How I’m Fitting in Exercise During this Pregnancy

During my first pregnancy, I gained a LOT of weight. I won’t give numbers because I know the number is more than some gain and less than others gain but considering how small I started out before I got pregnant, it wasn’t good. 

Part of it had to do with mostly being pregnant in the dead of winter (my first baby was born in January in Minnesota) and another part of it was that I lived on a college campus where I ate the cafeteria food almost every day (my husband was a dorm head at a tiny Bible college and we lived in a little apartment in the men’s dorm with a bunch of guys). The cafeteria food was actually quite good and a lot of it was homemade but there was a lot of it and I ate too much of it!

Anyway….thanks to joining the YMCA after my first baby was born, I was able to lose all my baby weight plus more! For my second and third pregnancies I tried to keep up with exercising but my third pregnancy was during the winter as well (still in a really cold climate) and staying active fell by the wayside. But enough with the excuses!

Now that the fourth baby is coming and I’ve made it beyond 20 weeks of morning  all-day sickness (see how I coped in this post!), I’m thankful to be enjoying a summer pregnancy where I can be outdoors every day. This time I’m going to try hard to keep up with exercise. It won’t be anything strenuous but it’s enough to keep me active and hopefully help me bounce back a little quicker after baby girl is born in early October!

Here’s what I’ve been doing or am planning to do:

• Going on walks using my Schwinn jogging stroller. I love my stroller because it is super lightweight and turns easily. My 2 year old begs for rides and my 7 and 4 year old ride bike alongside me. Yes, I do get interrupted, no I don’t run (just jog/walk) and no, I don’t always get in the best workout ever, but it is still SO good for me!

• Lifting weights. My weights are in the 2-3 lb category and I just do some simple reps in front of Netflix in the evening, about every other day. I’m actually going to start this 10 minute pregnancy arm workout I found on YouTube, using my exercise ball–super easy and quick and you can do it when the kids are awake which is awesome!

• Doing my Fit2B Studio Workouts. Through the homemaking ebook bundle that was for sale awhile back, I discovered Fit2B Studio. I really love these workout videos because you can do them right from your computer and most are short (15 minutes or less) which is great when I have limited time.

These are tummy-safe workouts especially helpful for women who struggle with diastasis recti (stomach muscle splitting during/after pregnancy). The exercises you do in the videos do not include traditional crunches or unmodified planks because those are actually worse for your stomach, especially during pregnancy! There are cardio, strengh training, core sets, pilates and yoga videos (I’m not into yoga but I’ve used the other ones and loved them!). It costs $9.99 per month but you can get 3 months for $20 ($10 savings) if you use my code in the little photo below. 

• Using the elliptical. I actually haven’t done this since very early in this pregnancy but I am hoping to get back on the elliptical again, since my chiropractor gave me the all clear. I’ve had high arch issues in the past but with the relaxin hormone kicking in it’s actually helped!

How am I finding time for exercise? The Fit2B videos are short and can be done while the kids are awake and actually there are some videos specifically for kids! The stroller walk/jogs are happening in the morning right now when everyone has energy and can go together. We sometimes go on family walks once my husband gets home too, although those aren’t quite as peppy on my part ;) Lifting weights can be done after bedtime hours or during naptime. The elliptical is the one thing that I’m not sure how I’ll fit in except to just do it on the weekends when my husband is home, because kids are napping downstairs where the machine is, so I’d just wake them up.

I know there will be days where I won’t get in my regular exercise but I am really trying this time to have a healthier pregnancy, both for the baby and so I can have a quicker recovery too! 

Sadly, I still like to eat lots of ice cream. Not sure how to solve that problem yet. :)

Be sure to check out these do’s and dont’s for pregnancy exercise and of course make sure everything is a-ok before beginning an exercise routine! Also, please note that if you do sign up for Fit2B using my code, I do earn a small commission for each sale. You can sign up and cancel at any time.

Do you exercise when you’re pregnant? What do you do?

Shared at Time Warp Wife, Road to 31, Growing Home, Walking Redeemed and MercyInk