My Pregnancy Workout Routine

I am one day away from being 27 weeks pregnant. Today is officially three months away from my June 28th due date. And guess what? I am still working out 3 {sometimes 4} times a week!

Before I go in to details, let me start by saying that I am NOT a doctor. Nor am I a trainer or nutritionist. I am simply a girl who has been pregnant twice, likes to workout, and has done a pretty good amount of research on the matter.

In pregnancy, mine and yours, number one priority is to keep your baby healthy. One way to do this is to stay healthy and active yourself. My biggest piece of advice to be able to keep up a great level of activity while pregnant is to START BEFORE you actually want to get pregnant. When we knew we wanted to start trying soon for Bray, I started running consistently and doing yoga/workout videos at home 3x a week as we didn’t have a gym membership then. We found this more manageable as we didn’t need to buy all the fancy gym equipment that would take up all the room in the house. The most we had to buy were yoga mats and some weights. Before we started trying for this new baby, I had already been doing Orange Theory Fitness twice a week, and did some other form of workouts another day. Some say its way better to workout more often, but 3-4x seems to be a great balance for me. Perhaps I could mix in some materials that help someone open your mind – I have a friend who does it regularly, and it helps her a lot when pregnant.

By being super active with great and challenging workouts before getting pregnant, you will be able to continue them in to pregnancy, and when you have to tone them down, you are still getting a great workout! And you will have to tone them down. Whether its having to modify certain actions, shorten your routine, or change it up all together, things will inevitably have to change. It all also depends on how your pregnancy is going. If you have a perfectly healthy pregnancy, then the chances of you being able to continue working out moderate-hard the whole time is much greater than someone with complications. Again, number one priority is a healthy baby!

Last pregnancy I started having Braxton Hicks contractions at this time and they got increasingly worse and worse until I had to stop working out completely at 30 weeks. This pregnancy I started getting Braxton Hicks daily around 17 weeks, BUT I have learned how to manage them better {i drink at least a galloon of water a day, no matter what}. My doctor also feels way more comfortable with them since I went to 38 weeks and had a perfectly healthy baby last time! I know this is not always the case for some mother’s and they may have to face the difficult decision to get an abortion for the safety of them and the baby. If you are one of these people and are battling with “is abortion right?” Then going to places like Pregnancy Resource Center may help to give you some comfort and clarity on this decision, so you don’t have to face it alone. But heres to hoping I don’t have any complications and I won’t have to stop anytime soon because of them…so in the mean time- here is my routine:

I joined a regular gym a few months ago, mainly so I could have childcare while working out. One of the huge benefits to it though is the fact that I enjoy the classes. One class specifically is Body Pump. I take this class once a week without fail.

• Body Pump: “BODYPUMP™, the original LES MILLS™ barbell class, will sculpt, tone and strengthen your entire body, fast!” via I love this one hour class and the way it challenges me with weights and movements that I previously was not comfortable with. It is also very easy to adapt a movement that I don’t feel like I should be doing.

The other days of workouts are all a mix. I am still feeling good enough to run, which is awesome and I feel really blessed about it. I am no longer running more than 3 miles, but even that feels like a great push. My leggings are getting quite tight now so I tend to wear my husband’s shorts instead because they’re more comfortable. I know they’re designed for men but gym pants for men are just much more flowy and comfortable. I feel like I can move properly in them. I have definitely had to slow down my pace, but it still feels challenging regardless.

At the gym I love using the Stair Master. I always put it on some sort of interval program. My favorite little routine with the Stair Master is this:

• Stair Master for 10 minutes- then hop off and do 20 squats, 15 pushups, and a 1 minute plank {while in first trimester}. Repeat the whole process 4 times.

The other cardio equipment that I love is the elliptical machine. You can either set it to a random interval or search online for a routine. One that I love {and have had to recently tone down} is this one from Fit Sugar:

TIME	RESISTANCE	SPM*	NOTES
00:00-3:00	5	130	Warm up
03:00-5:00	5	140	Warm up
05:00-07:00	7	150-160	No hands
07:00-09:00	9	150-160	Hands – push
09:00-10:30	7	130-140	Backward
10:30-11:00	8	170-180	Sprint
11:00-12:00	7	130-140
12:00-12:30	8	180-190	Sprint
12:30-13:30	7	130-140
13:30-14:30	8	180-190	Sprint
14:30-16:00	5	140-150	No hands
16:00-17:00	8	180-190	Sprint
17:00-18:00	6	130-140	Backward
18:00-18:30	8	190-200	Forward and sprint
18:30-19:00	5	130-140
19:00-19:30	8	190-200	Sprint
19:30-20:00	5	130-140
20:00-20:30	8	200-210	Sprint
20:30-21:00	5	130-140
21:00-21:30	8	200-210	Sprint
21:30-22:00	5	130-140
22:00-22:30	8	200-210	Sprint
22:30-23:00	5	130-140
23:00-23:30	8	200-210	Sprint
23:30-24:00	5	130-140
24:00-24:30	7	140-150
24:30-25:00	5	130-140
25:00-27:00	7	130-140	Backward
27:00-30:00	5	130-140	Forward and pull
30:00-35:00	5	130-140	No hands

I always try and do at least a little bit of weights no matter what. Squats are my biggest love/hate relationship. I never skip them because I know how good they are not only for keeping my body in shape but for helping with labor. I also like to focus on arms because, lets face it, I have zero control over how big my belly gets, so I at least try and keep something on the tighter end;)

For days that I can’t get to the gym, I have been loving Simply Sadie Janes 6-week at home crossfit program. It is totally free, and requires barely any equipment. The workouts never take more than 30 minutes either, which is a huge bonus in my world! Now don’t get me wrong, these workouts are freaking hard, and I definitely have to modify some movements, but I love them!

So thats what I am up to. At 27 weeks pregnant, I am working out 3-4x a week, rotating Body Pump classes, Stair Master, Elliptical, Running, Weights, and At-home crossfit. I also know the farther along I get I will start adding in yoga in place of one of the cardio/weights days.

One final tid-bit on my workouts is a tool I love. I got the Polar FT4 heart rate monitor a couple of months back and I am obsessed with it. It tracks my time working out, my heart rate, and my calories burnt. It lets me know if I am not pushing hard enough, or if I am needing to cool it down! I cannot recommend it enough, pregnant or not!!

I am trying my best to eat clean, even though I have zero will power against doughnuts and chocolate shakes…but I am trying. I think it is important, pregnant or not, to not let food control you. Don’t obsess over what you eat. Eat healthy whole foods, and allow yourself treats. Everything in moderation, right?!

So thats that. I really hope this answers a lot of the questions I have been getting from y’all lately. Please remember, this is my routine. It might be awesome for you to try, or it might be too much, or heck- it might not be enough. Listen to your body, keep that baby growing healthy, and keep yourself healthy. No workout, or muscle, or weight gain/lack thereof is worth interfering with the health of your growing baby, so always ask your doctor or midwife before starting any new regimen.

I really pray that the only thing this post does is encourages you. I pray it doesn’t stir up any feelings of negativity or comparison, because we all have enough of that junk floating around in other aspects of our lives already. I want to be a place for you to go to get encouraged, challenged {in a good way}, and loved on- and the rest of the crap can be left out:) If your routine is going on walks with your family, or yoga, or pilates, or crossfit…whatever it is- I am so happy for you! You are doing what is best for you, and your family.

What is your routine? Or, if you have had a high risk pregnancy, what do you do to keep yourself encouraged and moving forward? I would love to hear from any and all sides of the spectrum, because I love you guys!!