LTBing my last day of 2nd Trimester! | 27 weeks 6 days
(P.S. LTB is a "Pure Barre-ism" that stands for lift, tone, burn.)
Thoughts & Things I've Learned while LTBing through My 2nd Trimester of Pregnancy
(in a stream of consciousness kind of way, because that's just how my preggo brain works at the moment...)
- "Listen to your body!" is the key to all! Some days you can push harder than others, and some days you need to take it easy in certain positions or exercises. All bodies (and pregnancies!) are different. Remember that.
- I presumed I would feel things in my back lower back first because that's what I heard is most common in pregnancy. Nope. I felt strain/pressure/weirdness [while exercising] in my lower abdomen before anything else. For this reason, I stay up higher in lunge and chair positions, for instance.
- In terms of pregnancy brain, I literally forget either my ball or my tube more often than not. As in nearly every day. Sigh!
- Random, but Pure Barre has taught me...that I have a really long torso. I'm not necessarily super tall (I'm 5'7"...and a half!), but I'm one of the only ones (if not the only on most days) who can't fully put my head against the wall while under the barre during core work (you know, the part in class when your mat is all the way under the wood molding ;)). My torso just doesn't fit all the way under the barre with my back flat against the wall. I've concluded that long torsos are good for pregnancy because my bump has lots of room to spread itself out. But, let's be real, every other time in my life it just means I have short legs. Wompppp!
(in a stream of consciousness kind of way, because that's just how my preggo brain works at the moment...)
- "Listen to your body!" is the key to all! Some days you can push harder than others, and some days you need to take it easy in certain positions or exercises. All bodies (and pregnancies!) are different. Remember that.
- I presumed I would feel things in my back lower back first because that's what I heard is most common in pregnancy. Nope. I felt strain/pressure/weirdness [while exercising] in my lower abdomen before anything else. For this reason, I stay up higher in lunge and chair positions, for instance.
- In terms of pregnancy brain, I literally forget either my ball or my tube more often than not. As in nearly every day. Sigh!
- Random, but Pure Barre has taught me...that I have a really long torso. I'm not necessarily super tall (I'm 5'7"...and a half!), but I'm one of the only ones (if not the only on most days) who can't fully put my head against the wall while under the barre during core work (you know, the part in class when your mat is all the way under the wood molding ;)). My torso just doesn't fit all the way under the barre with my back flat against the wall. I've concluded that long torsos are good for pregnancy because my bump has lots of room to spread itself out. But, let's be real, every other time in my life it just means I have short legs. Wompppp!
- Because of the long torso situation, I do believe I don't have as much pressure on my back at this point in pregnancy. I was able to (safely!) stay in all 90 seconds of plank all through trimester 2 except for a couple of days when I wanted to play it safe toward the end! But again...listen to YOUR body!
- Modifying sooner is better than pushing too hard, hurting yourself, and not being able to work out. Amen to that. My preggo friend (and PB Wilmington studio co-owner!), Kate, pointed this out to me and it resonated with me tenfold. I would so much rather play it safe and LTB through week 40 than mess myself up and have to take a break.
- With that said, the day after Kate told me that little nugget of wisdom, I started keeping my feet on the ground during warmup daily. Also, instead of doing those lower body leg lifts/reverse crunch things at the end of abs everyday (I forget what they're called...#pregbrainprobs), I just do an extra minute of seat work (think last 2.5 min of class kind of seat work). Maybe my back doesn't hurt or feel strain yet, but I'd rather protect it first than hurt it! This babe is growing bigger and bigger everyday, and I need to treat my body accordingly!
- What else do I modify...oh! Keeping both feet on the ground during core work under the bar instead of extending my opposite leg. And not doing minute of lower back extension laying on my stomach. I modify on all fours instead. I do about 20-30 small lower leg lifts on one side and then switch to the other side since this part of class lasts for one minute.
- I still embrace the shake. Because it's why we came, right? ;)
- I still embrace the shake. Because it's why we came, right? ;)
- But I make an extra effort to drink more water...especially after my heart gets especially pumping, like in between thigh sprints.
- When we stretch, the days of touching my forehead to my knees is long gone. Too much in the way. It's a funny (but happy) feeling. However, I still feel like I'm keeping up my flexibility by stretching everyday which is wonderful!
- The endorphin release is real. I seriously think I would go crazy without Pure Barre through this pregnancy. I am so thankful for Pure Barre Wilmington and the precious "Pure Barre family" I have at our studio!!! I love me some PB Wilmington! So much!
- When we stretch, the days of touching my forehead to my knees is long gone. Too much in the way. It's a funny (but happy) feeling. However, I still feel like I'm keeping up my flexibility by stretching everyday which is wonderful!
- The endorphin release is real. I seriously think I would go crazy without Pure Barre through this pregnancy. I am so thankful for Pure Barre Wilmington and the precious "Pure Barre family" I have at our studio!!! I love me some PB Wilmington! So much!
Cheers to 2 trimesters down, 1 to go!
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