Tears, Exercise And Pregnancy!

The body is changing and I have no control

For some this may sound odd, for others they may totally understand me. Pregnancy is meant to be a happy time and please don’t get me wrong I really am happy to be pregnant and on this journey but knowing my body, and slowly watching what I have worked so hard to achieve slowly disappear week after week is hard to accept! I feel awful saying that, knowing there are other couples out there who are trying so hard for what we have makes me feel selfish but it’s how I feel.  At 16 weeks it finally hit me, I AM PREGNANT and my life is indeed changing including exercise and possibly how I go about my work.

Tears

16 weeks and time just seems to go by in a blink of an eye. I had my first proper emotional breakdown, tears and all! I got ready for work one morning, looked in the mirror my six pack nearly out of sight and I just felt fat, that’s a terrible word but it just didn’t feel like me. I am pregnant with no actual physical bump and just having a pot belly felt hard to swallow. My body was changing and for the past 16 years of participating in a Muay Thai where I had to have full control of my weight to now being pregnant and having no control is pretty daunting and scary, to say the least. Putting on clothes I feel uncomfortable with what I see, maybe when it’s a bump and not a pot it will be easier! Working in the sports industry teaching Muay Thai and Yoga I feel I have to be a role model AND then I remember I’m pregnant and it’s really ok! Having spent as long as I can remember doing competitive sports I have always been super fit and now doing a few walking lunges I feel slightly out of breath!

Why is this?

During pregnancy, our cardiovascular system changes dramatically. It is said that the blood volume can increase by nearly half, this means the heart has a much harder job during pregnancy and even more so in exercise. The heart has to pump a lot harder and faster this is even when the body is in a resting state. As a result, this can cause breathlessness and dizziness as the blood pressure is usually lower during pregnancy too.

Training at 16 weeks

I am fully aware that my body is no longer a body of a fighter but that of a mother to be. I can no longer push my body to the extreme and as a Muay Thai fighter, I have lost count of how many times I’ve ignored pain, injuries and just pushed through. It’s so different now, I want to continue to train but I know I now have to listen and listen well. It’s not just my body I am sharing with my baby and for the next 5 months or so it is their home as much as it is my body. With this in mind, I know that along the way there will be things I need to adapt of perhaps stop altogether. In the last 2 weeks, I have had to adapt only one thing but everything else I am just going with the flow for now.

Exercise

When it comes to exercise I am not your average kind of girl, well that would be boring right?! I like to punch, kick, knee and elbow things, I like to stand on my head and turn my body into a human like a pretzel, hang upside down from a hoop or aerial silks so all in all pretty normal, right?! I still want to continue with all my desired sports but do understand what I do is possibly a little extreme at times for someone who is pregnant!

Listening to my body, it’s hard but ESSENTIAL!

I am still continuing with my strength and conditioning and aerial still seems to be comfortable.  Muay Thai is still accessible but this week I found throwing my right knee felt a little odd, not uncomfortable just odd! No problems at all with boxing. My yoga practice needed to be altered slightly this week, only with one pose. Cobra pose just didn’t seem to feel right lying on my tummy, but I adapted and continued with my flow. Apart from that, the last two weeks have been comfortable and training is good for now……..

Slowly catching up!

I am currently 25 weeks so we are slowly catching up! Please feel free to write any comments below, I’d love to hear what you have to say. 🙂

Don’t forget you can follow me on social media – Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Check the homepage for links, or you could always join me at any of my Muay Thai or Yoga classes. Contact me for more information via the website.

I hope you’re enjoying my pregnancy journey,

Sheree 🙂