Exercising for Two

25 Feb

Alessandra Ambrosio. Picture on the right taken 3 hours after giving birth. Probably.

I miss my daily commute. Not the one sat on a bus for 1hr 15 mins with myriad smelly people – the one I have been suffering since early February – no, I miss the one where it’s just me, my bike, and several hundred fellow cyclists, pedestrians, taxi drivers, bus drivers and white van men.

You see I used to love my 10 mile round-trip cycle to work but as soon as I found out I was pregnant I stopped enjoying it. Why? Because of the several hundred fellow cyclists, pedestrians, taxi drivers, bus drivers and white van men. I don’t trust them. They make me paranoid, hesitant and nervous: the worst kind of person you want operating any kind of vehicle on the busy roads of London – be it fuelled by pedal power or petrol.

I got to about 8 weeks pregnant and threw the towel in.

Anyway – one thing you’re told time and time again when you’re in the early stages of pregnancy is that continuing with your excersise regime is very important (within reason obviously). A fit mother makes for an easy birth and, according to this article in the New York Times, it also makes for a healthier baby. Bonus for everybody then.

So what to do to replace my much-loved cycle? Swimming has been recommended by many but I’ve never been a big fan as I don’t like putting my head under water – something I’m sure you’ll all agree is a *slight* hindrance when stuck in a massive pool of deep water. Running was out of the question as my boobs were – and indeed still are – fiery globes of agony. I looked into pre-natal pilates but the only class I fancied attending – at Frame in Shoreditch – was at 8am on a Tuesday morning which would leave me an impossible 30 mins to get into work. And they won’t let me attend any of their other pilates classes as ‘the teacher might not be trained in pre-natal pilates’ (quite surprising this – surely they all are?).

So I have come up with my own ‘three-pronged’ approach – I shall be doing the following, from Monday onwards:

  • Walking to work – not the full 5 miles (yet) but from Angel in Islington to work which is around 2.3 miles. As I’m a member of fab commuter gym H2 Bike Run I can walk in and then shower/get ready for work there.
  • Pilates once per week at my gym – apparently the teacher there is more than capable of handling pregnant women, thankfully
  • Pregnancy yoga DVD – two mornings per week and once at the weekend. I bought this DVD from Amazon after reading great reviews so I’m hoping it’ll be good. Stay tuned…

Anyway – I’m hoping the combination will be enough to replace the regular exercise I was getting on my bike.

13 weeks in and I’ve put on 1kg (which horrified me until a friend pointed out it was only 2.2lbs – thanks Frankie) but I was holding some extra ‘Christmas’ weight beforehand anyway so I’m not exactly jumping for joy. I am fully prepared for the inevitable ‘balloon’ stage post 6 months but to be honest this is far more about my well being than my weight. I used to get into work buzzing with energy after my cycle and I miss the feeling, quite frankly.

I’ll keep you posted as to whether that feeling returns.

Have a lovely weekend

Mrs L xxx

 

 

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10 Responses to “Exercising for Two”

  1. Insomniac Mummy February 25, 2012 at 1:48 pm #

    I’m actually quite envious of your pregnancy exercise plans! I had SPD badly, the second time round, so I could barely walk 10 paces. :/

    Remember that other very important except use though, won’t you? Squeeeeeeeeze that pelvic floor! ;)

    Reply
  2. Insomniac Mummy February 25, 2012 at 1:49 pm #

    Damn auto correct! Read ‘except use’ as ‘exercise though’.

    Reply
    • mrs lister February 25, 2012 at 1:51 pm #

      Hahah fear not – I have been ‘squeezing’ like a mad woman! ;)

      Reply
  3. mrs lister February 25, 2012 at 1:51 pm #

    PS -heard horror stories about SPD – feel very fortunate that I have thus far had a relatively easy pregnancy xx

    Reply
  4. LisaD February 25, 2012 at 1:52 pm #

    I too didn’t do very well with the exercise (due to being lazy and then having an insanely huge bump that made moving very difficult), but I do think it helps. And as you said, it’s about your wellbeing and you will be the best judge of what’s working for you. xx

    Reply
    • mrs lister February 25, 2012 at 1:58 pm #

      Yep that’s the thing I’ve missed the most really – the feeling of doing ‘something’. At least with walking I’ll be able to listen to my music – definitely couldn’t do that when cycling! xx

      Reply
  5. notsupermum February 25, 2012 at 2:34 pm #

    When I was pregnant with the Teenager I used to go to aquarobics and aquanatal classes – they were great as I’m also not a great swimmer but it requires standing in a pool doing exercise. Easy! I also have a very good tip for not getting any stitches or tears (sorry!)- will email you :-)

    Reply
  6. Iris February 25, 2012 at 8:15 pm #

    Love that you have an exercise plan. Have a lovely pregnancy x

    Reply
    • mrs lister February 25, 2012 at 8:53 pm #

      Thanks Iris. The real test is whether or not I stick to that plan ;)

      Reply

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