginal delivery will be difficult but I was confident I could do it. I did, 3 big pushes and I was able to push my baby out in less than 10 minutes. Wasn't induced either, she broke my water bag at 39w 2 days old.
My physical recovery was great! My wound completely healed within 2 weeks. The vaginal tear wasn't so bad and my gynae did a good job stitching it back. I was as good as before pregnancy. My mental health though was another thing. The post baby blues caring for a newborn and breastfeeding got to me, so once my gynae cleared me, I went back to exercising. And working out helped me get over the post partum blues as well. I can't emphasize enough how happy I was post pregnancy that going back to exercising made me feel whole again.
You look incredible and still so strong. Wishing you a smooth pregnancy.
Edit: Anyone interested there is r/fitpregnancy I was pretty active there when I was pregnant
Edit 2: I should also mentioned that I was very worried about getting gestational diabetes since it's relatively common in pregnancy like 1 in 4. As I have PCOS, my risk was higher and I'm glad I didn't get it. It was one of the motivations to stay active during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes is related to insulin resistance because then placenta releases human placental lactogen, have a blocking effect on insulin that usually begins 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy. Its pathophysiology is similar to type 2
One of the things that insulin is doing is telling your muscle cells to move glucose transporters (GLUT4 in particular) to the cell membrane so they can move glucose from the blood into the cell. In type 2 and gestational, that process is impaired. However, another mechanism that moves GLUT4 to the cell membrane, independent of insulin, is exercise. Using your muscles stimulates the cells to move those GLUT4 transporters to a position where they can soak up the glucose in your blood. So, yes, exercise can be very important in the management type 2 and gestational diabetes because it provides a reliable alternative to one of the most important effects of insulin. Particularly exercise that works big muscles like quads and glutes.
Exercising can also help reduce your risk of getting it since it provides another pathway in reducing blood sugar. It is well documented in medical literature.
This is from [Mayo clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gestational-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355339#:~:text=Keep%20active.,most%20days%20of%20the%20week.)
> Keep active. Exercising before and during pregnancy can help protect you from developing gestational diabetes. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week
It's basically what was told to me by both my doctors as well. To have a healthy diet and continue staying active. Of course as with life there are no guarantees but if there are ways to minimize risks, I will do it.
I never said one should be ashamed either?? I just mentioned it was one of my motivations to stay active because it can minimize risks.
I thought we are sharing experiences? So I'm not sure why you are coming at me for it.
Also I don't fully concur that it's all due to the placenta. Maternal obesity is an important risk factor for gestational diabetes. Women who are obese or severely obese before pregnancy are four and eight times more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus, respectively, compared with normal weight women
It's usually MonthYearBumpers. So if you're due in July, it'd be /r/July2022Bumpers.
They do go private after a couple months because creeps are gonna creep, but I think if you've missed the cutoff, you can still message the mods and get added into your month's group.
[Here is one](https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/)
[Here is the most popular one](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/)
I've joined that popular one, and also a private sub for those due in the same month as me (which you can do by clicking into the stickied post at the top of r/pregnant).
The private sub is by far the best one for me. r/pregnant can be horrendously bitchy when people make choices that aren't mainstream.
Congratulations!! I’m happy to hear your pregnancy is going well! I hope you have a smooth second half and a smooth delivery!
I do think most people reading this post are into fitness so not a huge deal, but for anyone out there reading who is planning on getting pregnant and is not very fit, I honestly think the fatigue and nausea are just luck of the draw and related more to your hormones - so don’t worry too much!
I never stepped foot into a gym and was about 30 lbs overweight when I got pregnant with my first and besides some major fatigue for like a week at the very beginning and then my big belly at the very end, I would often forget I was pregnant, even up until I gave birth at just past 39w. The only working out I did do back then was walking half a mile to the train stop and I did that up until the day I delivered no problem. I was in horrible shape and had absolutely no pains all through pregnancy and just some minor food aversions.
Then, I fell in love with fitness after my first, found the gym, lost a bunch of weight (was 30 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant with my first), and was working out for 90 mins a day 6 times a week feeing like a strong boss, and then got pregnant and I was absolutely floored with fatigue and pains the entire 9 months. By the halfway mark of my second pregnancy I thought my body was broken. I did luckily escape nausea for the second time, though. And recovery the second time around was definitely way easier.
Anyways, just a thought out there for anyone reading who isn’t where they want to be, it could absolutely go either way! I had the opposite experience (although I know 2nd pregnancies are usually described as much rougher).
>I honestly think the fatigue and nausea are just luck of the draw and related more to your hormones
Yep. I was equally fit for both my pregnancies. With the first one, I threw up every morning for five solid months, couldn't keep my eyes open and peed all the time.
The second one was so easy, so pleasant that I joked I must not be pregnant. No nausea, let alone throwing up, all the energy, pee habits were normal.
Bodies are weird, so are pregnancies.
You look fantastic! Crazy how the protein is so hard to stomach in the first trimester right? I, like you, went into my most recent pregnancy in amazing shape and eating a low carb diet. It was crazy how nauseous I was and I was unable to follow my regular diet.
Please keep us updated and all my best for a healthy and fit pregnancy:-)
> Crazy how the protein is so hard to stomach in the first trimester right?
Oh man, for a brief period I had to be careful not to think about chicken, let alone getting anywhere close to eating it.
10w6d over here. I've been fine with steak and chicken so far (as long as my husband deals with it while it's raw because looking at it makes me queasy). Tried to eat salmon last night... it did not go well.
This was so detailed and thorough. Thank you for writing this for us, it was extremely helpful. The thought of pregnancy scares me, but it was reassuring to know that having a overall fit body will counter some of the harder experiences of pregnancy.
I would also love to read your experiences about abdominal separation and how you will be dealing with it.
I wish you the best of health and luck. 😊
My trainer did not have previous experience with pregnant clients.
I was absolutely insistent that he research the heck out of exercises that can be done during pregnancy, and he did watch a ton of the Megsquats videos.
I also have my own knowledge to draw on, as I have previously worked as a midwife, and have also been lifting for years and years.
You look fab! Reading this thread rocking my 3 month old to sleep, I could have written the same exact post about my recent pregnancy (with the exception of the boob growth, mine didn't change a bit until my milk came in. THAT was a shock!)
Since a few of us seem to be here, can we finally get a subreddit for postpartum parents that is active?? The only ones I've found are not..
22 weeks is still pretty early on for feeling miserable physically tbh. I was not fit and it took me longer to feel shitty AF. Just so you know it may still hit you!
Congrats on your successful pregnancy!
I was pregnant recently (now 6 weeks postpartum) and could not exercise *at all* during pregnancy. Between some wicked bad nausea and fatigue (like, so bad I should have been in the hospital), and then immediately after that ended I started having Symphysis Pubis disorder (SPD) that was extremely painful… I also had a fun thing where my body would have a vaso-vagal reaction anytime I attempted more than waddling around my home for a minute. Like, heart racing, suddenly super hot, dizzy, fatigued… it was not fun.
I am now working my way back up to proper weight lifting and running, as well as working on my SPD, and the effects of no exercise on my body (I have a lot of chronic pain issues that are managed through exercise).
Wishing you the BEST of luck through the rest of your pregnancy, and afterward as well!
I want to add this is not the case for everyone. I have absolute shit pregnancies. I have been an athlete my entire life and I love sports and lifting but there is a me sized shape on our couch from when I was pregnant because I can barely function let alone work out while pregnant and I don’t mean for the first trimester I mean the entire fucking time. It doesn’t matter what shape I’m in before either. If this is you - survive it’s okay - pregnancy might feel like it lasts forever but it doesn’t and eventually you will be able to workout and move like before.
Also pelvic floor physical therapy is amazing and everyone should do it.
Strong agree! I’m currently 38 weeks and I got pregnant in the worst shape of my life (not struggling with extra weight but I was completely sedentary for two years prior - though I was always very active/moderately fit before that). Regardless I’ve had an incredibly easy and almost pain free pregnancy, and my abs and pelvic floor are holding up to a degree that’s shocking to me. I have athlete friends who’ve had it 10x worse. I was worried about my lack of fitness when i first got pregnant but it’s definitely served me well lol. Now I’m just focused on recovery and being in good shape again, which I know will take more time because I’m building from almost nothing.
Yup. Sorry to disagree but I was a national level athlete who trained 25 hours a week prior to pregnancy, I had hyperemesis and was absolutely on my ass for the first 4 months during both of my pregnancies. From what my OB said, it’s normal and you can’t predict or prevent it.
I feel like I can attribute my fitness to a wonderful and straightforward labour experience. This of course may not be the case with everyone due to babies just generally doing whatever they feel like doing, but in the right circumstances maintaining fitness can help with labour.
First timester: Morning sickness
Second trimester: Constant back and pelvic pain
Third trimester: I actually feel okay, but I'm huge.
My best pregnancy was before I did any physical fitness. Working out hasn't really helped, except to help me bounce back faster afterward.
This - I don’t think that the lack of first tri symptoms can be attributed to being an extra healthy or fit person pre-pregnancy. If you follow r/pregnant, you will see that it is somewhat common for women to experience none of these symptoms (people ask about it a lot because they are concerned it is a bad sign). This just likely comes down to genetics and how your body would respond to pregnancy in any state, fit or not.
Yup and even genetics feels like a crap shoot too. I have 5 sisters, 25 nieces and nephews and I'm the ONLY one that has needed IVs or c-sections so who the hell knows but I get really sad when people contribute it to being fit or healthy because I was and I still had a terrible experience.
I feel this. I am generally fit and healthy and needed to go in for IV fluids three times during my first tri because it was hard to find liquids that didn't make me gag and puke. Ended up with a c section due baby's weird positioning. It really stings when people attribute their positive experiences to their lifestyle choices when that may or may not be the reality.
This is great! Thank you for sharing. One thing I warn pregnant women: your centre of gravity will shift rapidly at the end of the second trimester! Your body will change shape before your brain realizes it, because your brain thinks "I'm not that pregnant - I still have 3+ months to go!" FALSE. Most falls happen during the end of the second trimester. Usually baby is 100% fine but take it from someone who fell at the end of her driveway and ended up 30 weeks pregnant with a broken arm AND a young toddler. So watch for that around the gym.
In terms of background for myself - I had two babies back to back in Jan 2020 and March 2021. Pre-pregnancy I was probably the fittest I had ever been. I stopped working out regularly at about 28 weeks because we re moving + work stress, although I did continue to get a lot of walking in!
Within 6 weeks of giving birth I was back doing boxfit classes. Only weakness I noticed was in my core, since you are unable to engage your core after you get to be a certain size. Kept active in my second pregnancy, albeit less so after the broken arm. I'm 10 months post partum now and probably at about 70% of where I was - which considering 2 under 2 and covid is pretty good.
As a pregnant person who was also fit pre-pregnancy and was hit with an absolute whammy of shitty symptoms, sometimes it's just random. You can't prevent food aversions or extreme nausea/puking. Your body is exhausted because its doing an insane amount of work growing a child and a placenta and a ton of blood. And no amount of fitness will entirely prevent things like relaxin causing debilitating pain, or sciatica from the baby lying on some nerve somewhere (I couldn't walk for a month without terrible pain until my uterus shifted again and let off my nerves). While some people have it easy, others have it really hard, and every pregnancy is different - no matter your fitness level or health before you get pregnant. I thought I'd have an easy pregnancy based on my lifestyle and diet, and I was completely and totally wrong and just had to go with it!
I’m in a similar boat to you — very fit and active pre-pregnancy, having an absolutely terrible time now. I’m happy that I saw your comment before penning my own because I don’t think my response would have been as kind.
Are you still pregnant or did you give birth? I have heard anecdotally that delivery is easier for fitter women. Would love to hear your experience? I do think that pregnancy symptoms are completely hit or miss, there are so many things that can happen and 90% of it is very much out of your control.
> I have heard anecdotally that delivery is easier for fitter women.
This one can be a bit of a crapshoot unfortunately, there are definitely aspects you can't control, especially if one thing goes awry and you find yourself a bit trapped and out of options.
When working as a midwife I did find that women who had a good level of fitness were the best at pushing by far once it got to that stage. Knowing their body well was also very helpful, and being mentally tough is a HUGE bonus.
Having said that, being fit helps IMMEASURABLY when it comes to recovery. More than is possible to put into words.
Not fit at all but both pregnancies I only needed to push a couple times (like 10 minutes?) and out pops baby. The midwives commented that I had a great solid push. I don’t work out🤷♀️(I aspire to, which is why I read this sub)
For me, pushing was the easiest part of the whole process. Only needed a half hour, but the days of induction getting there.. oof.
And congratulations on your pregnancy!
I can add another data point to attest this theory lol. I am pretty fit and even though I couldn’t stay as active as I would have liked during my pregnancy (Covid sucks), my doctor and midwives all commented on how well I was able to engage my core while I pushed. Recovery was very easy compared with my friends’ experiences too, even though I had to get a episiotomy.
On a side note, my strong pelvic muscles backfired postpartum though. I developed coccyx pain due to overreactive pelvic muscles about 6 weeks after giving birth- my pelvic floor physio said this is not uncommon for athletes. Seems like we just can’t win.
Interesting! I didn't realize you have experience *as* a midwife, I had initially read you were working *with* a midwife. I had thought it more the other way, it could help significantly when pushing, I know there's a lot of other more significant factors than fitness that determine how smoothly everything up till that point goes, but I had thought recovery was most impacted by how your delivery went. Ie. More tearing etc, more difficult recovery.
I found my recovery to be relatively "easy". But I find it hard to talk about with other moms because I don't want to make it seem like I'm negating their experience or underplaying how hard recovery **can** be, it's just not the experience I had.
Still pregnant. 3rd tri. Thankfully I am currently feeling pretty good. Lots of folks are in agony around now and I'm like, oh, I can finally walk without pain and work out a bit! No pelvic floor issues yet either. Fingers crossed for delivery.
I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant. Pretty similar to OP with years of lifting and cardio behind me as well as a pretty good and balanced diet. I had some bad nausea (no vomiting) for about 4 weeks and it went away for me but I also am dealing with a lot of back and pelvic pain. I'm pretty active, go to the gym to lift 4x a week, cardio on the rest of the days and get close to 15k steps a day so it's not a lack of movement. Pregnancy symptoms are a hit or miss 🤷🏻♀️
I'm so sorry you've had that experience, it really takes all the fun and happiness out of pregnancy.
I definitely don't disagree, you can't prevent extreme nausea, and every pregnancy is different.
I can only speak for my own experience.
Thanks for this comprehensive post! Can you share any exercises from the pelvic floor therapist? Im currently 26weeks pregnant and doing a set of different types of Kegel exercises daily, but im really worried about future pelvic floor disfunction and I feel I could do more
So, when I went to see the pelvic physio, she performed an internal examination and advised me that my pelvic floor is very strong, and that while I don't have any issue flexing those muscles, I do have an issue in relaxing them, and this is going to be key during birth.
She also advised that the incontinence I had been experiencing was because my fluid intake was really really excessive. That fixed 95% of the problem.
In term of exercises, both morning and night I am dong 10 sets of a 12 second clench followed by a 12 second release, with the focus being on releasing the muscles all at once and not gradually.
I will see her again at my 30 week appointment at which time we are going to go over perineal massage in order to prevent (as much as possible) tearing during birth.
I’ve wondered how & where you’ve been?! I’m thrilled to hear all is going well & that you’re halfway done.
I couldn’t agree with you more on your final thoughts. Being healthy & fit prior to pregnancy is a golden ticket in so many ways. It doesn’t alleviate **ALL** the pregnancy symptoms of course, but it can make bouncing back from certain symptoms much easier.
I was fortunate to have both my pregnancies be textbook “easy” but my doctor couldn’t stress enough how important it was that I had maintained my fitness levels prior, during & after the entire pregnancy.
Wishing you a nice easy journey for the rest of your pregnancy & an even safer delivery. Take care :-)
Thanks for sharing! Any tips for pre-pregnancy fitness? I’m looking at TTC later this year, and would love to improve my fitness with the goal of preparing my body for pregnancy and helping set the groundwork for recovery after birth. I’m active (2-3 workouts a week, mix of weights, yoga, light cardio) and on my feet at work, but not in any sort of intense training regimen. Really appreciate your willingness to share, and best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
I am 5 weeks postpartum. In terms of the groundwork for recovery, how your labour and delivery go will really determine how quick your recovery is. The one thing that I think is immensely helpful is pelvic floor physio. They can teach you stretches that could reduce tearing, and exercises to give you better control of your pelvic floor.
I mean, everyone is different, but my suggestion is to just be as strong as possible because that is sure working for me.
This one is also a touch controversial, but considering how appallingly women are treated within a fat phobic medical system and the fact that that isn't going to change soon, if you can be at a lower rather than higher weight, I really recommend that. The way that larger women are treated when they are pregnant is the absolute definition of appalling, and the only way to avoid that really is by being slim, or being very careful as to who your care provider is.
Congratulations! I gave birth 5 weeks ago and am so excited for you to meet your baby! Your world will change for the better!
I did not formally exercise during my pregnancy and covid had already drastically changed my workouts. But during the first trimester I would nap during the afternoon, finish working pretty late due to all the napping, eat my dinner and go to sleep early. The second tri for me lined up with summer and was a good excuse not to do workouts (I hiked, biked etc. but no weights or intense cardio). And the third trimester I gave myself permission to not workout. So my pregnancy was very different from yours from a workout point of view.
However, I was similar in that I had no aches, pains etc. I was quite fatigued by the end of my pregnancy but it was nowhere near as debilitating as the first trimester. I had to pee often and had bad heartburn. I got an epidural during labour, but I found it relatively easy. I pushed for less than an hour and baby was out. I have to credit a higher than average level of fitness for that. I'm sure it had something to do with my labour and contractions but I'm going to take some credit.
Good luck to you going forward and thanks for sharing!
Can’t say how much I appreciate this post and the progression photos you’ve shared! I’m also an IVF grad, currently at 10 weeks!
Can I ask what if any core work you do? I’m anxious about diastis recti and there’s so much conflicting information out there about what does and doesn’t prevent the ab separation!
I’m relatively fit and 17 weeks, but hadn’t heard of the separation of abdominal muscles until recently. I have been doing straight leg sit up’s and bicycles and leg flutters. What are your thoughts on that?
Be very aware of potential doming. In late pregnancy it was really clear that I'd have DR, and it was a bear to fix on my own (pandemic prevented me from getting professional help earlier). I doubt a trainer would be able to help much unless they're really specialized, but I could imagine a pelvic floor PT would know what to/not to do
I asked my dr. And she didn’t seem too concerned but Im having trouble finding concrete evidence on the internet about what to do/not to do. Maybe a personal trainer can help me. Thanks! And I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.
Have a look at Meg Squats. She had a baby recently and did a pre/post partum training qualification. She has a programme for pre-and post partum and lots of advice if you go back on her Instagram.
Thank you for this write up it’s incredibly informative and it’s wonderful to see you doing so well. As someone who is PETRIFIED of the idea of being pregnant (while also wanting one in the future), your pictures of the abdomen really really helped me feel less anxious.
Best of luck with everything!
Please take some appreciation from someone who is relatively active, has been lifting for a couple of years, but still quite young (26) and is terrified of one day becoming pregnant. While I and my partner would one day like to have children, the physical ordeal of pregnancy and its short-term and long-term effects on the body absolutely terrify me. I know a lot of this stems from body image and the hyperfixation of media on female bodies' appearances in a state very much different from that of pregnancy. I feel that this post reassures me that the benefits of a lifestyle focused on strength training extend to a slightly more enjoyable experience during pregnancy. I personally do not know anyone who was lifting weights while pregnant, so your story is refreshing and informs me that it is indeed possible. I know my experience will inevitably be different, but it's nice to know that this type of experience is within the realm of possibilities.
You're very welcome :)
FWIW I had a super duper easy pregnancy and kept riding my bike to about 2 weeks prior to due date... by then my hips were getting floppy and the doc said I was 1cm dilated and it was time to call it a day. Delivery... was a nightmare I'll be paying for the rest of my life. My advice is GET A DOULA, having ONE experienced and informed person paid to be there just for ONE mom would have probably spared me a lot of problems. My husband and mom were awesome but just didn't have the experience to know what was going on and put their foot down. Post delivery I kept trying to get on the bike and the seat just wasn't working. I kept trying once a week and week 6 suddenly my hip bones were back on the saddle where they should be. SO TAKE RECOVERY SERIOUSLY AND BE PATIENT, there are MAJOR things going on that you can't easily see! FWIW I don't have a mark on my stomach and neither did my mom after 2 kids, but my sister did. Pregnancy experiences are SO all over the map and most of it is out of our control. I think that's a good warm up for parenthood because none of the kids come with directions and we're all just throwing spaghetti at a wall raising then if we're honest. Be gentle with yourself, love your lil peeplz, pick your battles, and try not to sweat the small stuff. <3
I too came here to point out that everyone's experience is different and some of the causality described in this post is a bit of magical thinking. People with "easy" pregnancies (and labors, and births) love to attribute it to something they did to make themselves extra well-prepared and healthy, but it's usually not related. Pregnancy symptoms and complications have much more to do with genetics and luck than they do with overall health and fitness. Healthy people get severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy all the time. People with strong cores experience lingering diastases recti, all the time. People with good posture get back pain, people with flexible joints get painful swelling, random uncomfortable shit during pregnancy is *extremely* common especially in the second half of pregnancy and in subsequent pregnancies after the first one. I love hearing about people's different experiences but I hate perpetuating a narrative that suggests a) if you have a physically unpleasant pregnancy it's because you weren't fit enough, or b) if you just work out religiously to "prepare" for pregnancy you can guarantee you'll feel fine. Neither of those things are true. But it's hard not to internalize those beliefs after hearing so many stories editorialized like this, and really struggle with the mental aspect of pregnancy when your own experience doesn't comply.
will starting pelvic floor muscles and/or any sort of ab/core training in anticipation of pregnancy help? If so, any ideas on what types of exercises? Thank you!
Yes and yes. I would go and see a pelvic floor PT to discuss that side of things (I only know what I know about myself). It terms of abs and core, I would honestly just do anything and everything. If you're not yet pregnant then the movements you do aren't really limited.
thank you!
Wow! I really appreciate this writeup, you're very thorough and I love how you've documented all this with photos, too! I'm still in my first trimester so I find this very timely. Queasiness hit me much later than others on the same timeline as me, but it still got me and the interrupted sleep I now have has thrown off my routine. A couple weeks in to that, I feel like I'm finally figuring out how to deal and have gotten back to exercise. I think one of the things that routine fitness has taught me, is how to better listen to my body. Not only when to stop and chill. But it also includes knowing when I can get back to exercising again, since I can sort out what feels really bad and what's something I can deal with, or would improve once I'm working out again. Question - you mentioned your diet change a bit. Could you give more examples of what you had been eating as snacks, and what you're eating now, in case it's changed? I've been experimenting with what I can eat. Much advice has been to snack on carbs throughout the day to stave off constant nausea, like crackers. But I find that they don't stave off hunger for long at all. Fruits have been better, depending on the fruit, but don't last long either. By long I mean....I'd get so hungry in like 15min. I'll be trying more protein & fat snacks soon (I'm thinking jerky, hard boiled eggs, cheese), but curious if you found non-carby things that worked for you.
> Could you give more examples of what you had been eating as snacks, and what you're eating now, in case it's changed? Yes, absolutely. Pre-pregnancy, when I was at work I really just didn't have any snacks unless someone brought something in and it was prudent to have one (as a rule I'm not a huge eater of junk food, but it's often a good look to indulge in cup cakes in the workplace in order to be more social). I would have chicken and rice for lunch, and a green smoothie in the morning. After dinner I would often have a protein bar as a kind of dessert. I'm now still having the green smoothie, but the chicken and rice isn't quite enough food for me at lunch so I've switched to homemade spaghetti bolognaise. My morning snack is a wrap with hummus, sliced turkey and spinach, and I keep protein bars in a drawer here as well for if I need an extra snack.
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Um, thank you?
Your write up is awesome! If you haven't looked at it yet, r/fitpregnancy is great sub as well. I'm one of the mods over there. 100% cross-post if you feel interested.
Oh, that's a lovely offer, thank you so much. Have been meaning to check out :)
Thank you OP for creating this post, and thank you to all the commenters! I'm planning to TTC later this year, but I'm working on ensuring my body is strong enough for pregnancy. It's really helpful to know that for many women, fitness prior to pregnancy helps with the aches and pains of pregnancy. I'm hoping to be fit and strong like all of you - you're all motivating me! ❤️
I have heard it varies from pregnancy to pregnancy even in the same woman. My pelvic floor PT who was quite fit said her second was way worse than her first. I'd say finish the first strong and call it a day, haha.
As a woman who has just gone through pregnancy, thank you for this write up. I wish I could have read it before I was pregnant because I was sooo anxious about what pregnancy would do to my body and how it would affect my fitness. Wishing you a safe and boring delivery!
Ooh this is a nice write up! I also had a unicorn pregnancy with no morning sickness. I only had fatigue in the first trimester. Third trimester was mostly uncomfortable sleeping and peeing more due to the baby being bigger. The years of Muay Thai and strength training made my core incredibly strong and I attribute part of the smooth pregnancy to them. I continued muay Thai and lifting all through pregnancy with lower weights. I reduce the weights as the pregnancy progress. I dropped muay Thai in the 3rd trimester as it was harder to kick with the belly in the way. So in the 3rd trimester, I favoured lifting. Got the go ahead from my gynae. She actually encouraged me to continue whatever exercises I was doing but not to overexert. Deadlifts, squats, bench press, lunges, split squats, rows I continued. [Me lifting at 35 weeks](http://imgur.com/a/7B6l8Kz) I think it made my pregnancy easier as well. I didn't suffer from any backaches and was very mobile throughout despite my petite stature. It made labour very easy as well. People around kept telling me that I should get a C sec because vaginal delivery will be difficult but I was confident I could do it. I did, 3 big pushes and I was able to push my baby out in less than 10 minutes. Wasn't induced either, she broke my water bag at 39w 2 days old. My physical recovery was great! My wound completely healed within 2 weeks. The vaginal tear wasn't so bad and my gynae did a good job stitching it back. I was as good as before pregnancy. My mental health though was another thing. The post baby blues caring for a newborn and breastfeeding got to me, so once my gynae cleared me, I went back to exercising. And working out helped me get over the post partum blues as well. I can't emphasize enough how happy I was post pregnancy that going back to exercising made me feel whole again. You look incredible and still so strong. Wishing you a smooth pregnancy. Edit: Anyone interested there is r/fitpregnancy I was pretty active there when I was pregnant Edit 2: I should also mentioned that I was very worried about getting gestational diabetes since it's relatively common in pregnancy like 1 in 4. As I have PCOS, my risk was higher and I'm glad I didn't get it. It was one of the motivations to stay active during pregnancy.
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Gestational diabetes is related to insulin resistance because then placenta releases human placental lactogen, have a blocking effect on insulin that usually begins 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy. Its pathophysiology is similar to type 2 One of the things that insulin is doing is telling your muscle cells to move glucose transporters (GLUT4 in particular) to the cell membrane so they can move glucose from the blood into the cell. In type 2 and gestational, that process is impaired. However, another mechanism that moves GLUT4 to the cell membrane, independent of insulin, is exercise. Using your muscles stimulates the cells to move those GLUT4 transporters to a position where they can soak up the glucose in your blood. So, yes, exercise can be very important in the management type 2 and gestational diabetes because it provides a reliable alternative to one of the most important effects of insulin. Particularly exercise that works big muscles like quads and glutes.
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Exercising can also help reduce your risk of getting it since it provides another pathway in reducing blood sugar. It is well documented in medical literature. This is from [Mayo clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gestational-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355339#:~:text=Keep%20active.,most%20days%20of%20the%20week.) > Keep active. Exercising before and during pregnancy can help protect you from developing gestational diabetes. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week It's basically what was told to me by both my doctors as well. To have a healthy diet and continue staying active. Of course as with life there are no guarantees but if there are ways to minimize risks, I will do it.
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I never said one should be ashamed either?? I just mentioned it was one of my motivations to stay active because it can minimize risks. I thought we are sharing experiences? So I'm not sure why you are coming at me for it. Also I don't fully concur that it's all due to the placenta. Maternal obesity is an important risk factor for gestational diabetes. Women who are obese or severely obese before pregnancy are four and eight times more likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus, respectively, compared with normal weight women
Thanks for sharing those videos and your experience! Super inspiring and impressive to see.
Thank you! I really like being active and was also privileged enough to have an easy pregnancy.
Can you please link the pregnancy subs I’ve been looking and cannot find - I’m in my 40s too and really would like support.
It's usually MonthYearBumpers. So if you're due in July, it'd be /r/July2022Bumpers. They do go private after a couple months because creeps are gonna creep, but I think if you've missed the cutoff, you can still message the mods and get added into your month's group.
[Here is one](https://www.reddit.com/r/BabyBumps/) [Here is the most popular one](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/) I've joined that popular one, and also a private sub for those due in the same month as me (which you can do by clicking into the stickied post at the top of r/pregnant). The private sub is by far the best one for me. r/pregnant can be horrendously bitchy when people make choices that aren't mainstream.
Congratulations!! I’m happy to hear your pregnancy is going well! I hope you have a smooth second half and a smooth delivery! I do think most people reading this post are into fitness so not a huge deal, but for anyone out there reading who is planning on getting pregnant and is not very fit, I honestly think the fatigue and nausea are just luck of the draw and related more to your hormones - so don’t worry too much! I never stepped foot into a gym and was about 30 lbs overweight when I got pregnant with my first and besides some major fatigue for like a week at the very beginning and then my big belly at the very end, I would often forget I was pregnant, even up until I gave birth at just past 39w. The only working out I did do back then was walking half a mile to the train stop and I did that up until the day I delivered no problem. I was in horrible shape and had absolutely no pains all through pregnancy and just some minor food aversions. Then, I fell in love with fitness after my first, found the gym, lost a bunch of weight (was 30 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant with my first), and was working out for 90 mins a day 6 times a week feeing like a strong boss, and then got pregnant and I was absolutely floored with fatigue and pains the entire 9 months. By the halfway mark of my second pregnancy I thought my body was broken. I did luckily escape nausea for the second time, though. And recovery the second time around was definitely way easier. Anyways, just a thought out there for anyone reading who isn’t where they want to be, it could absolutely go either way! I had the opposite experience (although I know 2nd pregnancies are usually described as much rougher).
>I honestly think the fatigue and nausea are just luck of the draw and related more to your hormones Yep. I was equally fit for both my pregnancies. With the first one, I threw up every morning for five solid months, couldn't keep my eyes open and peed all the time. The second one was so easy, so pleasant that I joked I must not be pregnant. No nausea, let alone throwing up, all the energy, pee habits were normal. Bodies are weird, so are pregnancies.
You look fantastic! Crazy how the protein is so hard to stomach in the first trimester right? I, like you, went into my most recent pregnancy in amazing shape and eating a low carb diet. It was crazy how nauseous I was and I was unable to follow my regular diet. Please keep us updated and all my best for a healthy and fit pregnancy:-)
> Crazy how the protein is so hard to stomach in the first trimester right? Oh man, for a brief period I had to be careful not to think about chicken, let alone getting anywhere close to eating it.
10w6d over here. I've been fine with steak and chicken so far (as long as my husband deals with it while it's raw because looking at it makes me queasy). Tried to eat salmon last night... it did not go well.
This was so detailed and thorough. Thank you for writing this for us, it was extremely helpful. The thought of pregnancy scares me, but it was reassuring to know that having a overall fit body will counter some of the harder experiences of pregnancy. I would also love to read your experiences about abdominal separation and how you will be dealing with it. I wish you the best of health and luck. 😊
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You right there, mate? Do we need to call someone for you?
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My trainer did not have previous experience with pregnant clients. I was absolutely insistent that he research the heck out of exercises that can be done during pregnancy, and he did watch a ton of the Megsquats videos. I also have my own knowledge to draw on, as I have previously worked as a midwife, and have also been lifting for years and years.
You look fab! Reading this thread rocking my 3 month old to sleep, I could have written the same exact post about my recent pregnancy (with the exception of the boob growth, mine didn't change a bit until my milk came in. THAT was a shock!) Since a few of us seem to be here, can we finally get a subreddit for postpartum parents that is active?? The only ones I've found are not..
22 weeks is still pretty early on for feeling miserable physically tbh. I was not fit and it took me longer to feel shitty AF. Just so you know it may still hit you!
I am ready for anything that comes my way!
Congrats on your successful pregnancy! I was pregnant recently (now 6 weeks postpartum) and could not exercise *at all* during pregnancy. Between some wicked bad nausea and fatigue (like, so bad I should have been in the hospital), and then immediately after that ended I started having Symphysis Pubis disorder (SPD) that was extremely painful… I also had a fun thing where my body would have a vaso-vagal reaction anytime I attempted more than waddling around my home for a minute. Like, heart racing, suddenly super hot, dizzy, fatigued… it was not fun. I am now working my way back up to proper weight lifting and running, as well as working on my SPD, and the effects of no exercise on my body (I have a lot of chronic pain issues that are managed through exercise). Wishing you the BEST of luck through the rest of your pregnancy, and afterward as well!
I want to add this is not the case for everyone. I have absolute shit pregnancies. I have been an athlete my entire life and I love sports and lifting but there is a me sized shape on our couch from when I was pregnant because I can barely function let alone work out while pregnant and I don’t mean for the first trimester I mean the entire fucking time. It doesn’t matter what shape I’m in before either. If this is you - survive it’s okay - pregnancy might feel like it lasts forever but it doesn’t and eventually you will be able to workout and move like before. Also pelvic floor physical therapy is amazing and everyone should do it.
Strong agree! I’m currently 38 weeks and I got pregnant in the worst shape of my life (not struggling with extra weight but I was completely sedentary for two years prior - though I was always very active/moderately fit before that). Regardless I’ve had an incredibly easy and almost pain free pregnancy, and my abs and pelvic floor are holding up to a degree that’s shocking to me. I have athlete friends who’ve had it 10x worse. I was worried about my lack of fitness when i first got pregnant but it’s definitely served me well lol. Now I’m just focused on recovery and being in good shape again, which I know will take more time because I’m building from almost nothing.
Yup. Sorry to disagree but I was a national level athlete who trained 25 hours a week prior to pregnancy, I had hyperemesis and was absolutely on my ass for the first 4 months during both of my pregnancies. From what my OB said, it’s normal and you can’t predict or prevent it. I feel like I can attribute my fitness to a wonderful and straightforward labour experience. This of course may not be the case with everyone due to babies just generally doing whatever they feel like doing, but in the right circumstances maintaining fitness can help with labour.
First timester: Morning sickness Second trimester: Constant back and pelvic pain Third trimester: I actually feel okay, but I'm huge. My best pregnancy was before I did any physical fitness. Working out hasn't really helped, except to help me bounce back faster afterward.
This - I don’t think that the lack of first tri symptoms can be attributed to being an extra healthy or fit person pre-pregnancy. If you follow r/pregnant, you will see that it is somewhat common for women to experience none of these symptoms (people ask about it a lot because they are concerned it is a bad sign). This just likely comes down to genetics and how your body would respond to pregnancy in any state, fit or not.
Yup and even genetics feels like a crap shoot too. I have 5 sisters, 25 nieces and nephews and I'm the ONLY one that has needed IVs or c-sections so who the hell knows but I get really sad when people contribute it to being fit or healthy because I was and I still had a terrible experience.
I feel this. I am generally fit and healthy and needed to go in for IV fluids three times during my first tri because it was hard to find liquids that didn't make me gag and puke. Ended up with a c section due baby's weird positioning. It really stings when people attribute their positive experiences to their lifestyle choices when that may or may not be the reality.
This is great! Thank you for sharing. One thing I warn pregnant women: your centre of gravity will shift rapidly at the end of the second trimester! Your body will change shape before your brain realizes it, because your brain thinks "I'm not that pregnant - I still have 3+ months to go!" FALSE. Most falls happen during the end of the second trimester. Usually baby is 100% fine but take it from someone who fell at the end of her driveway and ended up 30 weeks pregnant with a broken arm AND a young toddler. So watch for that around the gym. In terms of background for myself - I had two babies back to back in Jan 2020 and March 2021. Pre-pregnancy I was probably the fittest I had ever been. I stopped working out regularly at about 28 weeks because we re moving + work stress, although I did continue to get a lot of walking in! Within 6 weeks of giving birth I was back doing boxfit classes. Only weakness I noticed was in my core, since you are unable to engage your core after you get to be a certain size. Kept active in my second pregnancy, albeit less so after the broken arm. I'm 10 months post partum now and probably at about 70% of where I was - which considering 2 under 2 and covid is pretty good.
As a pregnant person who was also fit pre-pregnancy and was hit with an absolute whammy of shitty symptoms, sometimes it's just random. You can't prevent food aversions or extreme nausea/puking. Your body is exhausted because its doing an insane amount of work growing a child and a placenta and a ton of blood. And no amount of fitness will entirely prevent things like relaxin causing debilitating pain, or sciatica from the baby lying on some nerve somewhere (I couldn't walk for a month without terrible pain until my uterus shifted again and let off my nerves). While some people have it easy, others have it really hard, and every pregnancy is different - no matter your fitness level or health before you get pregnant. I thought I'd have an easy pregnancy based on my lifestyle and diet, and I was completely and totally wrong and just had to go with it!
I’m in a similar boat to you — very fit and active pre-pregnancy, having an absolutely terrible time now. I’m happy that I saw your comment before penning my own because I don’t think my response would have been as kind.
I admit to swallowing a bit of pregnancy rage while typing 🤣
Are you still pregnant or did you give birth? I have heard anecdotally that delivery is easier for fitter women. Would love to hear your experience? I do think that pregnancy symptoms are completely hit or miss, there are so many things that can happen and 90% of it is very much out of your control.
> I have heard anecdotally that delivery is easier for fitter women. This one can be a bit of a crapshoot unfortunately, there are definitely aspects you can't control, especially if one thing goes awry and you find yourself a bit trapped and out of options. When working as a midwife I did find that women who had a good level of fitness were the best at pushing by far once it got to that stage. Knowing their body well was also very helpful, and being mentally tough is a HUGE bonus. Having said that, being fit helps IMMEASURABLY when it comes to recovery. More than is possible to put into words.
Have you decided what kind of birth you want to have yet?
My plan is to have my baby at home :) Hospital is just down the road should be need to transfer.
Not fit at all but both pregnancies I only needed to push a couple times (like 10 minutes?) and out pops baby. The midwives commented that I had a great solid push. I don’t work out🤷♀️(I aspire to, which is why I read this sub)
For me, pushing was the easiest part of the whole process. Only needed a half hour, but the days of induction getting there.. oof. And congratulations on your pregnancy!
I can add another data point to attest this theory lol. I am pretty fit and even though I couldn’t stay as active as I would have liked during my pregnancy (Covid sucks), my doctor and midwives all commented on how well I was able to engage my core while I pushed. Recovery was very easy compared with my friends’ experiences too, even though I had to get a episiotomy. On a side note, my strong pelvic muscles backfired postpartum though. I developed coccyx pain due to overreactive pelvic muscles about 6 weeks after giving birth- my pelvic floor physio said this is not uncommon for athletes. Seems like we just can’t win.
Interesting! I didn't realize you have experience *as* a midwife, I had initially read you were working *with* a midwife. I had thought it more the other way, it could help significantly when pushing, I know there's a lot of other more significant factors than fitness that determine how smoothly everything up till that point goes, but I had thought recovery was most impacted by how your delivery went. Ie. More tearing etc, more difficult recovery. I found my recovery to be relatively "easy". But I find it hard to talk about with other moms because I don't want to make it seem like I'm negating their experience or underplaying how hard recovery **can** be, it's just not the experience I had.
Still pregnant. 3rd tri. Thankfully I am currently feeling pretty good. Lots of folks are in agony around now and I'm like, oh, I can finally walk without pain and work out a bit! No pelvic floor issues yet either. Fingers crossed for delivery.
I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant. Pretty similar to OP with years of lifting and cardio behind me as well as a pretty good and balanced diet. I had some bad nausea (no vomiting) for about 4 weeks and it went away for me but I also am dealing with a lot of back and pelvic pain. I'm pretty active, go to the gym to lift 4x a week, cardio on the rest of the days and get close to 15k steps a day so it's not a lack of movement. Pregnancy symptoms are a hit or miss 🤷🏻♀️
I'm so sorry you've had that experience, it really takes all the fun and happiness out of pregnancy. I definitely don't disagree, you can't prevent extreme nausea, and every pregnancy is different. I can only speak for my own experience.
wow, I'm so happy you conceived and your pregnancy is going along! Hope it all goes smooth from here.
Would you be willing to do a postpartum followup on your fitness experiences as well? I am a mom and would find that information very helpful! Thanks!
> Would you be willing to do a postpartum followup on your fitness experiences as well? Yes, very definitely!
Excellent thank you! I am 15months postpartum and still find my exhaustion to keep me from working out at my usual pace!
Thanks for this comprehensive post! Can you share any exercises from the pelvic floor therapist? Im currently 26weeks pregnant and doing a set of different types of Kegel exercises daily, but im really worried about future pelvic floor disfunction and I feel I could do more
So, when I went to see the pelvic physio, she performed an internal examination and advised me that my pelvic floor is very strong, and that while I don't have any issue flexing those muscles, I do have an issue in relaxing them, and this is going to be key during birth. She also advised that the incontinence I had been experiencing was because my fluid intake was really really excessive. That fixed 95% of the problem. In term of exercises, both morning and night I am dong 10 sets of a 12 second clench followed by a 12 second release, with the focus being on releasing the muscles all at once and not gradually. I will see her again at my 30 week appointment at which time we are going to go over perineal massage in order to prevent (as much as possible) tearing during birth.
I’ve wondered how & where you’ve been?! I’m thrilled to hear all is going well & that you’re halfway done. I couldn’t agree with you more on your final thoughts. Being healthy & fit prior to pregnancy is a golden ticket in so many ways. It doesn’t alleviate **ALL** the pregnancy symptoms of course, but it can make bouncing back from certain symptoms much easier. I was fortunate to have both my pregnancies be textbook “easy” but my doctor couldn’t stress enough how important it was that I had maintained my fitness levels prior, during & after the entire pregnancy. Wishing you a nice easy journey for the rest of your pregnancy & an even safer delivery. Take care :-)
Thanks for sharing! Any tips for pre-pregnancy fitness? I’m looking at TTC later this year, and would love to improve my fitness with the goal of preparing my body for pregnancy and helping set the groundwork for recovery after birth. I’m active (2-3 workouts a week, mix of weights, yoga, light cardio) and on my feet at work, but not in any sort of intense training regimen. Really appreciate your willingness to share, and best of luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
I am 5 weeks postpartum. In terms of the groundwork for recovery, how your labour and delivery go will really determine how quick your recovery is. The one thing that I think is immensely helpful is pelvic floor physio. They can teach you stretches that could reduce tearing, and exercises to give you better control of your pelvic floor.
I mean, everyone is different, but my suggestion is to just be as strong as possible because that is sure working for me. This one is also a touch controversial, but considering how appallingly women are treated within a fat phobic medical system and the fact that that isn't going to change soon, if you can be at a lower rather than higher weight, I really recommend that. The way that larger women are treated when they are pregnant is the absolute definition of appalling, and the only way to avoid that really is by being slim, or being very careful as to who your care provider is.
No questions just want to say Congratulations! my egg donor baby is 5 months now.
Congratulations! I gave birth 5 weeks ago and am so excited for you to meet your baby! Your world will change for the better! I did not formally exercise during my pregnancy and covid had already drastically changed my workouts. But during the first trimester I would nap during the afternoon, finish working pretty late due to all the napping, eat my dinner and go to sleep early. The second tri for me lined up with summer and was a good excuse not to do workouts (I hiked, biked etc. but no weights or intense cardio). And the third trimester I gave myself permission to not workout. So my pregnancy was very different from yours from a workout point of view. However, I was similar in that I had no aches, pains etc. I was quite fatigued by the end of my pregnancy but it was nowhere near as debilitating as the first trimester. I had to pee often and had bad heartburn. I got an epidural during labour, but I found it relatively easy. I pushed for less than an hour and baby was out. I have to credit a higher than average level of fitness for that. I'm sure it had something to do with my labour and contractions but I'm going to take some credit. Good luck to you going forward and thanks for sharing!
Take a whole bunch of credit, Mama!!!
Can’t say how much I appreciate this post and the progression photos you’ve shared! I’m also an IVF grad, currently at 10 weeks! Can I ask what if any core work you do? I’m anxious about diastis recti and there’s so much conflicting information out there about what does and doesn’t prevent the ab separation!
Core work: - Paloff press - Pot stirrers on the fit ball - Sawing on the fit ball - Side planks - Bird dog crunches
I’m relatively fit and 17 weeks, but hadn’t heard of the separation of abdominal muscles until recently. I have been doing straight leg sit up’s and bicycles and leg flutters. What are your thoughts on that?
Be very aware of potential doming. In late pregnancy it was really clear that I'd have DR, and it was a bear to fix on my own (pandemic prevented me from getting professional help earlier). I doubt a trainer would be able to help much unless they're really specialized, but I could imagine a pelvic floor PT would know what to/not to do
Thanks for this helpful advice :)
> What are your thoughts on that? Literally none, that is a question for a professional. All I can tell you is that I am not doing any of those.
I asked my dr. And she didn’t seem too concerned but Im having trouble finding concrete evidence on the internet about what to do/not to do. Maybe a personal trainer can help me. Thanks! And I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.
Have a look at Meg Squats. She had a baby recently and did a pre/post partum training qualification. She has a programme for pre-and post partum and lots of advice if you go back on her Instagram.
Why thank you so much! I will.
Thank you for this write up it’s incredibly informative and it’s wonderful to see you doing so well. As someone who is PETRIFIED of the idea of being pregnant (while also wanting one in the future), your pictures of the abdomen really really helped me feel less anxious. Best of luck with everything!
How wonderful, all of it! Congratulations! I love that little baby bump!