Now that I go to the gym in the mornings I have the opportunity to visit my favorite group fitness classes again. On Monday, I went to cycle. Then, yesterday I tried out Group Kick. When I arrived I was a little bummed that my favorite kick instructor no longer taught in that time slot. Someone new has apparently joined the teaching roster. By new, I mean very new. I felt so bad for her! She stopped so many times, not knowing what set of moves to do next. I have sympathy because I want good karma. I’m a fellow spaz-head who may want to teach group fitness in the future, after all.

Plus, I couldn’t complain because even the sporadic kicking and punching gave me more of a challenge than if I had tried to do one of my kickbox workout DVDs at home. The DVDs are great; I’m just in a rut with them. I love my Cathe and Turbo DVDS, but find that I can only really get excited for one DVD workout a week. I like the variety they give me, but much prefer the atmosphere of the gym. Although, in a few months I may very well hate gym classes and only want to do DVDs. My workout preferences are always all over the place. Spaz-head here, remember?

I find it very interesting that I always want to switch up my workouts, but I can happily eat the same foods over and over. Would you believe me if I told you I still enjoy my favorite egg sandwich combo for lunch at least 3 days out of the week?

And that I still have an apple + Chobani as a snack almost every day?

I know you know I eat oats for breakfast all. the. time.

We also do a lot of the same basic meals for dinners over the course of a month. We switch it up slightly most times, but its still basically the same dish. Take dinner last night for example. Pasta night. I cooked up some of my favorite veggie mix of zucchini, mushrooms, and onion. Plus wilted some spinach in some basic marinara sauce.

Then we Trader Joe’d it for the rest of dinner. Trader Joe’s sun-dried tomato chicken sausage and Trader Joe’s chunky portabella mushroom ravioli.

All served together with the marinara and veggie mix.

It’s no wonder I can happily eat the same things over and over. They’re good! If my tummy is happy that is all that matters to me. 😀

Question of the Day – How much variety do you need with your workouts? And food? One more than the other?

I had a great Monday today. I went grocery shopping with no drama. I managed to remain pretty productive without feeling stressed. All of your comments on my “Put Up or Shut Up” post made me feel much better. We have a laid back night of leftovers (whole wheat linguine with sauteed veggies) ahead of us. And I fit in a great spin workout this afternoon. I love the instructor at that class time. She gets working out while pregnant and doesn’t feel the need to baby me or question me all the time. You know how much that means to me.

Oh, workouts! How I love thee. You have seen and heard a plethora of my adoration for maintaining exercise during pregnancy. From photos to videos -

Even during pregnancy I seek out a good workout high. I always make sure to do so safely though. Which brings me to this reader’s question:

What type of modifications do you make for working out while pregnant? How do you work out your ab muscles? How do you avoid laying on your back for chest presses etc. I need tips 🙂

First of all, congrats to whichever reader needs these tips! I’m here for any support you may need in the months to come. As for the question, I will list out some of the things I do or keep in mind for pregnancy fitness:

• I never try new workouts. I only participate in things I know my body can handle and that I know how to adapt for my body’s needs.
• I never allow myself to feel winded or like I’m exerting myself much. I work out at a comfortable state – enough to feel like I’ve done something but not leave me fatigued in any way at the end.
• I do not do targeted ab exercises. This is purely personal preference. I focus on keeping good posture and using good form in other activities (like during spin or while lifting weights), which naturally will work the core. I regained core strength just fine after M and didn’t suffer a diastasis.
• I stay off my back after the first trimester by doing moves on an incline bench. I either use the incline benches at the gym or during Power set my step up with 3 risers on one side and 1 on the other. This mostly affects chest work, since I do not do abdominal training.
• I don’t do high impact moves after the first trimester. So no jumping in kickboxing, no high intensity plyometric drills, no running, etc for me. Although if I had been running regularly before pregnancy, I may have felt comfortable continuing that.
• I stop any activity that becomes painful at ALL. Don’t risk it for the sake of finishing a workout. I have had days where I have to stop after 10-15 minutes instead of completing a planned 40 minutes to an hour.
• I take more rest days. I take two FULL rest days from exercise and one “active rest” day where I will do a lighter walk or yoga.

Those things work well for me, but as always if you have any specific questions check with your doctor/midwife. And listen to your body! Always!

• What type of workout have you been doing the longest? How long? When I think about it I guess I would have to say kickboxing. I did some TaeBo videos before buying my own fitness DVDs and Cathe’s Kick Punch & Crunch was the first fitness DVD I purchased…8 years ago! Wow! Maybe that’s why I can still do all of that at 8 months pregnant?