All things pregnancy and staying active with Julia!
We sat down with Julia to chat about how her pregnancy has been going, what she’s found challenging and how she’s sticking to her exercise routine! Julia is currently taking x2 She Moves classes per week - She Lifts - our weighted workout and She Lengthens - Pilates!
How many weeks are you now and overall how’s your pregnancy been going?
I’m 31 weeks pregnant this week, I cannot believe how fast it has gone!
Overall I’ve had a pretty good pregnancy. I was a little nauseous for a few weeks in my first trimester but that settled as soon as I moved into the 2nd trimester. Being my first pregnancy everything has been such a new experience and I’ve learnt so much!
There has always been a little worry in the back of my mind, feeling like it is all too good to be true but I’ve really loved watching my body change and I’m so grateful I’ve been able to keep exercising right through.
Obviously keeping active during pregnancy has been really important to you - you are doing amazing! What have you found the most challenging about staying active during pregnancy?
Yes, exercise is a big part of who I am and one of my goals was to stay active throughout my whole pregnancy (if my body allowed it). I was surprised how quickly the fatigue hit me during my first trimester. I had to dial back my intensity during exercise, reducing my runs to 2 per week and some days a very light walk or stretch was enough.
I remember this one day I walked to the end of the driveway and thought “nope not today” and went back inside. I stopped taking the She Moves She Explodes - HIIT workout around 15 weeks and picked up She Lifts, our pregnancy safe weighted workout. It was perfect timing, as I was starting to feel breathless in the workouts and jumping just didn’t feel right.
At She Moves we advise our pregnant members to begin modifying their exercises from 16 weeks onwards, however some will begin earlier depending on how they are feeling. The most challenging part has been managing my energy levels around exercise, full time work, taking workouts and head trainer duties. I love starting the day with exercise, but some mornings sleep was top priority and after a long day at work, exercise was not front of mind.
What’s been your fav way to keep active during this time?
My new goal was “training for birth and postpartum recovery.” To achieve this I wanted to walk most days, include 3-4 strength / pilates workouts per week and stretch in the evenings. Where I live we have a beautiful 5 km coastal walk - I do this when I can. I’ve consistently been doing the She Moves She lifts - pregnancy safe weighted workout twice a week and She Moves She Lengthens - Pilates pregnancy safe twice a week. Most evenings I will wind down with some stretching before bed (otherwise I get terribly jumpy legs!) I mix it up between some stretches from Spinning Babies and She Moves She Flows - Stretch class.
What advice would you have to someone who is maybe struggling with their exercise
Treat this time as a maintenance phase, it’s not the time to try to break personal records. For me, training for birth and postpartum recovery completely changed my mindset. Set some achievable daily goals to move your body and if you need the rest, take the rest.
What have been your go to resources during pregnancy? Think.. books, podcasts, Instagram pages etc.
I’m definitely a podcast person - Kiwi Birth Tales has been great to listen to on my walks. Hearing all the different birth stories and possible scenarios has really empowered me for birth and now I’m weirdly excited to go through it. Jordyn from Kiwi Birth Tales also has a Hypnobirthing online course which my husband and I enjoyed.
We’ve also been doing a 6 week antenatal course in-person. I’ve read “The Headspace Guide to A Mindful Pregnancy” by Andy Puddicombe - a great one if you want to learn more about pregnancy and meditation. He also has a course on the Headspace app for pregnancy and preparing for birth. On instagram I’ve enjoyed following @midwife_pip and @midwifezoe for birth education. And @shemoves of course, for all things pre and postnatal exercise.
What are you most looking forward to about becoming a Mum?
I think being a mum must be the most rewarding job in the world! I’m under no illusions that this will be extremely tough but looking forward to the challenge. I’m also really excited to see Armin as a dad, he will be amazing and to see what our baby will look like and the personality he will have. I feel lucky to have some of my best friends going through the same stage of life with me and looking forward to this next chapter!
