Pssst! Remember – I am not a medical practitioner. This post is in no way meant as a substitute for medical advice. Check with your OB, midwife, or doctor about training throughout your pregnancy to ensure the safety of you and your baby!

Oh Dear Dangler, now the fun really begins!!! The bad news is that this trimester can be tough – you’re heavy, might feel uncomfortable, and pee whenever you sneeze. BUT – take heart! You’re almost there, and will finally meet the prankster who’s been tap dancing on your spleen for the past few months.

You’re Enormous – Embrace It

• Your boobies are gigantic. Seriously – they’re huge. You’re sporting about 3-4 lbs of extra breast tissue! Enjoy those gorgeous curves!
• You feel heeeeeeeeeeavy. Baby, placenta, amniotic fluid, larger breasts and uterus, extra fat stores, and increased blood and fluids equal an extra 25-40 lbs of fabulousness!
• More frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. They feel a little funny, but shouldn’t hurt.
• Backache fun! As those hormones relax the joints in your pelvis, your back gets to pick up the slack. But here’s the great news – your back is so nice and strong from doing aerial work, you may avoid this issue completely! Those abs you thought were ruined (they’re not) are also lifting and holding that baby up, sharing the load with your back. You are a badass!
• Shortness of breath! Friend, there’s just no more room in there for your lungs to expand like they used to, so while you’re hauling around an extra 30 lbs, you’ll be huffin’ and puffin’ like a choo choo train. This is not an indication that you’re somehow getting “less strong”, it’s just crowded in there!
• Heartburn! Your sweet behbeh might now be pushing your stomach out of position, resulting in stomach acid creeping up where it shouldn’t.
• Swelling up like a balloon! Also, spider veins, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids. There are tons of extra fluids you’re body’s dealing with, so your veins are working overtime. Pressure on your intestines may also slow down your digestion, resulting in some (ahem) “straining”. Don’t do that. Make friends with prunes.
• Peeing every 30 freakin’ minutes. Also? All that pressure on your bladder may cause you to leak urine when you laugh or sneeze. One word: KEGELS! Again, aerial work to the rescue! You very likely have a nice, strong pelvic floor since you’re used to keeping everything (and I do mean everything) tight in the air. Continue to keep those muscles nice and vise-like by doing Kegel exercises – the vaginal workout of champions! Panty liners can also help.

How It Affects Your Training

• Heavy – you’ll move and work more slowly and deliberately. This probably goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: now is the time to stay nice and close to the ground so you can dismount quickly and safely when you need to. Remember – training should feel GOOD and be safe!
• Bump in the way – it’s kind of hard to avoid now! Work around it as best you can. Wrap things from the floor, and see what kind of variations you can create! You may find something really wonderful!
• Balance wonky – don’t underestimate how off-kilter you may feel right now. Your body proportions have changed RAPIDLY, and you need to work slowly and consciously. For myself, I actually had phenomenal balance while I was pregnant – I think having more in front helped to balance out what was already in back!
• Remember to breathe! Timing your breathing to your movement can help here (arm up – inhale, wrap around – exhale, etc).
• Stay active. Staying physically active during a normal, healthy pregnancy is GREAT! Helps move all those fluids around, keep muscles strong and gorgeous, may improve chances of an easy delivery, and will make you feel great!

Here are three exercise videos I loved during pregnancy – I found most to be so ridiculously easy it was laughable. These (especially the Steben videos) are total butt whoopers! In case you don’t know, you can see the Steben twins in the Saltimbanco Cirque du Soleil video  – they’re the swinging trap duo.

1. The Perfect Pregnancy Workout Volume 1 (weight training)
2. The Perfect Pregnancy Workout Volume 2 (yoga based)
3. 10 Minute Solution: Prenatal Pilates

Assess your training with your coach, and play it super safe!!!! Love and pull-ups, Laura

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