Today, I am 17 weeks and five days pregnant with my girls. I am swimming three days per week, walking for 30-75 minutes four days per week, training with my ViPR (loaded movement training) three days per week and strength training (with free weights, resistance bands, TRX and medicine balls) three days per week. I am also performing specific exercises for my pelvic floor, diastasis recti and mobility at least three days per week. Wow! When I type it all out, it sounds like an enormous amount of exercise. Let me put it into some context.
Swimming
When I say swimming, I don’t mean just swimming laps. I all strokes, play, combine strokes, pretend I am a dolphin and use some pool toys. When I get into the water, my goal is to unload my body from gravity and use as much of my body in all different directions as possible. Also, the cool buoyant environment of the water is an excellent way to intercept any swelling. This week has been an exciting week. I’ve taken big strides forward with my online coaching business. I’ve joined forces with a like minded registered dietician. Together we will offer Moms a comprehensive approach to managing a healthy lifestyle.
Walking
Sometimes I walk briskly and sometimes casually. Walking is a fundamental movement that we should all be doing daily. I vary my surfaces: pavement, grass, forest trail (with roots and rocks) or soft gravel.
Loaded Movement (ViPR) Training
This is one of my favorite ways to train. Loaded movement training is movement based resistance training. It is an amazing tool that combines specific full body movement patterns with load. What is so great about it? ViPR is the most versatile tool that I have ever used in my 15 years of training. I can create a task specific movement pattern at a specific intensity.
Strength Training
I am enjoying a circuit style of strength training. I use a variety of tools to accomplish my goal of a strong body throughout pregnancy. First priority is safety. At 4 1/2 months I have to be cautious about range of motion and strain on a weakened core. So, my resistance is moderate and speed controlled.
Pelvic Floor and more
I am paying close attention to maintaining connection with my pelvic floor and core during my pregnancy. In my first pregnancy, I neglected training my core and focused on cardio and strength. That was a big mistake and resulted in a diastasis and poor core integration. My favorite tool is the Pelvicore Ball as it offers a greater sensory input following training. That is, you can really feel it. Next, I am working diligently on my thoracic spine (rib cage) and hips. As they get very tight during pregnancy and can limit mobility.
I am excited to share some of these exercises with you all in the next couple weeks. Movement is so important at all stages of life but imperative during pregnancy.
Preschool and Snack Challenges On the home front, my boys had their open house at their preschool. Last year was the first time I faced the challenge of the boys being in an environment where I was not feeding them. Their preschool supplies the students with a school snack. Usually it’s something simple like goldfish or vanilla wafers. These are not snacks that I do not want my children eating. Fortunately the school and the teachers are wonderful at accommodating the boys. For example, when another child had a birthday, the teacher will notify me ahead of time so I could send the boys a treat. So far I have been able to safely navigate these small hurdles with some paleo/real food friendly snacks. Actually, that is the easy part. The challenging part is verbalizing the reason why my boys cannot eat the zucchini bread the class will bake together, that is of course, the social “abnormality”. Please feel free to share your challenges that you face.
Until next week…
Mom4Health