Work that pregnant bump

Skip the drill instructor, skip the yelling and skip the no getting any air. When you’re pregnant, everybody is really cautious with you. But training and keeping fit during these 9 (long) months is possible! Don’t ever let others tell you what you can and cannot do. It’s your body and you know best how it feels and what you can and cannot handle. I had some difficult experiences early on in my pregnancy, but now slowly I’m finding my way to stay fit and fabulous…

Shut down
Energy is my middle name , I’m unstoppable and bad ass workouts are my favorite thing to do. Well, at least that was the case before I got pregnant. The first 3 months I kept convincing myself that nothing could beat my superpower. (and I still have a little internal struggle with this…) Just do it and go, go, go! That’s what I believe in. But after a while, I felt so tired and my body started to give me clear signals that I had to slow down. I didn’t liked it one bit, but I finally had to give in. I had to reset my power button and find a new active and healthy way for myself during this period I’m in.

Running issues
Every pregnant woman is different and we all have different experiences during our pregnancies. I had (and still have) issues running, which forced me to stop making my kilometres and I had to stop teaching my Bootcamp classes. Damn you pelvis muscles and bladder! I’ll spare you the details but when you have to pee every 2 minutes or have no control at all, there’s no fun in walking or running at all.

Work that pregnant bump
Instead of being able to jump around, to run or getting insane with some HIIT training, I changed my training routine to BodyPump, Mommy Bootcamp and some at home workouts.

BodyPump
I don’t think I have to tell you fit girls what BodyPump is, but here’s a really short version. BodyPump is a Les Mills program taught worldwide and is ideal for anyone looking to get lean, toned and fit in a fast way. The benefits for me are:
• It might seem heavy using a bar with weights but there is no jumping (so no peeing!) and it makes my body stronger. And lucky for me, my arms aren’t pregnant!
• I can manage my own weights and skip some of the exercises that affect my abs.
• I love the right music combined with the right exercise. Add to that the right instructor, and I feel pretty satisfied, proud and strong after the workout.

Mom in Balance
Mom in Balance is a workout program that’s is pretty popular in The Netherlands for (soon-to-be) mommies. It helps us to feel physically strong and full of energy, better equipping us to be able to fully enjoy motherhood.
• The biggest benefit is just being outside. Just breathing the fresh air makes you healthy and it makes you shine more. Or at least I shine more!
• And working out with other mommies to be makes it more fun and makes it easier to give in when you’re having a hard time. There’s no competition and most of the complaints are shared.
• At first, I missed my bad ass feeling that I always have after my workouts, but then I realized that training in this less heavy way is not bad at all. I’m still working hard, but now it’s just different.
I wrote a (Dutch) review about my first Mom in Balance workout. If you want to know how it went and what I felt, you can read it here.

Homemade workouts
To be honest ,when I come home after a day at work I just want to sit back and skip the workout I had in mind. That’s pretty new and weird to me. But now any excuse will do. But not working out makes me really cranky so I need that extra push from my BF. He hates me cranky ;-).

• I use the NTC app and I pick some of the exercises I like and I combine them with my own exercises.
• I’ve always said “Walking is boring” but right now I don’t have many other options and it also helps me to clear my head. And I’d rather have fresh air, than a crowded gym. I just love to walk to the beach with music in my ears (And meanwhile, I’m getting used to peeing in the outdoors).

I’m really happy I’ve found a way to stay active and fit and I realize that I’m lucky I can still move my body. I know some pregnant women had to stop their workouts early on, because of issues and problems (mostly pelvis problems).

So for now; Stop comparing yourself to the person you were before you were pregnant and stop comparing yourself with others and start to focus on what you CAN do. Grab the possibilities and options you DO have and make them work. Shine on Fit Girls!
High five,

Marloes