Stay Fit During the Third Trimester and Beyond

Assuming there are no medical conditions necessitating the cessation of exercise, it should be continued throughout the entire pregnancy, including the third trimester.  I entered my third trimester with more energy than ever.  Perhaps it was because I knew I was in the home stretch and the adrenaline was kicking in.  But I knew I had to be cautious and carefully listening to my body more so than ever in the last few weeks of pregnancy.
Here are some tips for exercise in the third trimester:

• Stay Hydrated – It’s important throughout your pregnancy, however, dehydration can bring on contractions and preterm labor so it’s extra important in the third trimester.
• Walk – get outside or hop on the treadmill.  This is an easy form of exercise and is typically well-tolerated.
• Squat – It’s not only a great cardiovascular and strengthening exercise, but it’s good preparation for childbirth!  Make sure to keep your belly tucked in toward your spine.
• Cardio – Try to aim for 30 minutes almost every day.  Try to do this right up until the day you deliver.  I used a belly band to support my back and wore 2 sports bras to support the girls!  Watch your intensity – you should be able to carry on a conversation fairly easily and if you’re gasping for air, you should tone down the intensity.
• Strength Training – No need to stop now!  Your balance might not be what it once was due to your growing belly, so be careful with activities that cause instability.
• Yoga – Check out your local yoga studio to see if they offer prenatal yoga.  As a bonus you’ll get to connect with lots of other mommies-to-be too.
• Abdominal Exercises – This will help support your growing belly and help prevent back pain now and after pregnancy.  Avoid traditional crunches on your back in the third and fourth trimester.  Make sure you work the transverse abdominals.  They will help you push out that baby!  Also, try some standing abdominal work or rotational movement patterns.
• Kegals – Just Google it.

(Please discuss the above with your physician before adding to your routine.)

So enough of the typical things to tell people during the third and fourth trimester.  I’m gonna tell you what I did.
During the third trimester I continued eating (mostly) healthy.  I was told I should aim to be gaining one pound a week. To do this, I had to make sure I was getting 300 extra calories a day from one serving each of protein and carbohydrate foods, not cookies as I originally was consuming in the first and second trimester!  I hate counting calories, so every few days I would have to remind myself to count for the day to make sure I was meeting all my nutritional needs.  Believe it or not, it was hard for me to consume the recommended amount of calories during the work week because I worked late and didn’t want to eat a big meal at 8pm then go to bed.  My husband couldn’t understand this and said, “Just pick up a big mac on the way home!”  I’ve never had a big mac and I wasn’t starting now.
As far as exercises went, I kept doing the same workouts I was doing in my second trimester but started to wean from high impact jumping such as plyometric work.  I must admit that I returned to high impact exercises a few days before she was born because I wanted to get things moving and wanted that baby out!  I started to do more walking and continued with my usual weight lifting routines.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret, I avoid abdominal exercises like the plague.  I never specifically trained my core until I got pregnant and continue to do so now in my fourth trimester.  I usually got a good core workout from my regular workouts (burpees and push ups work the core too).  I was doing typical abdominal exercises for the first time ever which included a lof of balancing on the bosu while doing weight lifting and unilateral weight lifting, using the cables, and doing lots of supine knee-ins for the transverse abdominals and side planks right up until delivery.
I had a ridiculously easy pregnancy, labor, and delivery.  Even though I was in labor for 31 hours, it was mostly non-painful.  I only used an epidural for pain management and I highly recommend it.  It definitely slowed my labor, but I felt NOTHING when it came time to push.  And my nurse was impressed with my pushing ability (thank you ab work!).  I requested to leave the hospital early because I was feeling great.  By the second day home I was walking the baby around the block and by the 5th day I felt good enough to hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes.
I am still supposed to eat 300-500 extra calories a day to accommodate for the extra calories needed to breastfeed.  I’m trying to eat more oatmeal as this helps with milk supply.  Some days it’s really hard to eat breakfast because the minute she wakes up, she wants to eat and then be held, otherwise the fussiness and crying begins.  But I’ve truly never been this hungry before.  Calories are needed to produce enough milk for the baby.  Most moms want to get the weight off as quickly as possible.  And of course I did, but I really made sure I was getting enough calories so I could produce enough milk.  With eating about 2,000 calories, burning maybe about 200-350 with my workouts, I still lost 22 of the 24 pounds I gained within 10 days of having the baby.
So after 4 weeks, I am trying to find some sort of routine, which is quite complicated because I am now on my baby’s time, not mine!  I spend one-on-one time with her when she’s awake and when she goes down, I have my workout clothes by the stairs ready to go!  I run downstairs and quickly get in as much of a workout as I can because I don’t know how long that gorgeous nap will last.  Most days I can get an exercise in, even if it’s only 20 minutes.  I’ve learned to be more efficient than ever and have been doing circuit training and tabatas.  Some days she refuses to nap and hopefully the weather is good and we can at least go for a walk in the neighborhood or the nearby trail.
I remember looking down at my belly at 39 weeks thinking that my stomach would never be the same again.  But literally 2 weeks later and I could already make out the top portion of my rectus abdominis (“6 pack”) and my obliques.  I was completely shocked.  My goal was 3 months to see any sort of definition in my abdominals.  So let me tell you, it’s super important to keep up with your abdominal exercises because getting back in shape after delivery will be SO much easier.  I heard and read this before, but now I really believe it.
So for those women who are nervous about a difficult labor and delivery, I’m telling you, EXERCISE HELPS!  For those women who are scared they will forever lose their figure, EXERCISE!  Our bodies were made to make babies and we can recover faster than you think.

2 Weeks Post Baby