Second Trimester + Workouts

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My entire first trimester I heard “Just wait until your second trimester! You’ll feel great!” from friends, relatives, and all over the interwebs. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Long gone was the first trimester and I hadn’t really started to feel that much better. At week 17, I was still nauseous all of the time — fighting off what little hunger I had with carbs and more carbs – and still fairly exhausted.

But the first few flutters I felt {which were unmistakeable, by the way — they could never been confused with gas!}, the nausea subsided. Slowly.

And the extreme fatigue let up. I was chipper and rearing to go!

The funny thing about pregnancy is when you’re finally ready to kick it into high gear, you’re far more immobile than you were previously. Thanks, belly bump!

Running –

Still out of the question. Having to pee + the pain of having a much heavier midsection the before was not at all conducive to enjoying a run. Or a jog.

Walking –

Walking wasn’t quite as uncomfortable. In fact, I really enjoyed my morning walks with the dogs. But that’s about where it ended.

Thanks, heat and humidity!

Yoga –

I knew that one of the best things I could do for my body during a time when it’s stressed physically is to continue my yoga practice. But I also knew that I could no longer over-exert myself. So I made a commitment to myself to go to one yoga class a week. A vinyasa class so that I could {somewhat} keep up the practice I know and love, but not a power class, which is hot and makes me nauseous.

Each week my belly grew and became a bit more awkward during poses, but I continued doing what I could and modifying the rest. Sometimes those modifications meant taking childs’ pose for an extended period of time.

But I realized something.

It’s OK to make modifications. And I was listening to my body and my baby.

I did have one particular incident with a teacher I was not at all familiar with. I knew that she was knew to the studio and I figured I would give her class a shot. I don’t expect most vinyasa yoga teachers to be familiar with the ins and outs of yoga during pregnancy, but I did let her know that I was expecting.

Generally that’s where I leave it. I don’t expect anyone to make any modifications for me; I generally just make them myself. But she came up to me during a series of poses and suggested a modification that made me uncomfortable. Physically and mentally. It just didn’t feel right for me or the baby. So I simply told her, ‘no,’ and took another pose.

But that was the only incident that made me feel uncomfortable.

Overall these weekly yoga sessions really kept me grounded and flexible.

Swimming –

It didn’t happen very often. Summer got busy. And, quite honestly, it was just a pain in the butt for me to make the time to go to the gym. It felt like the time I got home, got ready for the gym, drove there, and actually got in the pool, I was tired and ready to get out and go home.

Comfortable was key in my second trimester workouts. I decided to not push myself or exert myself.

Would I love to have been one of those pregnant women who rocked their second trimester at the gym on cardio machines and looked super adorable? Sure. But what I wanted and what my body needed were completely different.

And if there’s one thing I’ve taken away from pregnancy is that my wants and needs are pushed to the side. And I learned to go with the flow of what this baby wanted and needed.