Sunday, September 19, 2010

Did I really just say that?

Yesterday, Tony Horton (you know, the crazy P90X guy) came to Dallas to meet with Beachbody coaches in the area. Our day started with a combination cardio and strength training workout.

Normally, at these events, I'm as close to the front row as I can get. I go all out, doing whatever I can to get to my max level of intensity. (Usually, that means competing with Jimmy Nelson - the husband to the BEAUTIFUL Kelly, who is pictured here on my right. Baby Nelson is due in February!)

Yesterday was different. The workout started, and I managed to do low impact versions of the exercises Tony was leading for about 25 minutes.

Then, my body said, "I'm done."

So....I stopped.

Really, I did.

I actually remember thinking, "I don't have anything to prove here."

Seven weeks ago, those words would have NEVER come out of my mouth.

But each day is different. Today, I did a 45-minute workout from TurboFIRE after church and felt fantastic. If it had been an hour, I could have finished it.

If you've been pregnant or are currently pregnant, I'd love to hear about your workout routine. What worked/works for you?

6 comments:

  1. Michelle,
    You nailed it right on the head! Each day you will in fact feel different. I let my body dictate what I did each day. When I first found out that I was about to have my 4th child (last July) I was terrified. I had already had 3 daughters all of which I gained 50-60 lbs. With all 3 it took me YEARS to get back into shape. Nothing ever really seemed to work for me. That was when I found Turbo Jam. With that and Turbo Kick, I had lost 40 lbs right before this 4th pregnancy occurred and just got hired to teach TK for the first time. I also was alot older than the average mom. I was so afraid of not being able to get the body back that I had worked so hard to obtain. So I vowed to just work out every other day and try to watch my diet alittle better than I had with the other pregnancies. I taught TK 2-3 times per week up until it felt like it was just too much for me (about 7 months) as I was still working full time during the day as a physical education teacher. I continued my TK workouts at home again just every other day and if I didn't feel up to it, I didn't push the issue. As I got into the last trimester, I basically did Turbo at low impact. Looking back at how quickly I shrunk after I delivered I realized that even the low impact Turbo in the last trimester affected my metabolism much like doing Turbo Fire but because I was so used to high impact I really did feel like I was taking it easy. Even at 8-9 months, there were a couple of days where I felt so good and was still doing airjacks..lol...I remember getting a workout in the day before I was scheduled for my c- section and still feeling good (big, but good..lol). Because I was in such good shape, it helped me recover from the surgery much faster...and the most amazing thing ever was that I had only gained 20-25 lbs during the preganancy and within 10 days after delivery, it was all COMPLETELY GONE! Again, I attribute that to the fact that I kept my metabolism going all through the pregnancy. For the first time in my life, at fourty-something, after FOUR kids, I was one of those girls who was RIGHT BACK IN HER JEANS after having a baby! YIPEEEEEE!!!! And so I tell folks, if I could turn out to be one of those girls at my age, ANYONE can do it with the right exercise program and proper food intake. Preganancy doesn't have to be the demise of your workouts, body, and self esteem as long as you listen to your body and rest/take days off when you need to.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow you are intense girl! Because I wasn't super active before getting pregnant, I have kept my exercise really low-key. During the first trimester where I was always exhausted, I just went on long walks with my dog. Now at 20 weeks I'm starting to do more yoga and light cardio with strength training. We'll see how it goes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm about to embark on the 2nd trimester & I am hoping, praying, pleading that my energy will be back because the one thing that I find frustrating as a pregnant lady is that I feel worse after more intense workouts (i.e. Turbo Jam/Fire/Kick & HHH) and I really, really dislike that part. So I occasionally get a little (low-impact) crazy and do those workouts, but my body tends to hate me afterward...so I've resorted back to the daily walk & attempting to intermingle strength training w/ my lighter resistance bands because the goal in my head is to keep these arms toned. I worked hard for them & I know I will need the upper body strength once that baby is strapped in that car seat. ;)

    So I'm hoping to see the "energy" light at the end of this 1st Trimester tunnel next Sunday...I've noticed a bit of a spike in my energy the past few days and I could still cut a rug at the wedding we went to on Saturday night so I'm finding those as hopeful signs of what is to come!

    I'm excited that you're still feeling those bursts of energy for those cardio workouts - that's wonderful! But you're right - we have nothing to prove & we just gotta roll with it. I don't think I've ever listened to my body so much in my life until I saw that plus sign on that pg test!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't get enough of swimming. Especially during the first trimester, I would feel very nauseous whenever I would get too hot. So working out was terribly frustrating because it would make me feel so sick! So I started to swim laps every other day and LOVE it! I was a runner before, so I feel like I get the same intensity of a cardio workout, but never have the aches and strains that sometimes accompany hard runs. Swimming eliminates the "bouncing" and impact of running which can sometimes be uncomfortable as your belly grows...the water supports your joints and the extra weight of growing baby. The water also keeps you cool...and different strokes target just about every muscle in your body! I feel like my back is getting a lot stronger which was my biggest weakness before...hopefully this will help minimize back pain as pregnancy progresses. I would recommend swimming to any woman expecting. It has been a great addition to my workout routine.
    -Emily Zappasodi

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm just hitting 8 mos of pregnancy and boy oh boy! has this one been different than my other two. I taught TurboKick with both of my others up until the week I gave birth.....including air jacks!! and felt great. This pregnancy however, my body doesn't want to do much more than speed walk. If I do more, I start to cramp. I think the best thing is to listen to your body and take it's cues. Each baby is different, each pregnancy is different. Try to find what the baby likes or will put up with, and don't feel like you need to compete with other moms. I always felt that. Now, I just know having a healthy baby is first and foremost most important and second, you. Good Luck All!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm loving these responses - keep 'em coming! :)

    ReplyDelete