Belly Up To The Bar(re)

I feel like I've done a lot of writing about what I can't do anymore (run, sleep on my stomach, tie my shoes, go more than an hour without having to pee).  So, I thought it might be time to tell you what I am still doing. Namely, The Bar Method. I'm down to the teens in days left of this pregnancy, but that hasn't stopped me from, literally, bellying up to the bar(re). I have been consistently hitting up Bar Method classes throughout the last 37+ weeks and I do believe it has made a difference in not only how I look, but more importantly, how I feel while I'm pregnant. 

 

 

A few things I have found doing Bar Method pregnant:

 

1.  They have specific modifications you must do either as soon as you are pregnant (ie: no splits) or when you hit 20 weeks.  I absolutely love this about The Bar Method.  Knowing that they have researched, reviewed, and vetted exercises as safe specifically for pregnancy gives me an ease of mind that I can't find in other classes.  Often times in group classes the mentality is, "do what you can do."  And it's up to you to modify the moves as you see fit.  Let's be honest, very few of us know the anatomy behind each exercise, let alone the impact of pregnancy on your body as it relates to the anatomy of those exercises.  For example, I certainly wouldn't have known to avoid spinal twisting when pregnant.  I also wouldn't have thought twice about sliding into the splits pregnant.  Luckily, The Bar Method has taken the guess-work (and therefore, the potential for injury) out of exercising while pregnant.  If you want more information on how to modify during class, here is a great link: http://barmethod.com/the-workout/your-questions/

 

2. It doesn't hurt....well, any more than it usually hurts.  I have no "extra" pain doing The Bar Method due to pregnancy.  I shake and sweat just like always, but there's no added pain that comes along with class.  I haven't found this to be the case with other activities.  I've found running/walking/anything with impact to be pretty painful to my pelvis and low back, which means I've either had to stop doing those activities or modify them so much that I'm not really sure I'm getting any benefit from them.  It's so nice to do something where I can still "go all out," even with my tummy sticking all out.

 

3.  You can do all class levels.  You don't have to stick to the basics when Bar Methoding pregnant.  You can challenge yourself as much as you'd like.  Because you will modify any moves that aren't safe for you while pregnant, you can take any class you'd like.  I actually started taking the new Bar Move classes when I was significantly pregnant and I absolutely love them.  Side note: If you have not tried a Bar Move class at Bar Method, YOU MUST!  It's a great class that will get your heart pounding and your legs shaking.  Trust me on this, once you've taken enough entry level classes to be familiar with all of the moves and set-ups, you should get into a Move class.  I've even dared a few level 2 classes while pregnant.  Let's face it, just because you're carrying another person around in your belly doesn't mean you don't sometimes want a good challenge.

 

4.  Sorry cardio-queens (myself included), working your muscles is the best preparation for actual birth.  During my very first pregnancy appointment with my doctor, I remember her asking about my workout habits.  I told her that I was a runner and that I did Bar Method.  After describing Bar Method moves to her, she got wide-eyed and said, "you should keep that up as long as possible.  It sounds like it really works your core and you're going to need that for birth."  Her face and her words pop into my head every time we move into flat back during class.  No matter how hard it is to engage my abs (or lack of abs) and lift my feet, I just start thinking about birth and up they go.  Look, it's my first kid, and I wont lie, birth is a terrifying prospect.  If a few minutes of hard ab work during class is going to make it easier for me, I'm all over it.

 

5. The other Bar ladies!  Nothing makes you feel better than sweating and shaking with a group a super awesome ladies.  And, I cannot tell you how supportive all of the ladies have been of me during this pregnancy.  Not a class goes by without at least one person asking how I'm doing and cheering me on.  The Bar Method community is seriously one awesome group of girls.

No-Run Randomness

Just a couple random thoughts from my no-run Saturday workout/donut run:

1.  This says "cryotherapy and floatation."  Which, is apparently a thing and a thing opening soon near my local workout/donut spot. 

2.  Isn't this just the saddest closed sign you've ever seen?  It's so final.  It's like they've lost all hope.

3.  You know I love to have my t-shirts talk for me. 

Getting my whole body, including the belly, in one shot is becoming increasingly difficult.  Also, I might consider applying a little makeup before my Saturday workout/donut trip.

 

Be In The Now.

I need a reminder on this one as often as I can get it. Especially these days.  With my impending stork delivery looming nearer and nearer, staying in the now is virtually impossible.  I can't help but look forward and worry about the unknown of what's coming.  Ahhh...wait, there it is.  The error in my thinking. Of course I can help it. I am in control of my thinking and my worrying.  I can choose to stay in the now.  I can choose to be present in my life and experience all that is NOW instead of anticipating what is to come, or more accurately, my idea of what is to come.  If I choose to be in the now I am truly living and not just being.  Who knew you could get this much wisdom from an $8.99 Old Navy shirt?!?!

Kicks!

Little tiny, never ending, sleep preventing, belly deforming, baby kicks aren't the only kicks on my mind these days. 

These new kicks arrived today and I couldn't be happier!

Just because I can't run, doesn't mean I can't shop, right? 

Don't worry, I haven't given up my devotion to Brooks when it comes to running/training, but I decided to change it up a little for my non-running training. I've been wearing my reguluar running shoes, Brooks PureFlows, for my daily workouts and figured it was time to give them a break until I'm ready to get back on the running trails. Plus, how could I pass up such cute new shoes?!?

 

Working out in new shoes just feels better, doesn't it?

Brain Duh'd

Y'all, pregnancy brain is REAL!!  And, the effects are serious. 

Yesterday, I got to the gym, changed into my workout clothes, and realized I'd forgotten to pack my shoes. 

Today, I packed my gym shoes, got to the gym, and realized I'd forgotten the whole damn bag!

I swear I'm not doing it on purpose. I really do want to exercise. It's not me.  It's this baby girl. She clearly doesn't want me to be fit. She wants me at home, on the couch, eating Oreos. She's sabotaging my body and my brain!

I get that this is a time in my life where "taking it easy" and "giving myself a break" is acceptable and encouraged, but this is getting ridiculous. I do want to stay active and strong. I just don't have the brainpower these days to remember how to do it. 

Now, back to those Oreos...

Never Underestimate...

The other morning I woke up in a foul mood. Not just a wrong-side-of-the-bed kind of mood.  No, I was in a wrong-side-of-life kind of mood. And I knew I was in that kind of mood before my feet hit the floor. 

So, as soon as my feet did hit the floor, which, on a side note, is SO much harder  now that I am trying to hoist up this big belly, I put them right into my running shoes and took a trip to the gym. 

And then I took myself on a trip to Shipley's Do-Nuts!

Here is the lesson y'all:

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HEALING POWER OF SWEAT AND SWEETS!!!

Trust me on this one guys, sometimes the fix is as simple as that. 

Two Things I Miss The Most

Run now, wine later. 

Sadly, way, way later.  

Wine, my friend, I miss you so much.  I know we will be reunited again soon, but it feels like forever since I've been able to enjoy hanging out with you at night over a good meal.  Please know that I haven't forgotten about you.  In fact, I think about you often.  We will be together again, I promise.

 

Oh, and running, yeah, I miss you a lot too.

In All Seriousness

In a previous post, I was kidding around about a little bit about what I expected running pregnant to look like and the reality of how it has turned out. But, in all seriousness, I think it's time to come clean with you on how I'm doing and what I've been up to.

As you can tell, I haven't been doing much updating of this running blog. The main reason for this? Let me be totally honest. This runner is no longer running. I wish I had better news for you. As I said in my runner vs. reality post, I really had all of the best intentions. I meant to be a pregnant runner. I really, really did. But here is the ugly, honest truth: running while pregnant just hurts too much. It hurts with every step and as much as I wanted to be one of those tough, badass pregnant runner ladies, I just had to give up. 

Now that that is out of the way, let me go back and fill you in on how it has gone.

I didn't quit running immediately.  In fact, the morning I found out I was pregnant, the very first thing I did was lace up and go for a run.  I remember feeling like it was so cool to go on a run alone with my baby and the secret of my baby.  On that run, I remember looking forward to so many more runs with this little baby in tow. Little did I know what was in store for me. 

The first hit to my running regimen didn't come from the pain, it came from the all day nausea and exhaustion that set in around week 6. I don't even know if I can accurately describe how that first trimester felt. It was all I could do to to drag myself to the office each day for work (and even that didn't happen every day).  Anything beyond that was a real stretch. I remember breaking down into near tears and telling my husband that I felt like I was being told to run a marathon at my usual pace, but with one leg chopped off. And I wasn't even talking about running. Every day of that first trimester felt like a 20 mile run.  I hurt, I was exhausted, and I was starved.  Sure, I ran here and there, but my endurance and motivation were just totally shot.  I would usually average about one medium distance run a week and maybe one interval treadmill run a week.  That first trimester I found myself having to stop every 15 minutes to just breath and rest.  I had nothing in my tank.  Which, made no sense because I was eating like a mad woman for that first trimester.  If this child comes out cheese-colored...well, EZ Mac is to blame!

People always tell you that the second trimester will make everything better and boy, they aren't kidding!  At my second trimester, almost to the day, I immediately felt better.  I had all of my normal energy back and I could finally think of food without wanting to get sick everywhere.  Of course, what also happens (the thing people don't mention so often when they are trying to cheer you up during that miserable first three months) when you start feeling better....you start really getting bigger!  That's when the real running trouble started.  As grew bigger, the pain in my low abs when running just got worse and worse and eventually became unbearable.  I even tried purchasing a support belt that was highly recommended by other runners, but I found it really did no good for me.  After a few weeks of attempting interval runs on the treadmill, I finally had to call uncle on the whole thing.  Running has been put on hold until after the baby. I miss it so much, but after trying and trying to power through, I finally came to the conclusion that running doesn't have to hurt.  Okay, yes, yes, running is hard and hurts sometimes, but not like this.  I run because I love all of the things it brings me, but it shouldn't bring me pain. I am in the process of accepting that running is just on hold for now and that it's okay.  I will get back to it.  And, when I do, I know I will be more appreciative of it.  What is that phrase?  You don't know what you've got until it's gone.

***This is not running related, but something that I really, really want to say and this is the best place I can think to say it:
Being pregnant is hard!  It is physically hard and emotionally hard.  I mean, it is REALLY hard.  See, here's the deal: those of us who have never done it before, we don't know it's hard because we see almost half of the people we know around us doing it, so we assume it can't be that hard.  But, now that I'm doing it, I'm here to tell you, it is hard.  For some reason, not enough people are saying this out loud.  Rumor is you forget how sucky pregnancy is as soon as that little baby is born, so I want to put it out for the world to know now before I forget, and so that I don't forget.  Being pregnant is hard.  You feel sick, you feel stressed, you feel big, it's uncomfortable, it's terrifying, it's isolating, and it's a million other not so great things.  Look, I know that it's all worth it in the end and I'm not trying to say I'm unhappy pregnant or anything like that.  I just want to give credit where credit is due.  If you know anyone who is or ever has been pregnant, as soon as you finish reading this blog, please tell them how impressed you are by them.  Let them know that even if you can't "get" it, you can appreciate it.