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My workouts

| cheriarmour

So I’m sitting on the couch, in desperate need of a shower.  This weekend was really cool, I will recap tomorrow.  But today, this morning, I ended up subbing a BodyPump class for Grant in the morning, and then I took a little break and taught a Total Body Strength Class at the Y for one of my instructors, who is really awesome, but I think she’s dropping her kid off at camp that day.

Which, btw, camps started yesterday and it totally makes me sob.  I love camp so much, and there’s this irrational part of me that found myself daydreaming about what it might be like to teach a few classes up in Pennsylvania.  Then I remember that I’m pregnant, and I’ve been referring to myself at Tilikum, and that the last thing a bunch of kids wants to do is hang out with a knocked-up 30-year-old.

Anyways, I’m gross, because after those two classes, I made sure that me and Austin hit a few laps around the neighborhood so that I could make my 10,000 steps, and while I was out there, I got to thinking that I’m really grateful – even though I’m in my third, I still classify the first trimester as probably the worst I’ve felt in my entire life.  I mean, I still have 12 weeks, so things can go downhill, but for the moment, I’m really seizing these moments.

So, my workouts during this time…

First, I’ve been really surprised at how I’ve been able to maintain some type of teaching schedule.  I kind of thought by June I would be done, but here I am in June, and I’ve been teaching things.

Things I Have Not Really Taught Lately

  • Step
  • Bosu
  • Really anything high-impact

More than anything else, high-impact is really disturbing to my bladder, and it also feels like me and the baby fighting for oxygen sometimes.

Things I HAVE Taught, and Feel Really Good About

  • Cycle
  • Toning/Total Body Strength
  • Body Pump <-Feels amazing

MY Workout

So in addition to the things that I’ve taught that feel good, as far as MY workouts, I am really focusing on strength, short short short occasional runs, and I walk every day in order to get all of my steps.  I truly think that despite some of the fatigue I had, especially in the beginning, doing something (not necessarily Crossfitting or anything hardcore if that’s not your jam), like walking, slight jogging, or lifting weights in ADDITION to my thyroid medication has been the only thing that has propped me up and kept me from keeling over during most of this pregnancy.  I really really hope that during subsequent pregnancies, I am able to stay so active so that I don’t feel like I’m dying of naps all day, but I am crossing my fingers that this holds out as long as possible.

What workouts did you do on this absolutely scorching weekend?

27 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Baby is the size of a(n): Acorn squash.  One of the apps says cucumber again.  That’s one giant cuke.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I finally stepped on the scale at the doctor’s office.  22 lbs.  Not bad, cruising along at the perfect weight.

Sleep:  I am definitely still sleeping.  Over the weekend, on Saturday, I made a lot of fabulous plans – but after I woke up and ran by my office to grab something, I slept for most of the rest of the day.  It makes me feel bad – I skipped a workout and a going away party, but I was so tired.

Best moment this week:  We bought a crib!  It’s sitting in the box on the floor.  We went to Target last weekend to look at some things, and the cribs and furniture were okay, and we almost went with one there, but once we went to Babies R Us, and then Buy Buy Baby, the cribs really weren’t much more expensive, but they seemed more solid, and definitely had some embellishments that were a little prettier.

Food cravings:   Still sparkling things.  And lots of fruit.  Lots of smoothies, lots of avocados, lots of things that are easy to eat and easy to digest.

Food aversions:  Someone stuck a California Roll in front of me with soy sauce and everything, and the smell of the soy sauce nearly killed me.  I cooked some stir fry noodles and veggie last night?  Same thing.  Soy sauce is not my friend.

Symptoms:  I did go the the chiropractor at the end of last week to relieve some of the pressure on my SI joint.  The relief was immediate, so I am going to go back again tomorrow to get adjusted.

Looking forward to:  Idk, there is a lot going on.  We’re going to Lake Street Dive on Friday, and we plan to hit up Baby Emporium (or some baby store) again this weekend.  It’s sort of becoming our thing we do!

ICYMI…

26 Weeks, 25 Weeks, 24 Weeks, 22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks

Glucose Test

| cheriarmour

HI!

How was your week?

Mine has been good.  I had to work on Monday, even though folks had the day off.  It was fine – most of my team was there, and I was able to steal my way into a step class again.  Funny enough, the week still felt really short and really compressed still, and I found myself rushing to get things done.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I spent a good chunk of the day at my desk ironing out some of the holes in the June schedule, and before I knew it, it was Thursday, the day of a much-needed chiropractic appointment and my glucose test.

So, my lower back has started to feel irritated, and like it could use a good crack, but since I can’t really contort, I can’t get it to crack, and I didn’t want to do anything too twisty.  Per the recommendation of the instructor of the prenatal yoga workshop I did a few weeks ago, I consulted a chiro that specializes in family chiropractic, but my back was such a mess, I called my old guy, and kind of remembered that close to the beginning of my pregnancy, he’d said something about his ability to adjust preggos.  I couldn’t wait the two weeks, and I went and saw him, and I am so glad I did.  He had me like lay on some contraption that allowed me to lay technically on my stomach, but…idk it’s weird to explain.  Anyhoo, he totally adjusted me, and it was fine.

On the way back, I’d scheduled my glucose test, the test to determine whether I have gestational diabetes.  That is the weirdest thing ever.  So here’s what goes down.

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I have heard this varies between practices, but the general idea is the same. So you chug this thing one hour before your scheduled appointment.  You have like some limited amount of time to chug it, but I got it down in like two or three minutes, and I was like “oh man, that is easy!”

Ugh.

Like 20 minutes later, I just was not feeling well at all.  The stuff is really syrupy – it kind of reminds me of those ice pops you eat that cut up the sides of your mouth in the summer time.  Except maybe sweeter.  And not really cold and there’s not a pool.  So I started to feel kind of sick to my stomach before I came into the office, and by the time I got in there, I wasn’t in great shape.  But you tell the receptionist when you get there when you finished the drank, and they get you back really quickly, since you only have an hour from when you finished, to like an hour and fifteen to get your blood drawn.  After that, I laid down in the exam room while I waited on the doc, who measured (right on track) and listened to the baby’s heartbeat (fuerte) before I hit up the TDap vaccine.

I fully anticipated going back to the office to take care of a few holes and return some emails, but I was feeling pretty icky after the test, and I ended up at home, napping sort of fitfully for an hour before I had to be back to teach my strength class and teach a short class for camp training.

I think since my body has recovered from being assaulted by the orange drank and I was able to burn off some of that sugar, I’m feeling like I’ve returned to the land of the living, but holy shit.  I hope I pass that test so I don’t need to take the three hour one.  God only knows what the in the hell they’re going to have me eating.

How was your week?

26 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Baby is the size of a(n): Keeping trend with the subjective fruit/veggie comparisons, this baby is the size of a coconut OR an eggplant depending on which app you’re going with.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I have not stepped on the scale in actual ages.  I’m in the 20 range I know, and I’m continuing to exercise, teach, and not eat everything in sight.  Which really isn’t super hard because my stomach feels like its been squished into something the size of a grape.  If I even think about overeating, I get refluxy and really uncomfortable.

Sleep:  I do it. Interrupted, always, by an early-morning bathroom break.  Yesterday’s break, and I was up, watching TV with the cats until it was time for regular people to wake up.

Best moment this week:  Step class with Jana!  I sort of tricked myself into going – about 20 minutes before 10am on Saturday morning, the strength instructor called with an emergency, and I was up and close enough to come in and teach the class.  Jana’s class was right after, so I stayed, and I was really glad I did.  Great workout, and great (though short lived) energy boost.  One riser, and a few mods, and I was good.

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Food cravings:   Sparkling things still.  Pie is still something that interests me, but acquiring pie is a really difficult task, and my main barrier to entry as it relates to dessert.  I really just like pie CRUST.

Food aversions:  Eh.  Food in general.  I am a big big fan of smoothies lately because they’re so easy to get in without having to do much prep or anything.

Symptoms:  Again, I feel big.  And I’m experiencing some pelvic pain, most likely indicative of a fun thing that happens to your pelvis and which sort of spontaneously resolves itself after delivery.  I’m waiting to hear back from the prenatal yoga instructor, and I’m paying a visit to the chiropractor this week for that, and a little SI joint irritation.

Looking forward to:  Visiting baby land again.  Austin and I went to Target and Babies blah blah this weekend, and it was really really fun.  I thought it was going to be kind of overwhelming and lame, but it really wasn’t.  I’ve largely accepted that we have no clue what we’re doing, and nothing will really change that.  Makes things feel soooo much smoother once you can be at peace with that.  We’re going back to nab a few more things next weekend 🙂

ICYMI…

25 Weeks, 24 Weeks, 22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks

Green Smoothie!

| cheriarmour

I make a lot of smoothies.  A ton.  There are definitely a few reasons for this – one HUGE reason is that a few years ago, when I was job hunting, I took a job in the bakery at Whole Foods (hence, why I’m such a Whole Foods fan).  The job was actually incredibly hard work, and very physically demanding, but the coolest thing for me was that I started to take a liking to working in the coffee bar, which allowed me to play around and make loads of smoothies for people.  I moved on from working at the store, but never really lost my love for smoothies, and I’ve continued to make them at least a few mornings a week.

Point of Smoothies?

So, just because something comes in smoothie form doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy, and a lot of times, at smoothie places, you can really get yourself in trouble with the sugar/portions.  And the smoothies at fast food places?  Seriously, don’t bother.  You’re doing yourself no favors.

For me, the point of a smoothie is that I can get a few servings of fruits/veggies in there (something that can get a little hard if you’re go-go-go), and it’s convenient – I can make them really quickly and slurp them down on the way to work/in a meeting if I need to.

So the last few I’ve made, I’ve snapped and stuck on Snapchat or Facebook, and some folks have asked about recipes, and they probably think I’m weird about my recipes, but the truth is that I never got around to posting them :/ my bad.

Avocolada Smoothie

Full disclosure, this recipe is a copycat of a smoothie I got from a smoothie place, however, I looked up the nutrition of this smoothie, and the sugar was way, way too high for anyone to be drinking will-nilly, so I set off to make my own.  I DO believe that you can ask for theirs without the added sugar, so if you’re really in a pinch, that’s always an option, so make sure to comment if you want me to tell you where you can get this.

You will need…

A better blender than I have.  I really need to go ahead and bite it and get a Vitamix, but I just haven’t droppped the $500 yet.  I will.  If you have a crappy one, just make it work.

Some kale.  For today, you’re making two servings (one for you, and one for a friend), so grab like 4-5 stalks of that sucker.  De-spine it so you just have the kale part, and rinse, since kale can get a little gritty.

A squirt of lime juice.

Frozen tropical fruit.  I like mango/pineapple/peach/bananas, and I measure it out literally by taking a red solo cup, filling it with fruit, and that’s enough for one person.  Do it twice since you and your friend are going to be drinking this.

An avocado.  You can chill it if you want, but the frozen fruit should keep it from being like hot green pudding.  De-seed, obviously, and you can get it into your blender without screwing up your mani just by squeezing the guts out of the skin.

So stick all of that in your blender.  Then you’ll need.

Trop 50.  Not really more than a cup necessary.

Coconut milk.  Do some unsweetened if you went with sweeter tropical fruits, or sweetened if you’re feeling like you went with some fruit that may not have been super-ripe when you froze it/when it was frozen.

Blend.  For you Vitamix folks, it really shouldn’t be a long blend job, but if you have a cheap thing like I do, blend it for a good while, until you see that that kale has calmed down.  It comes out super green, but don’t let that run you off because it tastes super refreshing.  And between the kale, avocado AND the fruit, you’re knocking out a really good bit of your fruit/veggie intake for the day.  Which I feel like we all could use some help on!

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Voila, or viola as some of our favorite instagram models would say!

 

 

 

25 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Hi!  I am pregnant.  Very pregnant today.  13240566_10100773771767153_5805407430550357552_n.jpgBaby is the size of a: Rutabaga.  I need to be honest, I don’t really know what that is.  And I eat a lot of veggies.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I haven’t weighed since last week, but I was really really sick last week, and had a hard time eating solids.  I drank as much water and electrolytes as I could, but at last check, I hadn’t quite cleared 20 lbs due to this.  My appetite is slow to come back, but I’m making sure to eat good things, and not nachos.

Sleep:  Guess who’s still going to the bathroom every single second of the day!  Still only getting up once a night, but I need to be getting up more so I’m not in agony.

Best moment this week:  Hm…maybe actually catching up on my inbox at work after missing a day of work last week.  That is a feat!

Food cravings:   Sparkling things.  I would love some pie.  Specifically some pie crust.  I can leave or take whatever’s in the middle though.  Doesn’t do much for me.

Food aversions:  Oh where to start.  Food this week.  Lol.

Symptoms:  I’m just feeling a little bit huge.  Like my belly is definitely there, and definitely in the way, and there’s not really a whole lot I can do except accommodate it.  I went to a prental yoga workshop on Sunday, and she showed us a few things we could do while the rest of class, for example, is doing core work, and it gave me some ideas for class today.

Looking forward to:  Ordering some things for the baby’s room.

ICYMI…

24 Weeks, 22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks

Pantry Pests.

| cheriarmour

Up again early! It’s about 6am on a morning, and I’m up again.  I had to go to the ladies room.  I would get out and go run shuffle around the lake, but it’s still a little dark, so I’m waiting for the sun to come up.

So.

I don’t eat cereal.  It’s one of those foods, where you  look at the serving size, and you snarl.  It’s almost like a trick!  Why would I eat 3/4ths of a cup of something at some ridiculous amount of sugar when I could enjoy a piece of toast and some eggs, things with avocados in them, or a huge smoothie and be much more filled up?  Plus, who wants to be hungry 5 minutes after you eat something?

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via Instgram

But some weeks ago, I was craving something really sweet, and decided to get some Cocoa Krispies and Total to mix together to snack on for a few days.  The last time I remember eating Coco Krispies, or their off-brand counterpart, was the morning that President Obama was inaugurated during winter term of my (senior?) year at Elon?  I remember this because class was cancelled due to a really good snowstorm, so I ate like a gallon of chocolate cereal and watched him and the First Lady (in her yellow almost-duster length jacket), by myself.

Well, I bought some cereal, ate it for a few days, and put it away.  A few weekends ago, I went to go get another bowl of the Total (the Krispies were long gone), and after a few bites, I looked down, and there were these little black bugs in the cereal.  I tossed the box, and replaced it when we went shopping a few weekends ago.  I was up early one morning, poured myself a bowl again, and…

You guessed it.  Bugs in the newer box of cereal too, that had only just been opened and sealed with a clip after.

So after I tossed that box too, and consulted social media land, as well as Dr. Google, the doctor told me that my pantry was most likely full of weevils, and we needed to go through and throw out anything that was sort of “naked” in the pantry.  The cereal, flour, and dog treats (which were buck  naked in the box) were full of the little critters, and we tossed them all.  

So, I’m not really sure I’ll be bringing any bulk items in the house for a while – certainly not cereal or dog treats, and we’ll be investing in a ton more airtight containers for things we do have.  I’m not sure why, but I am insanely grossed out by the weevils, and I’m feeling itchy.  Blah.

Anyhoo, how was your weekend?  

 

24 Weeks

| cheriarmour

Jambo!

I skipped the update last week.  I think I needed a break, plus my computer broke and I had to take it to IT, and didn’t get it back until Thursday evening.  Anyways, here goes, I am 24 weeks pregnant!

Baby is the size of a: Large zucchini or ear of corn.  I feel like both of those are kind of skinny for the measure of a baby, but for weight’s sake, we’ll stick to what the apps are telling me.

Due date: Sept 3rd, 2016

Total weight gain:  I am closing in on the 20-lb range last I checked.  The weight gain is literally so alarming, that I tend to only let myself get weighed when I go to the ob.  Otherwise it’s like God bless it, I have never seen that number before in my whole life!

Sleep:  Sleep is ok.  As usually, I cannot sleep though the entire night without going to the bathroom, so I’m actually up writing this update at 5:44 am on another day where I couldn’t get back to sleep after a bathroom run.

Best moment this week:  I went to yoga on Thursday to try out one of our new instructors, and it was really good!  It was NOT a prenatal class, so there was some stuff – laying on your belly for one – that I couldn’t do.  But I left actually really energized.

Food cravings:  I’m still drinking all the sparkling things.  I’m having to watch my sugar, I think I can really overdo it, so I’ve been watching totally stuffing my face with all the sweets.

Food aversions:  Not really.  I’m still really careful about overeating because if I overdo it, I get totally sick and refluxy.

Symptoms:  Just peeing a ton still.  And starting to become a little less mobile with my belly in the way.  It has not completely stopped me from doing anything yet, but bending over in yoga, my chest isn’t gonna touch my things.

Looking forward to:  Staying in town this weekend!  We have not had a weekend at home by ourselves for some time!

ICYMI…

22 Weeks – Changing it Up!, 21 Weeks (A little late), 20 Weeks – Halfway There, 19 Weeks…it’s a…, 18 Weeks, 17 Weeks, 16 Weeks, 15 Weeks, 14 Weeks, 13 Weeks, 12 Weeks

Exercise While Pregnant

| cheriarmour

A question I’ve gotten a lot, given my profession (Group Fitness Director at the Y), is if I’m continuing to teach classes, followed up by how I’m continuing to teach classes and exercise in my current delicate state.  (That delicate is total sarcasm btws.  I feel a lot of things.  Tired.  Big-bellied.  Kinda sweaty as it relates to my bra area.  But certainly not delicate.)

As kind of a frame of reference, here’s what I’m teaching in a typical week.  This is definitely down from my old usual – I used I teach one or two classes on Fridays (Zumba and Barre as needed), and I used to teach every Saturday morning Zumba.  I usually try to add a little bit of elliptical or treadmill in on these days – I do NOT do that on Mondays typically.  On Fridays, I work out with Jill, for a half-hour, down from the hour we used to do.  I’ve begun to make arrangements for my Mondays for over the summer, and the same for my Wednesday mornings.

Mondays – Zumba 7:20pm

Tuesdays – Total Body Strength (TBS) 5:30pm 

Wednesdays – 7:30am Cycle

Thursdays – 5:45am BodyPump™, 6:15pm TBS

Fridays – 5:45am BodyPump™ Express (this format is only 45 minutes)

The answer is that it’s doable, it’s all doable, but it’s definitely different.  Here’s how.  (And seriously, keep in mind that this is all going to be very different for everyone.  And that I’m not a doctor.  So don’t go doing something weird.)

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So early in, even before I knew I was pregnant, something was different.  I was really fatigued in Flywheel, and assumed that it was the holidays, and that I just needed to sign up for a marathon or something to get my butt into fighting shape.  I continued with HIIT workouts, went to hot yoga, and continued to notice some fatigue, almost as if I was fighting some sort of illness.  In reality, I was starting to make a baby, and we were starting to fight for air, and the hormone dump in the beginning was contributing to my  fatigue and headaches.

  • Certain Core/Ab Work doesn’t really work for me anymore.  For weeks and weeks into the pregnancy, I was able to continue with some core work without much issue.  At some point, being flat on my back became sort of uncomfortable, so I’ve made the switch to demo-ing a lot of these moves quickly, and then switching over to planks, side planks, and standing core work, where my focus is really maintaining a strong core, and not getting a six-pack (obviously).  I believe it has helped some with lower back pain, but I’m not far enough in my pregnancy to definitively say that it’s working against back pain.
  • Lifting feels really good.  Lifting weights is probably one of the things that I’ve not only maintained, but gotten a little stronger with, and I really credit teaching and taking BodyPump™ with that.  My upper body is really strong, and my glutes/quads/hamstrings are really really strong from tons of squats and lunges.  I am careful with weighting squats, and I’m careful with lower back, even though clean/hang and clean and press are some of my favorite lifts.  I make sure to lift juuust enough, and not overdo it, and to really watch my form.  I have not really done a truly heavy deadlift, but just enough, once again, so that I’m engaging my lower back  muscles without completely overdoing it.
  • Running is a challenge.  I was a woman who swore that pregnancy would not affect my mileage, and when it did, it wouldn’t be huge.  It has been a big change.  The way things are set up for me, my son is having a great time, and all the equipment he comes with is really restricting my bladder.  The second I empty my bladder, it begins to fill back up, and when I do higher-impact exercises, I find myself ducking into bathrooms immediately.  So I tend to keep runs to 20 minutes or so.  It was definitely sort of discouraging at first, but I’m keeping up with it in other ways, so I feel okay about it.
  • Cycle feels good…even though I have to dial the crazy back a bit.  I have fallen in love with teaching Cycle, and I really enjoy how I sweat when I’m on the bike.  It really reminds me of a running sweat, without the damage I feel like I’m doing to my bladder.  As I get bigger, I may have to figure out how to accommodate my belly, but for now, it has been really awesome.  I do find on some climbs, I feel like I’m fighting for air, so I have to deal some of the up/down/up/down that shoots your heart rate through the roof back a bit.

I think pregnancy and remaining active is one of those things in which you walk a really really fine balance.  It is a necessity, to sweat each day.  However, within the bounds of a growing and changing body, it it necessary to sweat safely, and more so than ever, do so with proper form.  When you go for a run, the goal isn’t necessarily to kill yourself or burn the most calories, but perform this daily routine in the hopes that labor, delivery, and recovery (that one is the biggie) is as smooth as it is supposed to be.

Anyways, I’m enjoying figuring out what modifications work for me, all while eyeballing things I may like to challenge myself and do once I don’t have a belly in the way.

Pregnant or not, what’s your favorite way to stay fit?