I have always been an active person: running, aerobics, triathlons, sports, sometimes weights etc. Now that I’m pregnant and 5 months pregnant I am just walking 4-5 days per week, about 3+ miles each time. I know that you can run when pregnant, I’m just not the kind of person that can b/c I get major sore ligaments/belly hurts. I also try to eat healthy the majority of the time. I definitely feel like I am getting exercise, but I feel like it is much more moderate than before. [name_m]Just[/name_m] wondering how in shape it will keep me, so when I can start running/aerobics again after my baby once my body is ready, I will know if I need to mentally prepare for feeling out of shape…or if I can get back to my regular fitness level pretty quickly. I’m not talking about weight or size, just fitness level.
Walking 4-5 days per week for 3-4 miles is my regular exercise, and it keeps me perfectly in shape. I don’t have any problems keeping up with the extremely energetic six-year-old I’m babysitting this summer. All she does is swim in the pool and ride her bike around our very hilly neighborhood. She usually wears out before I do, but I’m also eighteen. You sound like someone who will bounce back pretty quickly, but I guess it depends on your age and how your labor goes.
You can still run while pregnant, though I can understand being uncomfortable with that. A family member just delivered a healthy 10 pound baby after running every day of her pregnancy. I am more of a walker myself and it does help. I have always felt like diet plays a much larger role in my health than exercise though. Walking will help significantly less if you overindulge while pregnant. Your fitness level will depend on how you take care of yourself right now…but keep in mind that having a new baby may cause you to be tired and less active at first. I didn’t feel the same until about a year after I delivered.
I didn’t feel like I should run during my pregnancies, either. I don’t really get why people do it; it just seems like it would be so uncomfortable and exhausting. Walking was perfectly good exercise. The only time I’ve taken awhile to recover physically has been with #4, and I really didn’t walk at all or do even moderate exercise.
I used to be very fit, since the military requires it, but since I got pregnant I haven’t done much but walk. I know it is going to take a while to get back into shape, especially with pushups and sit ups, but I didn’t feel comfortable doing those. So far I have gained the normal amount of weight and everyone tells me that it looks like I am all belly (but I do know that I have gained some in my thighs). I also feel weird about running, I know it is safe but I am too clumsy right now and feeling my belly wiggle around like that makes me a little nauseous.
I walk just about everywhere because I hate driving, it’s only been the past few weeks of my pregnancy where I found that I couldn’t walk for that long but I equally couldn’t drive so I’ve been taking buses.
I would normally walk my dog in the morning and of an evening so about 3 miles and I would do this everyday, along with walking to shops or to work - on days when the weather was nice. I also attended Pilates and yoga classes once a week before along with a ballet class for adults (mostly for posture reasons and because it’s so fun!) but I would also go to the gym twice/thrice a week with my husband (the joys of being married to a physiotherapist!) and I would normally just go on the running machine along with exercise bikes, rowing machines and elliptical machines and I would do a little weight training but not much. I’m a bit of a fitness freak.
Once I got pregnant I stopped going to the Pilates and ballet but I started going to pregnancy yoga and I still did the walks with the dog but not quite as brisk (especially once I got bigger) but I still went to the gym once a week to go on the elliptical and I also did a dance/fitness class once a week that is especially for pregnant women and I loved that! I’ve not out on much weight or lost my shape much in my pregnancy but in the last few weeks I’ve put on quite a bit. I hate it at the moment because I’m in hospital for observation and I’ve not been able to do all the walking I like to, I think the nurses can’t wait to get rid of me because I’m so restless.
I live where 6+ months of the year the city is covered in snow and it’s rather dark. I don’t like downhill or back-country skiing, am very bad at ice skating, and have only a passing interest in cross country skiing, so I walk in the winter. Usually several miles every other day on trails. [name_f]Summer[/name_f] is filled with climbing, hiking, biking, canoeing and various other outdoor sports. I usually gain 5 pounds in the winter, which I shed in the summer. As for my level of fitness, it generally takes me 2 weeks once the snow melts to start feeling like I’m back in shape, but probably 4 weeks to feel like I’m queen of the mountain again. In your case, it will probably be a little different because your body has been through a lot with a baby, even with no complications. Walking is fantastic, and a really good workout, but doesn’t quite compare to running and triathlons. You’ll probably bounce back pretty quickly (from the sounds of it you’re healthy), but I’d take it slow to start. No point in injuring yourself right off the bat. Believe me. I tried to take up winter running a couple winters ago and slid across ice and ended up spread eagle in the middle of the road my first day running. [name_f]My[/name_f] tailbone was in so much pain I couldn’t do anything for weeks. Never ran again.
I like exercising and staying fit as well. I have never been a runner, I just can’t get into it. I have found the prenatal yoga is good to keep in shape and keep flexible, and I also do light workouts with barre exercises I do at home with a chair and things like planks and leg lifts, but ultimately you need to do what feels and works best for you. As long as you are keeping your diet in check I think walking is fine.