Moving right along

I'm baaaaack. It's been a silent couple of months, but not for lack of activity over here.  Now that I'm basically "out of the closet," so to speak, I feel like I can write more freely. Which doesn't really make sense, since I haven't told actually told anyone about this blog yet! What can I say, it must be a mental thing and I'm strange.  Anyway, as of today, I'm 13 weeks and 3 days along, and thankfully most of my morning sickness and general malaise has disappeared. At least during the morning hours, which is when I mostly work out, so that's working in my favor.  I do tend to feel like a truck has hit me by 7 pm, but considering I was still feeling like crap 24/7 at this point during my last pregnancy, I'm not complaining.

So what has been on the exercise agenda lately? Mostly a mixture of cardio/strength classes (3-4 times a week), small group personal training sessions (a mixture of weight lifting and "functional awareness" type stuff, 1-2 times a week), and boxing with my husband on Saturdays (we have a trainer for that).  Sadly, running is just not doing it for me right now. At the risk of oversharing, I feel like some internal bits are shaking and shifting around too much to get into a comfortable groove.  It's also still hot as hell here, which makes it uncomfortable for anyone to run, let alone the pregnant of us.  I hope that we get some cooler temps soon, since I always get a little burst of running motivation in the fall.  Maybe a chill in the air will help me get my running mojo back.

Something I've been noticing more lately is that there is such a wide range of activities and exercises that are considered acceptable v. unacceptable for pregnant women, based on who you speak to and what you read.  For example, one of the instructors at my gym is pregnant, and she regularly does exercises that I always thought were off-limits at her stage in the game (3rd trimester), such as crunch/twist-centered ab exercises, deep squats, laying directly on her belly, etc.  I follow a lot of fitness-inspired pages on Instagram, and have seen some pregnant Crossfitters doing some questionable things (deep squats with heavy weight, hand stands, toes to bar.)  I know a lot of Crossfit moves can be done safely during pregnancy, but some of these photos looked intense! And frankly, painful.  I'll be honest, though, I love to see a strong, fit pregnant lady getting her workout on. Ultimately, it's up to each woman to make the best decision for her baby's well-being, it's just interesting to see the differences in how we choose to do it.

What do you think? Did you take down the intensity significantly while pregnant, or did you follow a fairly intense workout program? Would you do the same again?

Just get 'er done

I usually attend a boot camp class on Mondays.  I dread it all morning. I make sure I drink enough water and try not to have anything in my stomach before I go - it's that type of class, the type that leaves you with a super red face and, at times, nauseous.

I only found out I'm pregnant last Monday.  I debated going to class, then decided I should keep it up while I still can.  Big mistake.  The instructor knows what I'm capable of. He knows when I'm ramping it up and when I'm just coasting. So there was a lot of commentary about my effort (believe me, I was making one, it just wasn't up to my usual).  So yesterday, even though I really wanted to go to class, I decided against it. And I don't think I'll go back until we begin telling people about the pregnancy, in about a month.* (Sigh...that seems a long time, even though I know it will fly by.)

I had a specific window of time yesterday, so I decided to run on the treadmill.  Can we all agree that treadmill running just sucks? I don't mind using one for HIIT, since it's usually so short and you're constantly changing your speed, but a regular tempo run seems like torture to me.  Between the monotony and the lack of breeze or fan (at least in my gym), every 1 minute feels like 5.  I'd much rather run outside, but with temperatures and humidity in the 90's right now, that's another form of torture.

I managed 3 miles, but it took really psyching myself up with music in my ipod and playing mind games with myself.  These are the days you have to Just Do It.  We all have them. So, what are your tricks for motivating yourself to get through a workout?

*By the way, it hasn't escaped me that by the time anyone actually reads this blog, these entries will already be a month old. Oh well. 

Here we go again!

I titled this post the way I did not because I've attempted a blog before (although I have), but because I feel like I'm "ramping up" to undertake a monumental task. And I am (well, actually, my husband and I are) -  I'm five weeks pregnant with our second baby! Anyone who already has a child will understand what I mean by the above.  Yes, we're excited. Yes, we're overjoyed.  But...we know what we're getting into now.  The almost two years since our first, A, was born haven't dulled the memory of all those sleepless nights and endless feedings.  And the changes, oh the changes -- to your body, your relationship with your husband, your friendships.  So yeah, I feel elation and a bit of trepidation, which leads me to the intro of this blog -- my personal journey of fitness, wellness, pregnancy, post-partum and beyond (hopefully - I won't get too esoteric here).  This intro is long, but I wanted to tell you a bit about why I'm staring this blog.

I still remember what it was like doing my first post-partum ab workout after my daughter was born in July of 2011.  I was on a yoga mat on my living room floor, attempting Physique 57's "Abs and Arms Booster" while my baby slept.  I looked down, past my enormous boobs to the soft, decidedly wobbly region that used to host some pretty impressive abs, and I felt completely overwhelmed.  There are many reasons newly post-partum moms feel a little "like a virgin" (wink wink), and this was one of mine. Not only did those abs look as soft and pillowy as a croissant, they were about as sturdy as one, too.  That first routine exhausted me, humbled me, but even more, it made me determined to get my body back.

I started by walking, then easing back into running about a month post-partum.  In November, I began training with my two friends (go JFDI!) for the Disney Princess Half-Marathon in February 2012.  During that time, I was working full-time, breast-feeding and pumping, and just generally trying to keep my sanity (I had a billable hour requirement. Enough said.).  There were many days I had to find a pocket of time to squeeze in a workout, and if it was at 4:30 am, well...there it was.  I became good friends with Jillian Michaels DVDs around then.  (I'll need to do a whole separate post about my love for JM.)   By the fall, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but as all you ladies with children know, same weight does not equal same body!

Things remained status quo for a while, and then in early 2013, I began taking more "functional" fitness classes at my gym.  (Also, my employment status changed, which freed up some time.)  I've been loving these boot camp/athletic conditioning classes and Cross Fit- style challenges ever since.  They force me to tap into my competitive side, which, frankly, I didn't even know I had until my 20's -- I used to think "competitive" was a bad word.  I put down the 5 lb. dumbbells and Tracy Anderson DVDs and began lifting heavier.  BOOM - I saw a pretty big difference in my body, in a relatively short amount of time.  For the first time, I could do pull-ups! I've seen a tremendous benefit to my running, too.  Tons of sprints mean that I've shaved more than a minute off of my average pace time.  I literally feel my endurance improving each week.

Which brings me full circle to...getting pregnant again! I'm no longer a first-timer, and I know what worked and didn't work for me last time.  So I'll be making a couple of changes to my fitness routine this time (diet too, but we'll get to that later).  Even more importantly, I know where I am now and where I want to be after this next little munchkin makes his or her appearance. This is going to document my journey.  If you're a fellow fitness lover, mom or mama-to-be, or if you're neither but this just sounds like your cup of tea, settle in, 'cause I'm glad you're here.