So where were we….oh yes I’d just finished my first marathon and I was broken. I ended up being on crutches for what was supposed to be 2 weeks – but stubborn as I am – I only lasted a week before I gave them up. I didn’t train for about a week post marathon. My body was just dead and it needed to recover. As I was advised not to run – my work outs were mainly at the gym – or power sessions at home.
After a few weeks and absolutely after we returned from our massive holiday, I realised my quads and hamstrings weren’t quite as toned as usual. While training for runs I do limit the amount of legs I do – I mainly just stick to things like squats and hip thrusts for my glutes as the running really strengthens my thighs. I realised that without running – which I now wasn’t able to do due to the pregnancy – I was going to have to incorporate some more leg work outs in to my training. There are so many you can do – which I love as you don’t get bored of an exercise – and lots to do at home as well with your figure bands. It’s all about thinking outside the square – just because you are restricted by something doesn’t mean there’s not an alternative.
Speaking of which – being pregnant means LOTS of alternatives. Especially as your pregnancy moves along. Modifications need to be made to make sure you’re not putting pressure on your baby, not straining too much and not getting that heart rate too high. My quads and hammies are still not quite what they were pre baby and during marathon training – but I’ll take them for now.
My abs however – are a different story. I have had to do lots of modifications to your usual crunches and contraction type abdominal exercises. Things like planking, side plank, oblique side bends with a weight are all good. Strong abdominals are great for so many reasons – however the stronger your abs the more likely you are to get abdominal separation during pregnancy – and I have a feeling that is starting already with me. This happens to most women anyway – however the gap can get bigger when you have a strong core. There are lots of modifications you can do – shout out if you want some more options. I’ll pop some in the coming weeks.
So something super duper exciting happened over the weekend. We had our baby gender reveal party. We had the Harmony or Percept test done in week 12 (now 2 weeks ago) which tests for all the streams of down as well as the Prepair test – which tests for cystic fibrosis. The Harmony test also tells the gender. My mum really wanted to be involved in the gender reveal as she wasn’t able to make it – so we asked the Obstitrican to send the gender to her so she could organise pink or blue confetti canisters to be sent to us ready for Sunday so we would also be surprised.
With our best friends present we found out that we’re having a baby girl. We are over the moon – and look – would’ve have been either way – but Chris now gets a daddy’s girl and I get a little mini me. It was such a great day – and a great way to get your friends involved with your journey as well. Now the fun part comes of decorating the nursery – I think we’re going with light grey and baby pink….but stay tuned.
Love and Life
the Figure x