How Working Out While Pregnant Helped My Pregnancy Journey

Happy Tuesday! I wanted to take a second today to get REAL and VULNERABLE with you all about my pre and post pregnancy fitness journey. I have always wanted Fit for His Glory to be a place where women can come for the REAL STORY. My goal is for this to be a place where we can take off the mask and share our struggles and journey’s while cheering each other on.

Recently I have gotten a LOT of questions from ladies about my workout regimen while I was pregnant. I thought I would take some time today and share my top 5 reasons to workout when you’re pregnant and then share my entire pregnancy journey story with you! Since I just had Emmaline 3 weeks ago I am still in the early stages of mommy-hood and my postpartum journey but hopefully you find it encouraging and motivating.

Working out in pregnancy has many benefits including:

  • Faster delivery
  • Quicker recovery postpartum
  • Less complications at birth
  • Reduced back pain
  • Gives you energy

Did you know that babies born to moms who exercise typically weigh the same as babies born to moms who did not, but have higher percentage of muscle than fat? Also in 2002 at the annual meeting for the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Dr. Tanya K. Sorensen stated that vigorous exercise during pregnancy appears to reduce the risk of preeclampsia.

Lets be real – working out consistently is tough anytime, and pregnancy just makes it that much harder. During this time, we all need as much accountability and as many resources as possible because our health is never more important than when we are growing a human! We have to forget all the reasons we don’t want to exercise, and do it for the only reason that matters – doing what is best for baby! As an added bonus you will feel much better when you get started too!

Now that I am on the other side and just gave birth to my sweet baby Emmaline just 3 and a half weeks ago, I can honestly say that the benefits to working out listed above are 100% on point. I had little to no swelling during my pregnancy as well and my blood pressure stayed steady at a normal rate of 120/80. So let me tell you a little bit about my workout regimen during my pregnancy, her birth story, and my postpartum journey so far.

Workout Regimen while Pregnant

While I was pregnant with Emmaline I was almost exclusively using Beachbody on Demand. Beachbody on Demand is essentially the Netflix for workouts.

 

Some of the programs included in a Beachbody on Demand membership include:

  • P90X®
  • P90X2®
  • P90X3®
  • Insanity®
  • Hammer & Chisel®
  • Body Beast®
  • FIXATE Cooking Show®
  • T25®
  • Autumn’s Active Maternity
  • 21 Day Fix EXTREME®
  • Insanity Max 30®
  • 3 Week Yoga Retreat®
  • Turbo Fire®
  • Brazil Butt Lift®
  • 10-Minute Trainer®
  • Hip Hop Abs®
  • ChaLEAN Extreme®

MUCH more, including exclusive workouts that the super trainers created specifically for Beachbody On Demand!

Beachbody on Demand was GREAT for me during my pregnancy journey because depending on how I was feeling I could choose a workout that would be good for me and my goals that day. I worked out 5 days a week throughout my pregnany and ate healthy and clean about 60% of the time. Eating healthy/clean was definitely the area where I struggled the most.

Emmaline’s Birth

On November 10th at 41 weeks pregnant I headed in to see my Doctor to see how things were progressing. Of course my luck I will still barely at a 1 and 50% effaced. Since Emmaline was getting so big and considering my Doctor thought she was close to 9 pounds, he decided to have me come in that night for two rounds of cervix softner to get things moving. I went in that evening around 8 pm and had my first round of cervix softener at 10 pm, then another one at 2 am. By 4 am my water broke on it’s own and by 7 am I was dilated to a 4.

At 7 am I got a new nurse (who was AMAZING by the way) and she immediately had me get my epidural. After getting my epidural I took a LOT of naps and was flipped back and forth every thirty minutes. By 12 pm I was dilated to a 10 and ready to start pushing Emmaline’s head down under the pelvic bone. That’s when things got a little tough! Emmaline’s head was very difficult for me to get under my narrow pelvic bone, but finally after nearly 3 hours of pushing and my doctor having to use the vacuum suction to help pull E out, she was FINALLY born! It was a long few hours and I honestly believe if I had not stayed in shape throughout my pregnancy I would not have had the energy or strength to keep pushing. I can’t imagine how things might have gone had it not been for the time I put in to taking care of myself prior to Emmaline’s birth. Emmaline came out weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces and measured 21.25 inches long with a full head of hair. She had a very minor case of jaundice that worked itself out as my breast milk came in.

Postpartum Journey so far..

Within a day or two of Emmaline’s birth I was feeling great! Thankfully I only had a first degree tear, which really helped with healing and being able to move around. Within two days of Emmaline being born I was going for walks and pushing her in the stroller. Again, I attribute my quick recovery to staying active prior to Emmaline’s birth. While I can’t yet workout, I am already down almost 30 pounds with just under 20 pounds to go until I hit my pre-pregnancy weight. (However my goal is actually to lose 30 pounds).

Starting Weight: 147

Ending Pregnancy Weight: 191

Current Weight: 164

I did gain a lot more weight with Emmaline then I wanted, but I am thankful that with breastfeeding and walking it’s already starting to come off.

All that to say, working out while your pregnant is 100% worth it and will help you and your sweet new baby a TON! Remember, having a baby is not an excuse it’s a reason!

Caroline Foster

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December 6, 2016

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