37 Weeks - Full Term!

I'm officially full term, and baby could technically, safely, arrive any day now :D

Baby girl has been busy moving and growing the past few weeks - I can tell she's bigger because all of a sudden EVERYTHING is harder/more awkward to do! Putting on shoes, adjusting the pillows in my bed, putting on a seatbelt, painting my toe nails (ok, that one isn't just difficult... it's basically impossible).... I must be quite the spectacle at the gym, busting out these great looking lifts but then struggling to get up from the floor or walk over obstacles, haha!

I've still been taking leisurely walks every day (45-60 minutes), although I've only worked out a few times over the past two weeks. It's been nice to have some rest, but I do find that I start to get achy and sore if I don't exercise regularly - this body was designed to MOVE! By this point in my first pregnancy I had stopped working out altogether, so I'm considering it a big win that I'm still getting to the gym even twice a week :)  I have been taking advantage of the extra free time by finishing up our kids' rooms and packing everyone's hospital bags. We are officially READY!

Baby Girl's Room - Forest theme

Jayden's Room - Ocean theme

For my workout program, I've decided to do a 3-day split: two upper-body workouts (because my upper recovers faster than my lower), and one lower-body workout. I'm keeping the weight moderate and staying in the 10-15 rep range, and also being very very an** about my form - partly because I don't want to risk injuring myself at this point in the game, and partly because it makes the exercise that much more challenging when you don't "cheat".

Below are the workouts I've been doing. You'll notice that I've moved many of my exercises to machines; I would absolutely recommend that as your pregnancy progresses you start to use machines for your exercises more and more, especially if you're not an experienced lifter. As you get further along, your hips will be shifting more and more, and the hormone relaxin will be loosening up those ligaments making you unsteady. Your core strength will be compromised as a result of this, and the fact that you likely haven't been training it as rigorously as usual ;) Machines will give you that extra support (and safety, especially if you don't have a spotter) that you need. And you know, it's good to change it up anyways! :

Upper-Body 1
A. Smith Machine Shoulder Press
B1. Machine Lat Pulldown
B2. Machine Chest Press
C1. Cable Face Pulls
C2. Cable Tricep Pushdowns
D1. *T-Bar Rows
D2. Planks
E1. Barbell Curls
E2. Dumbbell Pendulum Swings

Upper Body 2
A1. *Bent-over BB Row
A2. Upright Row
B1. Cable Lat Pulldowns
B2. Cable Rear-Delt Flyes
C. Machine Chest Flye
D1. Bench Dips
D2. DB Hammer Curls
D3. DB Lateral Raises w/ 10 second hold on last rep

Lower Body
A1. Step-Ups
A2. Single-Leg Squats (onto bench)
B1. Leg Press
B2. Leg Extension
C1. Hack Squat
C2. Forward Falls
D1. Glute Bridge
D2. Glute Kickbacks
D3. Lying Leg Abduction
E1. Seated Calf Raise
E2. Lying Leg Raise

*After this week I think I'll stop doing all bent-over exercises as I found that they really cramped and fatigued my lower back. Instead, I will do some seated or standing cable rows with a rope (using a rope instead of a bar will give you a greater ROM as you can bring the rope around your belly).

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Below is a comparison between my two pregnancies. Aside from being WAY more tanned this time around, I would say I also look more muscular - WOOHOO! My goal for this pregnancy was to lose as little muscle as possible, and I think that by continuing to lift heavy (well, as heavy as possible on any given pregnant day), I've managed to accomplish that :) For me, this translates to lower body fat levels both during and after pregnancy, and thus an easier transition to competition prep (ie. less dieting!). I'm telling ya, ladies, if you can, put in the work during your pregnancy and it'll make losing the baby weight SO much easier afterwards! Especially you first-time moms, you have NO idea how much more difficult it'll be to work out once the baby arrives - between recovery, scheduling, and sleepless nights, it's freaking TOUGH to make workouts happen some days most days. So take advantage of all your free time and whatever energy you have now!

37 weeks 2012

37 weeks - 2014

I am soooooo ready to meet this little cutie. I'm not-so-secretly hoping she comes a couple weeks early. But until she arrives, I'm also trying my best to savor these last few moments I have "alone" with my son; it's nice being able to devote all your attention to one person. I'm also getting as much SLEEP as I can while I can! Jayden was a fantastic sleeper right from the get-go, but mommy experience and wisdom has taught me that I can't, and shouldn't, expect the same from the next one.

I'd love to hear from all of my expectant mommy friends out there! (And there are quite a few of you!) How is everyone feeling? Have you been able to stay active?

Yours in health and maternity,
Tess

35 Weeks

It's almost Go Time! I know it's been a month since I've posted, so I'll get you all up to speed:

Measuring "Too Small"
At my last prenatal checkup, the doctor said I was measuring about 5 weeks too small (the measurement she's referring to is the fundal height - the distance between your pubic bone and the top of your uterus) so I was sent to get an ultrasound to make sure the baby was ok. I wasn't too worried, because there was really no reason that anything should be wrong, and because I know that I carry "small". Still, it was nice to see the baby one more time before D-Day :)

35 weeks. Check out those beautiful lips!

Of course everything was fine! Her growth is right on point - she just happens to be carrying in a way that's hard to measure. (I do have to chuckle every time someone here says I'm "tiny" or "barely look pregnant" though - I always say it's just because they never knew me pre-pregnancy. And because when I compare pictures of myself from early pregnancy to now.... 

..... I think I look pretty dang pregnant!)

Photo Shoot
About 5 weeks ago I scheduled myself a prenatal fitness photo shoot, which took place this weekend. It was fun, it was educational, it was tiring... it was great! I hope to have some pictures back soon :) As soon as I scheduled the shoot I started cleaning up my diet - not for the sake of controlling my weight, but because I know that a body that's fed clean healthy foods looks very different from a body fed junk. I also split up my training to focus on the body parts I really love and wanted to show off the most: my arms, shoulders, and upper back. To my surprise, the round ligament pain I have been dealing with began to dissipate! Then, the week leading up to the shoot I upped my cardio and did a couple full-body workouts..... and back came the pain. So it would seem that full-body workouts are just a little too strenuous for my body at this point. I can take a hint. Back to splits for me, lol.

Going Forward
With my photo shoot out of the way, the next big event for me to prepare for is.... THE BIRTH! Soon I'll be 37 weeks, and at that point the baby could really arrive any time. My main focus for the remaining 5 weeks is to make my body as comfortable as possible: I don't want to be dealing with leg or back DOMS while I'm in labour, so I'll keep my weights on the lighter side, especially for back and leg workouts. I'll spend more time stretching post-workout and throughout the day, and may swap out one workout per week for a yoga class (oh, and my yoga challenge a few months back was a total fail, btw!). Finally, I'll limit activities that have been causing me discomfort in my hips/abs: no more full-body workouts, and a few short walks throughout the day instead of one long one. I haven't designed myself a program for the coming weeks, so I'll have to share what I did this week on next week's blog :)

Yours in health and maternity,
Tess