I really, really recommend going to the gym and getting even ONE session with a personal trainer that’s used to pre-natal workouts to any of you that are pregnant. The tidbits you will pick up about which exercises are safe, which aren’t, what range you should be working in for your body type, and adjusting your workout as your pregnancy progresses are invaluable. Strengthening your back will help you with carrying your baby both in and out of the womb. Strengthening your pelvis and glutes will help you with delivery (and make your ass look great)! And to be honest, as much as I’ve always hated exercising, I’m finding that I do look forward to getting out of the house, heading to the gym, and just focusing on improving myself for an hour.

Remember, mommies need to take care of themselves too :]

Since I took the bus to the gym and got there 39 minutes before my session, I headed to the book store that’s in the same plaza. I picked up a book aimed at Canadian mothers — The Mother of All Baby Books by Ann Douglas (wtf, I would have saved $10 buying off Amazon)! Now, this is a book about baby’s first year of life, but the first several chapters are focused on getting yourself & your home ready BEFORE the baby arrives.

You know my recent “OH MY GOD I AM LOSING MY MIND” post? Well, there’s a chapter all about shopping for baby — and it goes through decorating, garage sales & safety standards, clothing and accessory necessities/frivolities, etc. Super useful. I’m thrilled I picked up the book for this chapter alone. (Also: it suggests not worrying about a crib that will convert to a bed)

And I made my first official “baby present” purchase:

Why? Because it’s super cute, and the thought of Chris saying “LA LA LA!” to our baby made me start crying right in the middle of the book store. Oh yes, gotta love them hormones!

Wednesday was a free fitness assessment that’s included as part of our membership every three months. For about 90 minutes, an energetic 50 something mother of 4 named Georgina chatted with me about fitness and nutrition while pregnant (she’s a retired nurse). Oh, and while zooming around the gym at a pace that I have not moved at in… ever, maybe.

First, she put me on a stationary bike. This is cool, I think, I’ll get to chill and just ride a bike. “70 revolutions per minute! Push your heartrate up there!” she’s saying. Right. I’m dinking around at like 35, which is apparently so slow that the machine won’t even register it as someone being on and keeps shutting off so I have to start all over again. A woman three times my size comes in and sits on the bike next to me, pedalling away like the devil himself is on her ass and yet carrying on a conversation with my trainer as if this is the easiest thing in the world. “I burned 330 calories yesterday,” she tells Georgina with a grin. Eventually, I manage to get up to around 67 revolutions per minute, and that’s damned good enough for me. It takes approximately five hours for my heartrate to return to normal after doing this — alright, maybe not that long, but so long that she takes me off the bike and puts me on a walking machine.

“Don’t lose your concentration while you’re on here. In fact, take this little clip and hook it to your shirt, so in case you do start sliding off, it’ll stop automatically.” Alright, cool, I’m protecting myself from … myself. Georgina explains that it’s better for my hips and ankles to work on a 1.0 incline than a flat surface. Then she pumps the speed up from 0 to 2.4. “This is the speed geriatric old ladies walk in the mall in the morning,” she explains. I manage to smile and reply, “This is faster than I normally walk.” “That’s … too bad.  Speed up!”

Then it’s time to go work on some machines. This part I enjoy quite a lot, stretching my spine, working my legs etc. In fact, it must have been a downright pleasant experience, because I just remember chatting with Georgina. For every exercise we did, she told me the safe range for me to work within for the next few months (some things she told me to stop doing at 6 months, some at 7-8, etc), which machines I should avoid and why, all while explaining how the things she was showing me would help out with carrying and delivering the baby. So that really pleased me.

After this workout, we went back to her office and discussed nutrition more. This was the scary part. As a pregnant 25 year old woman, I should be bringing in 160g of protein a day… I had 53g. That is a lot of nutrition my baby is missing out on.

Then, since I’m a total noob at this exercise thing, we decided to go ahead and purchase me a few more hour long sessions with Georgina as my personal trainer. We got 8 sessions for $250, which is a REALLY great price, and Chris got a free demo session with a trainer there as well. Since we were all gung-ho about this exercise thing, the gym set up our demo sessions for the following day — Thursday — at 1pm.

Thursday comes around, 12:30 comes around, we head out. After a warm-up on the treadmills — on which I work off an astonishing 11 calories that Georgina greets with the same enthusiasm I imagine I’d muster if my child wiped a booger across my forearm — she introduces me to my pre-natal workout. The first thing I have to do are “box push-ups” (that is, push-ups while leaning on some sort of desk-height support) because even “lady push-ups” are too tough for me. Then there’s the assisted chin-up machine, which is sexy cause it stretches my back, and then a whole bunch of other crap. The few things that we do on the machines I take to pretty well, and I feel confident I can do them…

… so then, of course, we go to the aerobics studio and she introduces me to something called a “tricep kickback”.

THIS IS HARD. Oh sure, it looks innocent enough. I’m standing there with a 5 lb dumbbell, my entire body quivering as I strain to stretch this sumbitch out behind me. “Looks like we found your weak spot,” she says. I nod. I don’t think she made me do 15 reps (although that’s the number written down for my goal), but she did make me do two sets. For the second set, however, she let me put down the dumbbell…. and use just my fist. I’m ashamed to admit that although this was easier, I still trembled. But she patted me on the shoulder afterwards and with a huge grin said, “You’re a really fast learner! You’ll get it.”

Tomorrow we’re going to the gym again. Not for a training session, although I’m going to try and stick with the plan Georgina came up with for me.

But I’m going to look for the 2 lb weights for my poor little triceps.

When he’s home, he always has his computer sound going, the TV on, and usually a fan blowing as well — so it’s loud, and I have to repeat myself when I talk, because I refuse to yell and compete with everything else.  When I’m alone, it’s just MP3s or the TV, and of course I don’t have to talk to anyone but the dogs (until February…)

When he’s home, he keeps the blinds shut most of the time, since his computer monitor is situated right at the middle of our huge window and so the blinds have to be shut all the way to keep the sun from shining in his eyes.  When I’m alone, the blinds are always open to let in the light (we lived in a basement apartment for the past three years and most of that time we were awake all night while sleeping all day, so now sunshine is a VERY WELCOME guest in my home) and since I run two computer monitors, when it’s shining in my eyes, I can just move my browser window to the far screen and not be facing the window anymore.

When he’s home, I’m not so lonely.  There’s someone to talk to, and snuggle on the couch with, and someone to eat lunch with.  I wake up and he’s there to hug me good morning.  When the baby kicks I can just tell him, and he’ll reach over to rest a hand on my belly in the hopes that he’ll feel something (he can’t, not yet).  When I’m alone, I’m … alone.  I can talk to the dogs, whose lives consist of sleeping, eating treats, going outside, and kisses.  I make lunch for myself, and it’s just not as fun.  I wake up and get puppy kisses on my ankles, if they feel like moving, but there’s no one to hug me.  When the baby kicks, only I know; I can call him to tell him, but it lacks the same immediacy.

So you know, all things considered, it’s better to have him home.

—

We signed up for a gym membership yesterday, and tomorrow afternoon we go in for our “fitness evaluation”.  Fortunately for me, the trainer I’ll be meeting with once every three months (included in our membership fees, no way I’m paying for a personal trainer right now!) is a retired nurse that only works with women and specializes in pre-/post-natal exercise, so I’m in good hands.  And, one of the gyms in town that our membership gives us access to has a pool; the other is women-only and has a full yoga/pilates studio with classes.  I’m kind of excited and kind of scared (story of my pregnancy!) about it all; I mean, this is a first for me, and I’ll be going with him so we’ll be able to encourage each other — and he’ll get all fit and sexy and I’ll want to jump his bones all the time, which I am looking forward to.  But I’m going to have to WORK OUT, while being pregnant.  Still, I think that once the baby is home, after a month or two it might be nice to leave Chris here babysitting and just go do a yoga class to settle my mind, taking a little time to myself.

Anyone else tried this gym thing?  How’d it work out for you?