Pregnant and struggling with the changes with regards to exercise? Trust me, I get it. Almost immediately I felt a HUGE change in lung capacity (my doctor explained the breathlessness feeling is due to our bodies making / having so much extra blood during pregnancy), and also started noticing my joints felt pretty loosey goosey. Simple yoga poses that I've been practicing for years became challenging, and don't even get me started on complex lunges and squats. I have bad knees anyways (old sports injuries) but the relaxin hormone has made me extremely leery of doing anything other than plain old walking lunges and regular squats until I hit my post partum journey LOL!!

To say workouts have changed a bit due to pregnancy would be an understatement 😂 I'm use to fast paced, high impact, heavy weight workouts and while I tried to continue that during pregnancy (hey, some women can rock it with no problems) my body just wasn't down with that.

So how can you stay fit and active during pregnancy if your body is giving you cues to slow down?? I'm certainly not an expert, but here's what I've learned from my experience thus far:

1. First and foremost LISTEN to your body. It will let you know when you need to take a break, when to go for a walk instead of a run, or when to crush out a more intense workout. I've found being in tune with your body can make a world of difference in how you feel about your workouts.

2. If you're dealing with intense nausea then give yourself grace and make your goals smaller and more attainable. Shoot for just 10-15 minutes of activity. When you have to keep up with regular life responsibilities AND are constantly throwing up, even just a 5 or 10 minute walk can make a world of difference. Getting some fresh air and some natural Vitamin D really helped me early on in the first trimester. I'd shoot for a walk every afternoon and it quickly became something I really looked forward to, as I was typically feeling a bit better by that point in the day.

3. Find a prenatal exercise class!! Whether it's in person or online (I prefer this online program so I could run to my own bathroom for potty breaks and nausea LOL) it is important you learn what exercises and poses are best for prenatal workouts, and which ones to stay away from for safety purposes. (IF you need help in this arena, send me an email. I'm an open book and happy to help.)

4. Branch out with your workouts! Like I mentioned earlier I was use to lifting heavy weights and doing high impact cardio, but after taking cues from my body I switched it up to fast paced walks and tons of prenatal yoga 💕I It   Learning to be okay with the change in workouts was something I struggled with, but once I focused on the fact that my body is literally creating life and preparing for the ultimate fitness test, then I began enjoying my new workout routines.

5. For the love, spend the extra money and get some comfortable maternity leggings, tanks, and bras. I tried to squeeze into my regular clothes for too long and when I finally switched to maternity gear, it made an immediate improvement in my comfort and range of motion!! My all time favorites for comfort are hands down the Blanqi maternity leggings (order a size up btw), and my favorites for compression / workout type are from the Old Navy Maternity line.

Above all else, please remember to give yourself some grace. You're growing a human, and that is no small feat! 💪You got this, Momma!! 😘