Pregnancy Workouts

I'm going to be honest here.  I'd like to say that I have been working out throughout my pregnancy and I am the perfect model of health and wellness.  I did start out strong, working out about 5 times a week throughout the first and start of the second trimester.  Then December came. With finals week for grad school and the Christmas show hell week, something had to give.  That something was working out.

At the time, I could feel the difference in my body, but I chalked it up to the hectic schedule I was attempting to maintain.  I was exhausted and lacked my usual energy.  I could not get myself up for a 6 am workout and the rest of my day was packed. When Christmas week came, it was time to jump back in the saddle.  After that first workout, I felt 100 times better. I had energy for the day and my body felt good being used and challenged. Even my mind felt sharper and ready for the challenges of the day. Here are some tips to help you with your pregnancy workouts.

1. Choose workouts that involve a lot of stretching, like yoga. Stretching can really help with pregnancy aches and pains and tightness.  A good workout will stretch out your back and hips easing a lot of the tension there.  If this doesn't motivate you to do the workout knowing how much better you will feel after, I don't know what will.

2. Think about your post-pregnancy body.  Getting back into fitness after a baby is hard.  Working out throughout your pregnancy however makes it a lot easier.

3. These workouts should not be super intense, high energy workouts.  You don't want your heart rate to exceed 140 BPM. Light cardio and moderate weights depending on your activity level prior to pregnancy is awesome.

4. Don't think of it as work or an obligation. As I said with the yoga, your mind set should be relieving pain and tension.  For cardio, you can have a dance party with your kids or play my son's favorite game, "You can't get me" where I chase him around the dining room table.   Go for a walk with your baby in the stroller.  Anything that gets you moving.

5. Remember to also lift some weights a few times a week.  Your baby may pop out at 7 lbs., but that baby is going to grow fast.  You want to be prepared for carrying that baby around.  This is another fantastic motivator.

You don't need to go to the gym to get a workout in. In fact, there are tons of pregnancy workout DVDs that you can use.  With winter weather finally here, you will not find me getting my bottom outside in the early morning to get a gym workout.  I use several different DVDs, and sometimes do my own workouts depending on where I am feeling tension.  Some DVDs I use are the Yoga Booty Ballet: Baby on the way DVD, and the Summer Sanders' Prenatal Workout DVD.  I also use the regular Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs for Cardio. I don't find the cardio overwhelming for my pregnant self and I just leave out the exercises that require laying on your belly.  While I love Jillian Michaels, she can be saved for your post-baby workouts.  Those DVDs are a bit too heart pumping for the typical pregnant woman.  There are so many DVDs to choose from, you can definitely find one that fits your needs. Here you can find a ton of prenatal workout DVDs: Prenatal Workout DVDs. Note if you make a purchase using this link, I will make a small commission off of your purchase.

If you need the accountability that a gym class can provide., you can set up a text group with your friends where you have to check in when you completed a workout.  Each day you check in when you completed a workout and everyone gets held accountable.  They don't need to be pregnant for this to work!  You can also set up a workout schedule for yourself if that works for you.  Or we can create a Facebook group where we check in after a workout to keep ourselves accountable.

Just remember, loosing weight is not the only reason to workout! You will feel better, relieve tension in your muscles, and clear your mind. Many times starting your day with a workout will give you the energy to get more done during your day! (And when you're pregnant, you need as much energy as you can get!!)

Here's to a fit pregnancy in 2016!!

Emily

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10 Tips for Fitness Newbies

Here is a collection of tips for fitness newbies that I've picked up along the way.  There is tons of fitness advice out there, but these are the tips that I feel are the most important.  These items will help you get the most out of any new exercise or fitness routine! The photo below is of me less than  a year after having the T monster.  I definitely made use of most, if not all of these tips.

So, without any further adieu, here we go:

1. Avoid insulin spikes by not eating sweet carbohydrates.  Instead try to stick to whole grains, potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Minimize cookies and cakes, have fruit for dessert instead. Try to cut out as much sugar as possible.

2. Exercise at least 5 days per week.  This should be a combination of weight training and cardio.  Having some muscle will improve your performance in the gym as well as increase your overall calorie burn.  Don't worry, you won't look like a man if you weight lift a few days a week.  Cardio is an awesome way to burn through those extra calories!

3. Don't skip meals.  In fact, healthy meals and snack are recommended! Try to eat 6 small meals per day to keep your metabolism elevated.

4. Eat your fiber, daily. This will help with your digestion, will slim your waist, and will help with your absorption of nutrients.

5. Drink lots of water!!

6. Eat healthy fats including nuts, olive oil and coconut oil.

7. Drink green tea. It has a slight stimulant effect and is rich in antioxidants.

8. Create meals that center around protein. Your body cannot store protein for later, so you need to feed your muscles throughout the day.

9. Get enough sleep. This is essential. Your body needs time to regenerate. Try to get at least 7 hours a night.  It will help your body and brain function better!

10. Brush your teeth after you eat.  The taste will help prevent snacking between meals!

Hope you found these helpful.  If you have any other newbie tips, leave them in the comments!

Happy Monday!!

Emily

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At Home Workout, No DVD Required

I love working out with DVDs. It's fun to have company while you workout and the hosts can be very motivating, especially when you are getting tired. Sometimes, however, I want to kill 2 birds with one stone when I work out. Maybe catch up on a TV show or listen to a podcast.  This is not so easy when using a workout DVD. So, I came up with a set of workouts that includes weights and cardio and doesn't require a DVD.  The whole workout gets done in about 30 minutes.  All you need is 3 sets of weights and a clock.  I use the cable box as my clock.

First, I pick an area of the body to focus on: legs, or back and chest, or shoulders, or biceps and triceps, etc.

Then I pick out 7-8 exercises that I will do to work out this area of the body. So for biceps and triceps I might do: bicep curls, tricep dips, hammer curls, tricep kick backs, reverse curls, overhead tricep extension right, overhead tricep extension left and isolation curls.  For shoulders, I might do: shoulder press, side raise right, side raise left, front raise, bent over fly, upright row, and arnold dumbbell press.

Here's how I set up my workout. The first 2 minutes I warm up by jogging in place. Then I grab my light weights and do 12 reps of the first exercise. As soon as I'm done I finish out the minute with either jogging or jumping jacks or quick jump rope type hops. When that minute ends I grab the medium weights and do the same exercise for 10 reps. I again finish out the minute with cardio. At the next minute, I grab the heavy weights for 8 reps. Again I finish out the minute with cardio.  I repeat this process with all 7-8 exercises.  This should bring you to about 23-26 minutes depending on if you are doing 7 or 8 exercises. To round out the 30 minutes, I always end with abs.  In this case I will do say 20 crunches, or 12 lying leg raises, or a 30 second plank and then again finish out each minute with cardio.  At the very end I will do a stretch and I'm done. The stretch I do depends on the area I was concentrating on for the day.

Once you've done this workout a few times, you kind of get the hang of it and you can actually enjoy your show or podcast while you workout! If you don't have 3 sets of weights, no problem. Just do 10 reps with the same weights for all 3 sets of each exercise. Don't worry about the specific order, just keep in mind the area you are focusing on and do the next exercise that comes to mind.  For days where I am working 2 muscle groups, like biceps and triceps or chest and back, I like to alternate between the body parts. So after 3 sets of bicep curls, I might do 3 sets of tricep dips and then switch back to biceps.  That way I don't over tire the muscle. 

Try this out and let me know what you think.  Need ideas for which exercises to do?  Drop me a note in the comments!

Cheers,

Emily

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7 Tips for Getting Your Workout In

As a busy mom, sometimes its hard to take time out for yourself.  We have so many other obligations and priorities that we sometimes put ourselves last. Other times, the way that we treat ourselves in not the best or healthiest. Our "me time" becomes have a sugary or salty treat in front of the TV after the kids are in bed.  But, in order to be our best selves and the best possible mom, we have to put our own health as one of our top priorities.

Exercise can give you a high and give you energy to start your day.  It can help you clear your brain and enable you to focus.  It can give you the strength and endurance to get through a long day.  It keeps you healthy and your heart pumping.  It boosts your mood. If nothing else, it helps you shed unwanted lbs. So here are 7 tips to help you ensure that you get your workout in!

1. Have a goal of working out everyday - but don't be hard on yourself.  On average, you want to work out around 5 days a week.  Some people schedule their rest days.  I'm not one of those people.  I find that if you schedule your rest day and then something comes up another day that prevents you from working out, you beat yourself up for missing an extra day.  I make my goal to work out daily and if something does come up or I'm not feeling well, I count that as my rest day.  This enables you to have a lot less guilt. 

2. Workout in the morning - I find that the best time to workout is before anyone else gets up.  This means I'm up at 6:00 am, have a protein shake and start my workout.  I generally don't have scheduling conflicts at this time and things don't generally come up.  Therefore, it is a whole lot easier for me to make sure I get my workout in.  I also have the living room to myself (aside from the dogs) so I can spread out and make as much noise as I want. 

3. Workout at Home - Going to the gym is nice, but it requires a lot of effort and planning.  You need someone to watch the kids, you have to pay a membership whether you get to the gym or not, you actually have to take the time to go there and come back on top of your workout time, and you have to wait for equipment or come early to make sure you get your spot for class.  At home, these things are not an issue.  A 30 minute workout will actually take 30 minutes.  Once you have your equipment, there is no additional cost. And, no babysitter is required. 

4. Have your equipment easily accessible - Set aside a space in your home where you will workout.  This might be your living room or your basement or the garage.  Have all of your workout out equipment all together, easily accessible in this room.  I workout in my living room, so in one corner I have my weights, my stretch band, my ball, my yoga mat and my fold away elliptical.  I also have one location for all of my fitness DVDs.  When I want to workout, I just grab the equipment I need for that workout and I'm ready to go.

5. Be selective when purchasing DVDs - Have you ever purchased a DVD and then never used it because you didn't have the time or the right equipment? Do your research up front so that when you get a DVD, you are actually able to use it.  My first requirement when buying a DVD is length.  I want to be able to get my workout done in about 35 minutes, 40 max.  That way I have time to get a quick shower in before waking up T. So, if a DVD doesn't meet the time requirement, I don't get it because I know I will rarely, if ever, use it.  Next I look at what equipment is required. Generally, I go with DVDs that either come with the equipment required or makes use of equipment I already have.  If you get a kettle bell workout and don't have a kettle bell, well you not going to be able to use it until you get one...

6. Get your kids involved - If you have a teeny guy or gal, do baby wearing workouts where you do exercises while wearing your baby in their carrier.  The baby is your weight and you move up in weight as your baby gets bigger.  This is actually fun for the baby too and some good quality time together.  For bigger guys (depending on how big) you can still use them as your weight.  Toddler chest presses and over head presses anyone? How about a plank with a toddler on top? Squats while carrying your little guy! Workout with your hubby and get everyone involved. For even bigger kids, get a couple light weights and encourage them to join in.  It's never too early to develop a healthy lifestyle. 

7. Set a workout goal - When you have a goal to achieve you are much more motivated to do the work it takes to get there. Decide you want to be able to do 60 squats in a minute, or drop a dress size in 4 weeks, or get through the whole workout DVD without having to hit pause.  Wherever you are fitness wise, there is always a new goal you can set.  Make your goals specific and achievable. Not easy, but achievable.  You want to obtain your goal, not be depressed when your deadline comes and you fall short.

In the end, working out is super important to being the best mom you can be.  You have energy to chase and play with your kids.  You model a healthy lifestyle.  And you will definitely feel accomplished when you finish a good workout. Try to add workouts to your routine little by little and you will definitely notice the difference in all aspects of your life.  In fact, with that extra boost of energy you may find you actually save time in your day because you are able to accomplish things faster and more efficiently.

Here's to healthy, happy mommies!!

Emily

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