30 weeks & another 30 day challenge

My body certainly *seems* ready for baby but my house? My schedule? My BRAIN??  Not so much.  Time has just flown by and it doesn't seem like many minutes pass between the "publish" click and the "write a new post" click in these weekly updates.

I've managed to stay on top of my fitness throughout my pregnancy and although I've gained more weight at this point than I would have expected (with still 10 weeks to go!), I feel fantastic and overall I am pretty confident that I will bounce back to my normal self in no time if I stick with it.  I don't own a scale and have never obsessed or even thought about the numbers I see there on doctor visits (the only time I know how much I weigh), unless it surprises me. It's really relative though, isn't it?  Our image of ourselves is far worse than what anyone sees so really it should be about how you feel, how your clothes fit and how good you feel about yourself.  The "number" has a tendency to skew that perspective and normally, for the worse.  So why bother with that?  I like to see the muscle tone in my quads when I pass a mirror or a slight chisel in my shoulders in random photos rather than what number pops up on the scale. 

So having said all that, I realized that I wanted to work on that muscle tone some more.  With running and biking coming off of the equation and those two types of exercises being what I depended on most to keep my legs in great shape (especially cycling), I've taken up a new challenge.  What the heck.

My friends are doing a squat challenge that seemed absolutely crazy to me (and my knees would concur). The number of daily reps just seemed like a recipe for injury, in my opinion, and one that my body would not respond well to as I know from experience.  The one I have started is put together by Rebekah Borucki. I follow her on Instagram (that thing again?) and she is quite the go-getter. She's a mother of 4, wife, business owner and mostly a great motivator to get moving in the right direction with healthy lifestyle habits.  She has an awesome website filled with blog posts and videos on meditation, yoga exercises, recipes and basically all things to help get you to a "truly, happy, healthy and fulfilled life" via her "Blissed In Network" Check her out here ---> www.Bexlife.com   This is the squat challenge I'm working on now.

http://www.bexlife.com/2013/07/30-day-squat-challenge-giveaway-squatwithbex/

So here's the update for the week before another week has passed me by...my hubby (and #1 supporter of my fitness regimen) has been pulling a crazy work schedule so it's kept me away from some of my "normal" routine while he travels.  My challenges have not been 100% consistent but playing catch up keeps me on track where I end up doubling up or spend extra time practicing.

M - Hubby out - Yoga challenges for Day 22 & 23

T - Hubby out - Off - Math and Reading with big kiddos

W - Aerial Tone at lunch, Day 24 Yoga challenge & Master Swim in the evening.

1500M

WU 800 (same as usual)

400 3,5,6 breath intervals

200 BR

100 EZ free (cut workout short for nephew's going away dinner)

TH - Day squat challenge - 25 + 1.03 plank, Day 25 yoga challenge and practice of Day 26

F - 30 squats, 1:07 plank and day 26 practice

S - 35 squats, 1:03 plank

S - 40 squats, Yoga Challenges Day 26, 27 & 28 (forgot my plank! ah!) - spent the day at water park type resort which kept me walking, climbing stairs and lugging my teletubby body in and out of tubes...THAT was a workout (and a quite a sight!)

Taking Flight

Every time I tell someone about my Aerial class, the reaction is usually the same..."what is that?".  I try my hardest to explain it but the  best real life reference that *most* people can get a visual of is when I mention Pink.  Not the color, rather the singer with amazing abs that usually flies through the audience during her concerts.  Of course, I have to quickly tone it down to explain that is NOT exactly what I am doing which is where it becomes a little difficult to describe without visual aids and I start looking like a monkey trying to describe some of the things we do.

Aerial Yoga, Anti-Gravity Yoga, Aerial Fitness, Aerial Arts, Aerial Fabrics, Aerial Silks, Aerial Dance...whatever you call it, they all have one thing in common - Aerial.  In the air, baby!  Depending on the studio, instructor & class you'd see a combination of techniques from Yoga, Pilates, Calisthenics, Gyrokinesis and Acrobatic moves integrated throughout any given workout.  I have been following Pink! for some time now and after she mentioned (and thanked) Dreya Webber for training her, I knew I wanted to learn more.  Dreya Webber is an aerialist and one of my "personal" work out buddies in the P90X videos so I was familiar with the name. ;)  She is strong, lean and shows amazing grace (and posture!) while doing her workouts.  Why wouldn't I want to learn more about this?  Well over a year ago, I did some research on this and even "pinned" some pictures on Pinterest as motivator to find a class and do it one day. It seemed to be on the very early side of a trend then since it wasn't something that was readily available in most cities to the layman (i.e you and me) but celebrities were starting to dote about how much they loved the practice and that's usually all it takes for it to start sprouting everywhere. Case in point, AntigravityYoga , developed by Christopher_Harrison (with many Broadway accolades) has many locations throughout the country now and their site even has information on franchising. (Check them out!...I plan to visit them when we travel to Manhattan this summer.)

I found that the ONLY place in Houston that this is available at is Vault/GyrotonicHouston.  As I mentioned here, I pulled the sample week class and was all geared up to attend and the schedule never panned out for me to make it.  (I had an infant at the time, a very active tournament baseball playing son and was gearing to get back to work among other things).  After that, Aerial lost its traction in my mind and was a faded memory until I went to the Pink concert earlier this year and it sparked me once again to look up the latest  schedule at Vault.  I was lucky enough to catch it in time so that I can set it on my radar for the following month. Coincidentally, my sister (a Yogi herself) posted a picture of herself on FB doing some pretty amazing aerial tricks with a friend of hers.  I knew fate was in the cards that I could not let this pass me up again.

So, here we are.  I attended the sample Aerial Fabrics class with a coworker a few weeks ago.  It was merely a sample so we only got to learn some basic locks, wraps and terminology but did get to flip over a time or two (super cool!).  Due to that fact that I am pregnant now, I knew that I would have to look at modifications if I wanted to pursue this as an exercise regimen. Particularly since  this class required a 6 week commitment (each class builds on itself by learning new techniques).

I tried their other class "Aerial Tone", which is more of a drop in class that can be taken anytime, and knew that I had found the right fit for me (for the time being) until post baby when I can really explore the Fabrics and actually take "flight".  In Tone, we do more muscle strengthening and conditioning that most aerialists need in order to do the performances and routines that they do up "there" by using an aerial hammock. Honestly, it's quite deceiving...it starts off kind of slow with dainty stretches but I assure you, using that hammock as a resistance band makes it is a FULL body workout, everything was burning by the end and child's pose and laying in the hammock in "corpse" pose was a welcomed relief!

I am now 4 classes into Tone and I see myself making this a twice a week routine until my belly won't allow it (which gauging from the last baby was well into my 8th month...fingers crossed that this will be the case this go 'round too!).  I feel myself (already) getting stronger, toner, more flexible and dare I say...taller?  My back feels incredible relief in some of the stretches that we perform and my spine feels realigned after every class.  Enough that I feel the need to continue my stretches and yoga poses beyond class (and see improvement!).  I'll have another post on the Instagram Yoga Challenge my daughter and I have been dabbling with every night later.

Speaking of my daughter, she has been begging to join me at one of my classes.  She's seen some of the pictures and wants nothing more than to partake in the action (can you blamer her?).  They have a kids class on Saturdays that I am considering turning that into a "mom and me" time with her but before I dive into that, I brought her to my last Tone class as an observer and to talk to the instructor about more.

Here are some of the fun things she did and let's just say, she was a natural and totally hooked!!

10 year old goes Aerial

And here are some of the exercises that work the legs, arms, abs and bum (usually all at once).

The plank (top right) is killer.  That's usually incorporate with crunching and twisting side to side at the END of the workout. Ooof!

And finally, here are some of the awesome stretches and fun stuff I got to partake in with my daughter, that in itself was priceless. :)

I love the "Giselle" on the bottom left to open and stretch the hip and back.

I feel great doing all these moves even with the baby (although the bump is barely noticeable in these pics).  I was inverted for very short periods (just for pics and fun, really) and the ab workouts were modified to be less intense.  In fact, while I was rest/cool down mode in the pod or "corpse position" I felt the little fella kick quite a bit, he must have been doing his own somersaults!

A great place to chill (and potentially get motion sick if you stay too long, I've heard!)

I'll leave you with my inspiration for all this flying stuff...Pink performing 'Glitter in the Air' at her concert in Houston, TX earlier this year:

Another beginning

Seeing as this will be my last pregnancy, I thought this a good a time as ever to start this.  I hesitated one too many times with my last pregnancy and before I  knew it, I was working on post-baby fitness and getting my body "back". Perhaps it will be something I will continue post baby this go round too just to keep me on track and accountable with staying fit while trying to run a household of 6.

I was on a pretty regular program (though not regimented) of running, cycling and occasional P90x videos peppered in for abs, arms and leg toning.  That is until I started feeling bleh.  That is the best way to describe it really. It wasn't morning sickness per se it was more of just feeling yuck all day.  And that feeling, is just not conducive to wanting to exercise.  It completely zapped my energy.  

What I have learned in the last few years (usually the hard way) is that when I stop exercising because I have no energy, I feel WORSE.  I become sluggish, moody and my body just starts to feel achy all over.  This realization (every time I have it) is when the difficult transition BACK into some sort of routine takes place.  The eye opening experience of "wow, I lost so much strength and endurance in just 6 weeks!" and "ugh, I have to start all over again!" takes place and then you get your butt in gear to make the change.

So that's where I am at.  I'm 16 weeks pregnant and into my 2nd week of getting my butt in gear.  I started easy with a family bike ride.  My husband was so concerned that I was still in the "bleh" zone and kept asking "are you ok?, how are you feeling? do you want to head back or keep going?" After just a half mile I was responding "GO, GO, GO!!!" The immediate satisfaction of feeling the slightest of burn in the quads while pushing down on the pedals was not something I was not willing to give up so soon.

We did the P90X arm/shoulder workout a couple of nights later and the soreness that followed for the next couple of days was all I needed to get me back IN the mode. 

My company sponsors a weekly lunchtime Yoga class that I seem to always forget about or forget to pack my clothes and mat for.  I was geared up last week, went and felt renewed. I also tried an Aerial Fabric class that a local dance studio/fitness center offers "Vault/Gyrotonic Houston".  I've had my eye on this for well over a year when they had their "sampler" week between 6 wk class sessions.  I had it in my calendar last Spring but with my son's crazy baseball schedule and having a few month old, I couldn't get away to try any of the classes and missed out.

That wasn't about to happen to me again this year!  I've been checking on them periodically and when sampler week came around, I jumped on it...lucky for me it wasn't during the "bleh" period.  Haha.  I was also lucky enough that a coworker (who coordinates the office Yoga class) was also looking at the classes and we happen to find a night that worked to go together.  Buddy system!  Bonus!

It was fun, different and definitely something I'd like to commit to later on but my interest was caught and  focused on an "Aerial Tone" class they offer on class by class basis. It combines Pilates, Yoga and Gyrotonic moves for a full body conditioning and strengthening workout using an aerial hammock. 

I spoke with the studio owner to discuss my pregnancy and possible workout modifications (if necessary) and was happy to hear that she was not in the common camp of "alarmists".  People who quickly think that because you are pregnant, you should halt and avoid all things active and become sedentary.  As with all exercise, you should listen to your body FIRST.  If it doesn't feel right, stop.  I haven't always listened to my body but that was usually during runs when my IT Band flared up or my knee felt "off".  When there's a baby on board, listening comes first.

Her response quickly led me to take her class on both days this week. My schedule wouldn't permit a workout any other time this week so getting it in while I could was optimal.  ...and quite frankly, it was worth it!  I highly recommend looking for these type classes as a way to "shake things up" with your workouts.  

I also managed to drag the kids to the club on Sunday evening so that I can get a swim in.  It has been almost a YEAR since I've been in the pool and honestly, I was nervous.  It is not like riding a bike.  Breathing is well...essential and not my forte in swimming.  I struggled at first but managed to get 40 laps in with the kids cheering me on while sitting on the ledge. Yay!

I am well on my way to getting ultra baby fit with baby #4 if I keep this up!

Here's a progress picture of the barely bump at week 16...sorry for the graininess...it was dark and everyone was sleeping... :)