sprinting and shopping

I just returned from another fantastic prenatal water class, followed by a shopping spree at the maternity store around the corner.  Yikes!  I like to think in terms of how much money I save instead of how much money I spend, so today I saved $55 by not getting a parking ticket even though I surpassed the 2 hour limit in my spot By the time I’d made my purchases and rushed back up to the car, I was totally out of breath, so I’ll count that as a double workout for today!

Anyway, back to class…  I had tons of energy this morning even after getting less sleep than usual.  We went to be really late after I returned from Berkeley symphony rehearsal but I still woke up on the early side feeling fresh and excited about a new day.  I felt like the class cheerleader as I zipped around the lane sprinting and skiing.  In reality, it’s quite comedic to watch us all “sprint” across the pool since we’re barely moving, but everyone has a great time and we are all tired by the end of class.  Water is really great resistance with low impact on the joints and I strongly believe that swimming or water running is the best exercise a pregnant girl can get!

On Sunday I met a woman who is 9 weeks along and she wanted to know what types of exercise I’d been doing.  I told her mostly swimming and she excitedly shared that she’d just joined a rec center in order to swim throughout her pregnancy.  Go Mamma!

pregos everywhere!

Between the after-school stampede upstairs and gymnastics practice going on in my belly, an afternoon nap evades me so I’m writing instead!  We had an extremely relaxing weekend and after a conversation yesterday about high school swim team, I returned to the pool this morning with renewed enthusiasm.  The JCC pool was bursting with pregnant women even though there wasn’t a prenatal water class happening.  They were everywhere I looked… swimming in the lane next to me (in a cute speedo bikini just like mine), instructing a water aerobics class, playing with kids in the baby pool…  It’s fun to see so many others staying fit and enjoying the water like myself.

I’ve decided to stick with freestyle until I speak with my midwives about baby positioning.  I’ve read a few things and common sense tells me that as baby grows bigger and finds a position for birth, swimming belly down makes the most sense.  Who knows if my theory is good!  I wasn’t sure how my arms would feel through 1/2 mile of only freestyle but they were fine and still fresh enough to do some strength work in the warm pool.

I shared the warm pool today with a mom and almost three year old who wanted to know why my belly was so big.  Then she tried to find the baby in her belly.  Very cute!

the workout:

900 yd freestyle, (1-200 yd warm-up, 3-800 yd increase speed, 900 yd cool-down) RI: 15 between each 100 yds

in warm pool: dips, chaturanga push-ups, side plank w/ leg lift, bird-dog, 1 x 10 each

shoulder exercises

They’re getting easier by the day!  I just completed my Perfect Pregnancy Workout DVD and was shocked when the “keep it up” shoulder exercise at the finished and I wasn’t even fatigued.  Yay for all those shoulder strengtheners in yoga class.  The exercise in this DVD consists of holding arms straight out to the sides, making fists with thumbs pointing up and doing small shoulder circles.  Keep it up for about 5 minutes.  Jane at Yoga Tree, where I take my Wednesday classes always talks us through four different types of shoulder strengtheners  while she reminds us we won’t be able to put our babies down just because our arms are tired.  One of these days I’m going to post some of these on my core page.  In the mean time, build those muscles!

Anyway, the rest of my workout today didn’t feel quite as good because every time I moved, my hip reminded me to take it easy.  I had to stop the hip rotations and leg lifts and one point to rest but other than needing to move slowly, I survived!  My stomach muscles (yes, they’re still there somewhere) must be staying semi-strong because none of the core work felt remotely challenging and let I mention again… my arms and shoulders are in good shape

the workout: 40 minute strength training DVD

water tri

I spent a luxurious 45 minutes in the pool today, concluding with a soak in the warm pool- until I was kicked out because it was “closed”.  Huh?  No signs, no reason I shouldn’t be in there.  Oh well!  For the first time ever, I walked down the steps at the shallow end instead of plopping myself in at the locker room end and splashing to a start like I normally do.  This presented a problem, because once I was in the shallow end, there was no way for me to lean over the side and ask people to circle swim.  I couldn’t just show up in a lane and hope the others noticed me, but the only free spot was in the fast lane.  So I went for it, taking up half the lane and hoping that nobody would decide to join because I was moving SLOWLY and the guy next to me was doing sprint drills.  I had trouble catching my breath as I began and stopped to rest every 50 yds.  I swam all freestyle and made it my goal to swim until my hip released and stopped hurting.  Unfortunately that didn’t happen before I needed to take a pee break (why does this happen most frequently when I’m in the pool?).  There is nothing less comfortable than getting out of the pool and walking into a cold locker room to use the bathroom, then pulling a wet swimsuit back on!   After my break I decided to move into the rec swim lane and strap on a water belt.  I spent the next 15 minutes “running” and “biking” around.  I threw in some cross country skiing and and sumo lunges for good measure, then swam another 100 yds to stretch out.  I attempted some handstands in the shallow end before jumping happily into the warm pool (then getting kicked out).  My hip still hurts and unfortunately because of this, my prego waddle is back today.  Oh well!

the workout:

600 yd swim, 15 minutes water running/biking

addition:  I spent 10 minutes blowing up an exercise ball to sit on- first with my own air, practicing my labor counting & breathing exercises, then with a bike pump, strengthening my arm muscles!

flexibility

While I work on my physical flexibility I am also working on mental flexibility.  I have never been the person who easily adjusts when plans change, but I know with a baby on the way, I’d better start improving.  This morning I arrived at the JCC in time for the 9am swim lesson, bags packed for my next two activities (I even remembered snacks) and realized I’d forgotten my swim suit.  Ugh.  I almost felt like crying but decided it simply wasn’t worth it so I took myself (dressed in Crocs and sweats) up to the gym floor and plopped down on an exercise bike.  With my pants rolled up to the knees and feet strapped into the pedals, my makeshift workout attire was fine.  I was really looking forward to today’s water class after thoroughly enjoying Tuesday’s class despite my cold, so it was a struggle to mentally move from water to spin.  However, I found biking to be agreeable this morning and was actually happy to do something different.  My hip felt good and I adjusted the bike seat so that my belly didn’t get bumped at all!  I spun easily for 15 minutes, gradually increasing my speed, then tried to hit a button to see distance and accidentally reset the bike instead.  Another Ugh.  Instead of beginning again I decided I’d take advantage of the extra time before my Hebrew lesson to do some strength training and take a shower.  (Yup, that’s me being flexible!)   I sat on a big exercise ball and rolled around in circles, loosening my hips, then did several sets of squats with 3 lb dumbbells- presses, lifts, curls- trying to be creative and keep good form.  I moved to the bosu for a set of crunches, then did side crunches and a couple sets of bird-dog.  I rounded it out with more hip circles and a quick stretch.  By the end of the workout my hip was bugging me again but after I returned home I realized that not only was I no longer waddling, but my hip felt fine- for the first time in several days!!

the workout: 15 minute bike, 2.6 miles, core/strength training

cellophane

Unlike most visits when I’ve got a sister or two in town, I’m not ring-leading any crazy workouts. This time I’m attempting to walk more than a few blocks without hurting. Yesterday’s swim was much more successful than today’s walk. We were on a mission to find cellophane and tried several stores before I was too tired to walk any further. I stopped to rest at a bus stop while JA went on to the tenth shop and finally found what she needed then sprinted back to catch me & the bus as it passed my stop. We bussed home & I’m happy to be snacking while I relax once again!

the workouts:
900 yd swim (yesterday)
1 mile walk

water rockets

We did a new exercise in the prenatal water class this morning.  Along with the usual across the pool and stationary drills, we added water rockets.  No, that’s not the technical name, just what I’ve labeled it for sharing purposes!  We had water belts on and lined up along the wall in the deep end.  We crouched into the wall as close as bellies would allow, then shot backward, using arms and legs to help launch.  We kicked on our backs to the next lane line then “sprinted” back to the wall.  The exercise was repeated several times and each time I realized my momentum decreased and my sprint was a little slower.  Whew!  Good workout today… of course followed by stretch and chat in the warm pool.  My hip feels a little better each day as I get out of the pool and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s massage.  Last time I saw Joanna at Presidio Sport & Medicine, my pregnancy sciatica totally disappeared, so I’m hoping for a similar miracle this time.

the workout:

1 hour water class

swimming on the wild side

I decided to mix it up a little and add some sprints to my swim workout today.  I got my heart pumping and it sure felt good!   (That’s about as wild as this pregnant lady gets these days.)  I was moved two times into different lanes as the lifeguard distributed us to make room for a swim team and one guy excitedly told me that he’d never tried to circle swim before.  Weird!  After finishing my laps I did some core work and stretching in the warm pool then came home to prepare a yummy snack.  For some reason, swimming always leaves me ravenous!

the workout: 900 yd swim

200 yd warm-up, freestyle

3 x 50 backstroke, sprint down, recover back, RI: 10

3 x 50 breast stroke, sprint down, recover back, RI: 10

3 x 50 freestyle, sprint down, recover back, RI: 30

150 kicking drills

100 cool down, mixed strokes

core work in warm pool: 1 x 10 each, triceps dips, chaturanga push-ups, 1-leg plank, side plank w/ leg lifts

silent spin

I plugged my nano in for a charge before I went to the gym today and forgot to put it back into my gym bag.  Usually when I’m not taking a class I rely on music to set the pace but since I didn’t have any I found myself a workout online to partially follow.  I spent 30 minutes on the bike then stretched a little and took a quick shower before racing off to our couples prenatal yoga workshop.  My baby was active throughout the rest of the afternoon- unusual after a spin class but reassuring that I didn’t push myself too hard.

the workout: 30 minute spin

min 0-3 warmup EZ

min 3-7 add resistance, rpm 65-70

min 7-11 hill jumps   :40 high rpm low resistance, :20 high resistance rpm 60-65

min 11-15 flat but quick recovery, rpm 95-100

min 15-27 repeat above three segments

min 27-30 cool down

ready, drop, go

That’s me getting into the pool.  I must be quite a sight as I plop into the water belly first then begin my stroke as I continue sinking toward the bottom.  At least once I’m moving, I still feel natural.  My love for swimming is growing exponentially as my belly grows and I’m on another swimming streak!

Today as I did laps at the YMCA I looked around and giggled about my yesterday’s pool comparisons.  Today’s crowd didn’t hold up to my athlete statement.  On my right were two teenagers swimming circles around each other and on my left a guy in full face mask, snorkel and fins, sometimes swimming and sometimes just hanging out underwater.  Then there was the dude chilling in the hot tub reading his New Yorker, leaning into the jets, spraying water everywhere.

I timed my food intake better today and had more room for breathing.  I still didn’t recover my ability to float but I suppose that will come back when Baby is on the outside!  I completed a 1/2 mile fairly easily until the last set of backstroke when my belly felt like it was getting overstretched.

the workout:

900 yd swim, alternating 150 free, back, breast stroke