Fitness during Pregnancy!

I'm going to start by saying I am a work from home mom and I have my two year old home with me 90% of the time. This has definitely made fitness during pregnancy look a little different then with my first pregnancy where I worked full time and I only had to take care of myself.

During first trimester my fitness during pregnancy routine was super simple as my energy was so low. I only focused on going for walks outside, light stretches, household duties like bringing laundry to and from the basement and vacuuming. That is all I could handle during first trimester.

As soon as I got my energy back during second trimester my fitness during pregnancy routine changed. It was now winter so I started to lean towards my elliptical rather than walking outside. I like to set up an engaging self play activity for my little one and then elliptical for anywhere between 10 - 30 minutes depending on how I feel.

Stretching is something I like to do through my entire pregnancy and easy to squeeze into the schedule even with work and kids. I just find a small pocket of time, roll out a nice thick yoga mat and I have stretches memorized that I just go through. If this is your first pregnancy you can find lots of free resources on youtube just try to select reputable sources. Also yoga ball exercises are great especially as you move from second trimester to third. The simple movements on the yoga ball help get baby into position, open up your hips and prep your pelvis for birth.

Squats are another great exercise to do in pregnancy to keep your muscles fit during pregnancy and help with baby positioning and labour. The only other real exercise I do is using low weight free weights to do simple arm exercises. Carrying a baby around is hard work so I do like to keep up with simple free weight exercises to build that strength for my fourth trimester journey with my newborn.

Continue any exercises you were doing before pregnancy that make you feel good as long as they are considered safe by your healthcare team. Do what you can and know you are doing a great job, growing a baby is not an easy task!