How do I make myself workout during pregnancy?
When people ask me “how TF I have stayed moving during my pregnancy, even with the tiredness, stiffness and dwindling sleep quality?” …here’s my answer:
1) I did NOT start aiming for consistency during pregnancy. I started working on this years ago (TLDR: consistency takes time)
You see in 2021, I had a come to Jesus moment about food and my habits. (I talk more about that in this post) My habits were garbage. They were unhelpful. I felt like sh!t most of the time, even though I spend HOURS a day thinking about food and exercise.
As someone who’d always tried to do the most… I finally asked myself what it would look like to do the least. (So if this is you… here’s your first piece of homework: What’s the smallest step you could commit to?)
Candidly, I’m still not sure how I got myself sold on this approach as a perfectionist, but I was SO sick of disappointing myself that I was willing to lower the bar. So I hear you: it’s HARD to accept doing less. But is doing the MOST working for you??
Every single other program that I’d ever tried to do was at least 5x a week… and every time I missed a Monday, I took the whole week off because if I couldn’t do it right… why do it at all??
So in early 2022, I hired a personal trainer and committed to moving JUST THREE times a week - and I left nutrition on the back burner. It felt like a sacrifice to aim for just 3 days a week (I kinda felt like a failure) but I knew I needed less in order to be consistent.
And it actually worked. Between the accountability and the appropriate time commitment, I finally was able to show up for a program week over week.
In time, over recent years, this grew into 4-5x a week but only because I had a STRONG foundation to start. If this is where YOU are, where can you lower the bar so that consistency finally becomes doable?
Do you need to rewire your beliefs around “What counts?” and “What is consistency?”
Which leads us to…
2) I am so sold on the belief that “something over nothing” wins every time.
You can’t convince me that it’s better to take NO walk than a 10 minute walk (even if you usually like to take a 45 minute walk)
You can’t convince me that it’s better to do NO workout than a bodyweight workout (even if you usually do heavy strength-based workouts)
What beliefs are YOU carrying about working out and what it “gets you”?
After guiding 200+ women through improving their habits and losing weight, I’ve seen cold-hard evidence again and again that something is always better than nothing.
The benefits of working out start in the first minute of movement… not in the 30th minute!
And if you don’t feel like YOU have any proof in your own life that baby steps work… you need to start paying attention to it. I’m certain you can find evidence of this in your life too, but when it comes to movement and exercise, we’re so quick to just throw the baby out with the bathwater.
And it’s truly this mindset that has allowed me to keep going. Even when my ego hurts. Even when the struggle is unfamiliar. Even when I miss being stronger and faster. I remind myself that something is better than nothing.
The 5 main benefits to working out during pregnancy (which I get even when my workouts aren’t picture perfect):
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels (this impacts my mood and cravings + helps baby gain the right amount of weight)
Maintaining my mental health
Maintaining my mobility and flexibility (hello, birth is an athletic event)
Maintaining my habits & identity as a “person who moves her body”
Having a faster recovery, so I suffer less overall 😛
If you worked out during your pregnancy, what was the biggest benefit you experienced? Comment below!!!!
