Strength Training

Certainly, continuing to run while pregnant is great exercise, and there are many benefits that running provides me at this point -- both physical and mental -- however, running is primarily a cardiovascular activity (although, there are also many strengthening aspects to it as well), and I've been reading a lot lately in my preggo stuff about the importance of strength training while pregnant.

Strength training is helpful during pregnancy for many reasons: it helps alleviate some common complaints, like back aches and legs cramps, that begin to crop up in the 2nd trimester, and it helps prepare you for labor (the ultimate strength test -- most women say that they engaged every single muscle in their body); and lastly, it helps prepare you for lugging that baby and all of her accoutrement around after birth. Personally, I have never been good about maintaining a strength training regimen alongside running, but I determined that this summer, since I have more time now, I would begin to incorporate more strength and flexibility training into my regular exercise routine.

So, after doing a lot of reading on exercises appropriate and helpful during pregnancy, I dusted off the handheld weights, busted out the yoga mat, and got down to business. Of course, the major impediment to this at-home routine is a little copper top dog who thinks that every time I break out the yoga mat, I am breaking out a very comfy place for him to settle.

So, after I bribed him with a bone, I endeavored through my planned routine. I began with a few minutes of yoga:

some modified sun salutations
plank
modified child's pose
downward facing dog (which, to me, feels fabulous on my lower back, as well as on my legs)
and then, finally, tree pose

Feeling sufficiently warmed up and stretched, I then continued on to my planned strength training session with the following:

squats
chair pose (yoga move that is a squat)
calf raises
lunges
bicep curls
shoulder press
and then some upper back rows

I look serious, don't I?

Then, I cooled off with some light stretching, and finally, a modified corpse pose. The whole routine took me about 30 minutes from start to finish, and it felt pretty good. I used light weights, and I focused on keeping my sets to 8 reps a piece. I would like to make this an established routine (2 days a week, maybe?) that I can incorporate with my running and (sporadic) pre-natal yoga.

Now, I'm off to the showers, and tonight we have bowling: Tonight is the position round for this quarter, and we're currently in 5th place, so it's completely possible that we could place in the top 5 this quarter! Wish me, and my other teammates, bowling luck!