Exercise Guidelines for a Healthier Pregnancy and Postpartum Recovery

 

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Can you picture maintaining your fitness routine while feeling empowered and energized throughout pregnancy? In this episode of Embrace Your Real, join me as I dive into how staying active can ease common symptoms like fatigue and swelling, while boosting both mental health and circulation. Bonus points: I will share tips for adjusting your routine during the first trimester, including how to embrace energy fluctuations.

 

I’ll also cover the importance of strengthening your core and pelvic floor, using gentle movements like diaphragmatic breathing and pelvic tilts + so much more

 

I also discuss:

 

(00:00) Staying Active During Pregnancy

(11:10) Building Strong Core and Pelvic Floor

(16:04) Second Trimester Exercise and Posture

(29:17) Exercise Guidelines During Pregnancy

(35:30) Embracing Your Authentic Beauty

 

And more!

 

If you want more from me, be sure to check out...

 

Follow me on Instagram: @juliealedbetter | @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie

Movement With Julie | App: https://sale.movementwithjulie.com/

Macro Counting Made Simple Online Academy: https://www.macrocountingmadesimple.com/

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Get my eBook: FREE Macro Counting Ebook

Amazon Storefront: Julie Ledbetter's Amazon Page


Transcript:

[00:00:00] Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with Me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you with each episode and issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for. [00:00:12]

[00:00:12] Building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. [00:00:17]

[00:00:18] Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get hands, girl. [00:00:21]

[00:00:28] Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your podcast. Today's episode is for all my ladies who are pregnant or want to just simply get educated on what fitness looks like during pregnancy. I know that there is so much advice out there, like what you can do, what you can't do pregnant, especially when it comes to exercise. But let me tell you, staying active during pregnancy is not only safe, but it is amazing for both you and your baby. You can absolutely work out throughout all three trimesters. And I kind of just want to take today's episode to break it down for you. And so that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to go over kind of what type of exercises are great, what to avoid and how to adjust as your body changes. But before we dive in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Ash Rosemary. She gave a five star review and said, I love it. This is the first podcast I've ever loved. This helps keep me motivated and I learned so much. All the small changes have slowly led to big changes that sustainable. I look forward to each and every episode. I love that. I'm so honored that this is one of the first podcasts that I've ever loved. As always, my goal on this podcast is to educate, empower and encourage you in some way, shape or form. And so if my episodes or this podcast in general is doing that for you or has done that for you, I just ask that you scootch over to Apple Podcasts. If you have an Apple device and you can type in, embrace your role and first make sure you subscribe so that you never miss an episode. We release them on Monday and Thursdays. And then also, if you could spread the message, I would love for you to share this podcast with 1 to 3 friends or family or people in your circle that you think would benefit from this podcast in general or a specific episode. If you listen to one and you think of somebody, you can, you know, screenshot it and posted up on your story and be sure to tag embrace her real. Or you could linked directly to the podcast or just simply text the podcast episode or general podcast to your friends and family that would help so, so much. All right. So let's dive into today's podcast and I want to kind of get nitty gritty about why exercising during pregnancy is so beneficial, right? Staying active during pregnancy can really help to manage common symptoms like fatigue, swelling and the inevitable aches and pains as your body is going through a huge change, a beautiful change, but a huge change. Not only does exercise good for your mental health, but it also can boost your physical health, your mood. It can help you sleep better. It can help your energy levels. I mean, there are so, so, so many benefits to exercise and just movement while pregnancy plus regular exercise really does improve circulation, which is great for reducing the chances of things like varicose veins, blood clots. Strengthening your muscles is also key because it helps support the extra weight that you're carrying and make labor and delivery smoother and post-baby. Not only does it help with your mental health, my goodness, does it help with your mental health? But it can help so, so much with recovery, especially if you've been able to maintain some muscle throughout your pregnancy. If you want to learn more about kind of the benefits and understand them in depth. I just did an episode recently on the podcast. It's episode 473, and that podcast title is Five Myths that Need to Be Busted about Fitness during Pregnancy. So I will go ahead and link that in the show notes that you can easily go tune in to that If that is something that sparks your interest and you want to learn more about. But now that we've kind of recap the benefits, let's dive into kind of how to navigate your fitness journey during each trimester. So the first trimester, this is the period that you ease into it, right? The first trimester is unique because your body is doing a lot behind the scenes, which results in feeling tired, nauseous or just plain off. And if that's the case, don't stress it. I want you to listen to your body. I want you to take it easy when you need to. However, in your first trimester, if you're filling up to it, getting some movement can actually help so incredibly much with those early pregnancy symptoms. But the main thing that you need to focus on during this transitional time is really just listening to your body. And this is hands down the most important advice, not just for the first trimester, but really throughout your entire pregnancy. Like I said, your body is going through so many changes, especially in the beginning, and those can really affect how you feel from one day to the next, right? And one day you might feel like your total normal self, but the next day you wake up, you're exhausted, you're dizzy or queasy, all of those things. That is totally normal. And that's why it's so important to tune in to your body, right? If you're feeling tired, if you're feeling lightheaded, this is really your body's way of telling you, hey, I need a break. So don't feel bad. Don't feel guilty about scaling back. It's completely okay. In fact, I encourage you to really listen to your body. Take it easy, especially during those workouts or just those times. You cannot even imagine yourself getting up to move your body. There is no need to try to compare what your body and like what your routine was pre-pregnancy to. Now it's not going to do any good. It's only going to make you feel guilty and it's not going to allow you to live in the moment and actually focus on the beautiful mare. All that your body is doing, and that's creating a frickin human being. Right? I just want to remind you that there's no need to push yourself to keep up with that pre-pregnancy routine, especially if it doesn't feel good any more. For example, if you normally, you know, previously, prior to getting pregnant, was doing consistent, intense cardio sessions. But now you're finding you're struggling to find the energy. I want to encourage you switch it up or do something gentler like a walk. You know, prenatal yoga, you can do Pilates, you can do a hike, you can just do a jog outside, whatever it is. But on the days that you just feel too tired at all, I just want to encourage you and remind you that it is a-OK to just simply rest and give your body what it needs. And that skipping that workout, that is entirely fine, right? The goal is not perfection. The goal is to keep your body active in a way that feels good. And sometimes that actually means that you need to give yourself permission to slow down. But I will say, if you were someone who did high intensity workouts before pregnancy, that doesn't mean that you have to give them up right away. In fact, if you feel up to it, you can absolutely keep doing them throughout the first trimester. But again, the key is to listen to your body. Again, I'm going to be saying this throughout the entire podcast and make the necessary adjustments as needed if you need to dial it down. If you are feeling nauseous, if you're feeling drained, if you're feeling out of breath, this might be a sign just to dial down the intensity in that workout. Maybe you only, do, you know, a 20 minute workout or use lighter dumbbells if you were previously doing, you know, hard dumbbell workouts. You're doing my app and you're doing the full workouts, you're pushing yourself in your weights. It is okay to take a step back and say, okay, I'm either going to do both. I mean, they're going to do, you know, the 20 or 30 minute workout, and I'm going to do just try to listen to my body or I'm going to do the 60 minute if you have it in you and I'm just going to use super light dumbbells. It is so, so important, again, to just listen to your body. And this is why I always have lower impact versions as well. So for example, on like the cardio days or a movement that involves impact, if you are just like, Man, I'm feeling super nauseous, the last thing I want to do is jump up and down, opt for the lower impact. It is totally, totally okay. And I will say that I personally did the majority of movement with Julie weekly workouts all the way up until well into my third trimester. Now I will go through kind of some options and some adjustments that you can make for certain movements in your second trimester, you know, the end of your first trimester into your second trimester, and especially as you get into your third trimester. But you can totally do the majority of weekly workouts inside the app. Now, with that being said, I'll mention this at the end, but we are releasing a pregnancy program. It is taking a little bit longer simply because we have over 800 videos that we filmed when I was pregnant. And so this is really going to be beneficial for you if you are pregnant or plan to be pregnant in the future. It's going to be a program inside the moment with Julie App. If you are an active subscriber, you get free access to it. It's not going to be an additional charge. Our plan over the next few months is to just continue to develop new plans for you and those are going to just be options for you to switch to at any time at no additional cost if you're an active subscriber. So stay tuned for that. But in the meantime, if you are pregnant, just know that I personally did a lot of the weekly workouts inside the weekly app and I just again adjusted them as necessary as I progressed throughout my pregnancy. But I also want to encourage you to, again, just listen to your body, listen to what it is that you need for that day. So if that is, you know, using an alternate exercise, if that's using bands instead of dumbbells, or maybe you shorten the workout completely or maybe you're just, you know, my goal is to do 2 to 3 workouts this week, not 4 or 5 or six workouts. There are so many options to scale it back. You just have to pick what is best for you and kind of, you know, just listen to your body and listen to your body without guilt, because that is the number one thing that I have found that helped me was when I just released any guilt of trying to compare where I was to where I was pre-pregnancy. It helped me so much to not only live in the moment and appreciate what my body was doing, but it actually gave me permission to just move my body in the way that felt good that day instead of judging it. If you again are unsure of kind of the intensity of workout. So if you're going back to like the high intensity workouts or strength training workouts, if you still want to be pushing yourself, you still feel pretty good. A good rule of thumb is the torque test, right? If you can hold the conversation without getting winded, you're probably working at a comfortable intensity level. And obviously this is going to vary day by day and that's okay. Some days you might feel great and up for more intensity, while other days, you know you're just going to go for a short or long walk. You might be you might want to do some yoga or stretching mobility. That might be. A better option. But again, the most important thing is to avoid pushing to the point of exhaustion. Your body's energy right now, especially in your first trimester, is going towards growing a baby. And that's totally normal to ease up on your workouts. All right. So the next thing I want to talk about and focus on for the first trimester is your core and pelvic floor strengthening your core and pelvic floor. Early on in pregnancy or if you're listening to this and you want to be pregnant in the future but you're not yet, I will tell you, hands down, one of the best things I did was really focus on strengthening my pelvic floor prior to pregnancy because it's one of the best things that you can do to support your body as it grows this little human inside of you and prepares you for labor, right? Your core is really going to be working overtime. And as your belly expands, having a strong pelvic floor is going to help carry the extra weight in delivery and also speed up your recovery postpartum. The good news is that you can, again, really start working on these areas right away. And these exercises don't have to be intense or complicated to be effective when it comes to core work. I will say that you will want to avoid traditional crunches or sit ups as those can really put unnecessary strain on your abdominal muscles, which already is starting to stretch and shift. Let me repeat that again. You really want to avoid those traditional crunches or sit up? So instead, I want to encourage you to focus on gentle core movements that really engage your deep abdominal muscles without putting too much pressure on them. So I want you to think of things like diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic tilts, cat cow stretches, bird dogs, dead bugs, those exercises and movements. Those will help to gently activate your core muscles in a safe way. And these movements will not only help to strengthen that pelvic floor, but they're also going to help improve your posture, prevent back pain and support your growing belly. And then for really your pelvic floor, these muscles, if you are just this is kind of going to get nitty gritty into the public floor. But the pelvic floor itself is these muscles that help to support your uterus, your bladder, your bowel and keep them strong not only during pregnancy, but especially postpartum. And this can really prevent common issues like the urinary incontinence, which is, you know, one of the easiest things that you can do to help is to strengthen those muscles. And and again, using those pelvic tilts, Kakao stretches, bird dogs, heel slides, toe taps, knee ups, dead bugs. All of those are pelvic floor exercises that are so, so great. Glute bridges, just simple glute bridges, bodyweight glute bridges with, you know, a three second hold at the top. You can do club bridge abductions or you can also practice a key goal. Right? To do a key goal. You want to imagine you are trying to stop the flow of urine. And that right there, like if you sit right now and you try to stop the flow of urine and imagine yourself stopping the flow of urine, that is your pelvic floor muscle. So hold that contraction for a few seconds and then release. Right. You can really do key goals anywhere. And I know key goals are there's so many opinions about them. But and I will say that key goals can be very beneficial. But there's also so many other exercises that you can do to really help to strengthen that pelvic floor. But again, like I mentioned, aside from key goals, you can focus on deep breathing with that abdominal engagement, like really doing the diaphragmatic breathing. So when you inhale, let your belly fully expand and as you exhale, gently pull your belly button towards your spine. This is really going to help to strengthen your deep core muscles without putting additional pressure on your abs, Right. These small but powerful exercises. This is going to make a huge, huge difference as you move throughout your pregnancy and prepare for delivery. And also just me being postpartum. Now, I will tell you that hands down have changed my postpartum experience as well. The bottom line is that your core and pelvic floor are the absolute foundation of your strength during pregnancy. So it is not overrated. Building them up early, prior to pregnancy or at the beginning stages of pregnancy, especially in your first trimester. This is really going to help to support your body through all of the changes and challenges that come. And again, it's going to help to set you up for a smoother recovery post-baby. All right. So that is trimester one. A really I mean, when it comes to other movements, you can do the majority of all the other movements, you know, laying on your back. I would say, as you get to the end of first trimester for some laying on your back for long periods of time can get uncomfortable. But really for a lot of people, that doesn't come until second trimester. So again, your training might look different in terms of the amount of time that you do it, the, you know, the amount of workouts that you're doing on a weekly basis and the intensity. But in terms of the movements for the majority of them, aside from due to traditional set ups and crunches, you can pretty much stay consistent with the movements that you were doing prior to pregnancy. The second trimester is often called the golden period of. Pregnancy because many women really start to feel like themselves again. I will tell you, just speaking from experience, I remember people telling me, hey, once you enter your second trimester, you're going to have days where you forget you're pregnant. And I'm telling you, in the midst of a first trimester nausea, I was like, there is literally no way that I'm going to forget that I'm pregnant. And I'm telling you they're right. There were days in my second trimester, and in fact, there were weeks in my second trimester where I sometimes we forget I was pregnant, honestly, until I looked in the mirror and then I'm like, yeah, I have I have a baby in my belly. But there were it was it was amazing. It was the honeymoon period. It was that golden period. Like, your energy levels will likely start to stabilize. Your nausea tends to ease up. Your growing belly is just starting to show. And so, you know, you feel like. Q Well, this is kind of the time also where you're like, okay, nothing for pregnancy actually really fits yet. So like your actual pregnancy clothes or maternity clothes, they don't really quite fit yet, but then your pre-pregnancy clothes don't fit. So on the clothing side of things, that can be a little bit difficult. But everything else, man, I'm telling you, the second trimester is great and this is a perfect time to really get consistent again with your workouts, but of course with some modifications. So kind of what should we be focusing on during our second trimester posture, posture, posture. It is so important and it's super easy to let your posture slip as your belly grows. And as annoying as it is to have you be thinking about posture on a daily basis, it will lead to discomfort, especially in your lower back if you are not being kind to it. So during both your workouts and your everyday activities, I want you to be paying crucial attention to your alignment, strengthening your back and shoulders as well as your pelvic floor. This is a great way to counterbalance the extra weight that you're carrying in your belly, and this will help to prevent that back pain, right? Exercises like seated rows, back rows, reverse wise, gentle chest openers. Those are a great and excellent way to maintain that good posture. And by focusing on your posture now, you're also setting yourself up for fewer aches and pains as your pregnancy progresses. So as you'll notice, a common theme throughout all trimesters focus on core and pelvic floor. I cannot repeat this enough like it is so, so important to continue to focus on that pelvic floor strengthening and and just know that it's going to serve you long term. But it's important because as your uterus expands, it's time to modify kind of how you engage those muscles. And I'll get to that in a moment. But with your pelvic floor, those muscles are undergoing increasing stress. So by continuing to strengthen those muscles during the second trimester, this is going to support your uterus and help you manage the growing pressure. Kegel exercises again, those remain a great option, but you can also incorporate other pelvic floor friendly exercises, like I mentioned earlier, like bedbugs, heel slides, pelvic tilts, bird dogs, deep squats, glute bridges. Strengthening those muscles now not only helps with comfort during pregnancy, but also, again, it's going to help to prepare you for delivery and recovery afterwards. So what are things that we need to avoid? Well, when it comes to your core workouts and really any exercise in general, you want to avoid exercises, especially as you get into your the later weeks of your second trimester is laying flat on your back for extended periods. And this is because your uterus is heavy enough that laying flat can actually compress the vena cava. This is the major vein responsible for returning blood to your heart. Right? This can cause dizziness or even reduce blood flow to your baby. So it's really best to avoid exercises that have you laying flat for longer than a few seconds. So instead, I want you to really focus on exercises that will allow you to have a slight incline. So inside my pregnancy program, I filmed so many exercises on the incline bench and I utilize the incline bench so much personally. So any time there was, you know, a lying chest press, a lying chest fly, I would just simply boost it to an incline. So I would do an incline chest fly an incline, chest press, incline, skull crushers, incline, tricep extension, incline, inner press, any exercise that is lying flat. And if you don't have an incline bench, there's a couple of other things that you could use, right? You could if you have one of those aerobic steps, you can use that and you can just put a towel to make it more comfy. So that will just help to slight slightly elevate you if you have stairs or if you have a couch that is low enough or if you have a cooler or something that will help you to incline. Even if you have a sweaty ball, which as you get into your third trimester, you're definitely going to want to invest in one of those sweat bars for bouncing and for rolling and just really relaxing that pelvic floor. But that can be great to incline your back for those exercises as well, propping yourself up with pillows, all of those things right there. Are tons of different ways that you can just mimic the incline without having a bench. But that's going to be so, so key, especially, like I said, as you go well into your second trimester, you're going to start to feel that it's hard for you to breathe when you're on. You're flying flat on your back for long periods of time and kind of like trimester one again, you want to avoid your crunches. And this just becomes it just becomes more serious in this trimester because your abdominal stretches to make room for that growing baby, which is going to put strain on your abdominal muscles. And this can really increase the risk of diabetes, says Recti, which is just simply a separation of the abdominal muscle wall. So instead of crunches, again focusing on things that gently engage your core without compressing your abs, like standing core work, pelvic tilts, the exercises that I mentioned earlier. And in terms of core workouts, again, you can do you can do some exercises that involve twisting at the waist, but just not to too much. So if, you know, instead of doing a dumbbell version, I would maybe switch back to a bodyweight version. Some people, they like to nix the twisting all together Again, Frank goes from person to person depending on your preference, but twisting movements, they can create unnecessary pressure on your abdominal muscles, which is already being pulled apart as your bump expands. So again, this is a person, a person. Some people, they still love to incorporate some twisting movements, but not all of them. Other people, they just, for example, they will completely next them out. So, for example, like a Russian twist and said you can do a side plank with modifications. This is simply going to work. You know, the same muscle without any twisting. So keeping your spine neutral and your movements controlled. This is also going to help to reduce the likelihood of that lower back pain, which can become more common, especially as your bump grows. And lastly, while you may still feel great again, it could be a good idea to avoid super high impact activities, especially if you weren't previously doing them when you became pregnant or if you are just feeling lightheaded or dizzy, like jumping, running things that's too jarring on your body. Again, there's some people that they run throughout their entire pregnancy. They were doing it pre-pregnancy. They had no issues during pregnancy. That's totally fine. So this is where really listening to your body is important. But these exercises could put additional stress on your joints, which you know, are already loosening up due to pregnancy hormones. So again, it kind of switching to a low impact alternate can be beneficial as well during pregnancy, especially as you enter the second and third trimesters, your body actually releases a hormone called relaxin, and Relaxin helps loosen your ligaments and joints to help to prepare for childbirth. But this also makes your body more vulnerable to injury. So high impact movements like jumping, sprinting for long periods of time, this could put an extra strain on your joints, which are again already more relaxed due to the hormonal changes. And these types of movements can also place, you know, too much pressure on your pelvic floor, which is already working overtime to support the increasing weight of your baby. Plus, as your pregnancy progresses, the extra weight that you're carrying can make high impact exercises very uncomfortable or even painful. So it's best to switch to low impact activities. So if you love more intense workouts, you can modify them just without the jarring impact. So, for example, instead of jumping during the exercise, you can do the step out version. Or if you love doing, you know, a high impact movement like running, stepping in place or just doing running for less periods of time. Again, you are going to want to check with your doctor. And this definitely matters if you are doing it pre-pregnancy. You know, obviously you don't want to be starting your running journey pregnant if you aren't previously doing that. So are listening to your body and then talking to your health care provider is so, so important. Okay. So that is kind of navigating fitness in your first and second trimester, second trimester in particular. So again, to kind of recap your second trimester, you're really going to be wanting to focus on those pelvic floor strengthening exercises as well as really switching any movement from laying on your back to an incline to just maintain that neutral spine. So whether you're propping yourself up on some pillows, a cooler, an incline bench, whatever it is, a Swiss ball that can be super beneficial. But other than that, the majority of your workouts will likely stay the same with some modifications, again with maybe low impact movements instead of high impact movements. Okay, so let's dive into trimester three. So by the third trimester things start to feel definitely a bit more challenging as your belly grows and your energy might dip again. This is also the time when staying active can help the most. Like, seriously, it's the period where movement can be the hardest, but it's also the period where movement is the best. So movement can really reduce swelling. It can help you sleep better. Which man? Nobody prepares you for that third trimester sleep regression. I am telling you, it is like I was sleeping so good in my second trimester and then boom, third trimester. And I'm like, Man, Lord, you are preparing me for childbirth because and for becoming a parent because that third trimester sleep is seriously very, very hard. But movement can help with that, can help you sleep better. It can help relieve some of that lower back pain if you have it. Plus, obviously, it's going to be great prep for labor and delivery. The key during this trimester is to focus on exercises that are comfortable for your body, to help you stay strong and mobile for to help you prepare for your labor and delivery. So mobility is going to be key. This is going to be some definitely something that once you hit about 36 to 37 weeks, you want to sweat really from strengthening your pelvic floor and you can really start to incorporate some pelvic relaxation movements, you know, starting at 34 weeks. But 36, 37 weeks, you for sure want to focus on relaxing that pelvic floor. And so not as much strengthening the pelvic floor. You likely have taken the majority of your pregnancy to strength of that pelvic floor. Now it's time to relax your pelvic floor. And that can happen through different pelvic floor relaxation movements. It can happen a lot through mobility. And so that's going to be key in terms of your pelvic floor. And also going back to kind of those, you know, impact movements, you can switch definitely to those lower impact movements. This is going to help so much in terms of just I mean, your body is changing so much, especially as your belly grows. It can feel really weird to jump in your third trimester like your bellies, like woo woo, and it just might not feel great. So cutting back to those lower impact versions and really focusing on mobility, pelvic floor relaxation, but strain training itself is still very beneficial, right? You are likely still wanting to use lighter weights. I mean, you can push yourself on some exercises that you feel good, but for the majority, at least for me, lighter weights and just keeping in mind that your center of gravity is shifting. So be mindful of balance in your movements. Avoid anything that feels unstable. Right? So again, if this is like step ups, for example, or lunges, don't be afraid to use your hand to support yourself, whether that's what the wall if you have a bench or something supporting yourself on those movements, unilateral movements to ensure that your balance is secure so that you are not risking injury when it comes to certain movements. But I will say staying strong and active during the third trimester will not only help you feel better physically, but it can also help to prepare your body for physical demands of childbirth. So even on the days that you might not want to stay active, at least trying to encourage yourself to go for a walk, engaging in some sort of work out whether that is mobility or that's a strength training dumbbell in the workout. I will tell you, towards the end of my pregnancy, I was about 2 to 3 times a week. I would say the majority, though, especially the last few weeks, it was like two dumbbell only workouts a week, very light weights, which is moving my body. And then daily I was just getting those steps in and having the walking pad and just walking for 2 to 3 miles a day at a very low and low speed. It helped so much mentally. It also helped so much physically. What helped so much was swelling, decreasing swelling, and then helping to salvage as much as I could in terms of sleep for that third trimester regression. But like I said, since your center of gravity is shifting exercises that really rely on balance like single leg movements, this can increase your risk of falling. So if you can, I would encourage you to modify those in your workouts. Again, like I mentioned, you can just simply put your hand on a wall. You can put a hand your hand on something for balance so that you are not increasing your risk of falling. And lastly, I just kind of want to share some general guidelines I recommend following throughout your entire pregnancy. So number one, before starting any exercise routine, please check in with your health care provider. Every pregnancy's different and they will give you advice based on your unique situation. Number two, it's important to drink plenty of water both before, during and after your workout. This is even more important during pregnancy because dehydration can cause dizziness and increase your heart rate. Number three, as your body changes, you're really going to want to switch up your workout clothes. I know this is very cliche, or it might be very surface level, but make sure that you're wearing those supportive sports bras and if your belly feels uncomfortable, look into ballet support bands, look into maternity leggings. There's two maternity leggings that I recommend. The first one is a spendy option. The second one is more affordable. Both of them are great. I will tell you the benefits of both. So the first one is the vitality maternity. I want to say they will run. They run like $90. $96 could be 70. So between 70 and $90 very spendy. But I will say that they are hands down so supportive on your back like they are so, so good. And though they will last you, I mean, if you if you plan to get pregnant in the future, hold on to them because they are definitely high, high quality. She loved the support band in the back. They're great. They also come in dark colors, which if you know you know, when you're pregnant, the last thing you want is to have, like, lighter colors on your glutes and your the back of your legs. Like, that's just not something, at least for me, that's not that was not my vibe. The second more affordable option is crazy yoga. They're on Amazon and they are maternity leggings. They have both the leggings maternity as well as joggers. I swore I lived in both of those. I lived in the joggers, like outside of my workouts. They were great. They were great quality. Definitely a thinner material, but so much more affordable. I want to say they ran like 29 to 36 bucks and they don't have the back support like the vitality leggings do. But they were great. And then in terms of supportive sports bras, I personally just stayed with my crazy yoga sports bras. They're like a Lulu dupe and you can get them on Amazon. They're great. All of these I'll link under my activewear on my Amazon storefront, but so, so great. I actually personally never looked into a belly support band, but I've heard that those can be great as well. Number four Pregnancy, just remember, is not the time to push your limits. If you feel dizzy, if you feel overly fatigued or something just feels off. I need to encourage you to stop and rest. Your body is working overtime to grow, baby, and it is okay to take it easy. Number five Keep an eye on your body temperature during exercise. Overheating can be very dangerous for both you and your baby. So make sure that you're working out in a very cool environment. Avoid super intense workouts, especially during the first trimester. Number six Breathing deeply and consistently is key, especially during your workouts. Avoid holding your breath during exercises, especially as your belly is growing, the lung capacity becomes more limited. So make sure that you are really focusing on breathing deeply and consistently throughout those workouts. And then obviously just in your day to day activity as well. And last but not least, just remember. Number seven. All in all, exercise is your best friend during pregnancy. It is going to look different. That is a-OK. It should look different. In fact, like if it doesn't look different, I would worry. Right? And so just give yourself grace. Try to do what you can with what you have and let that be enough. But also try your best to honor your body with movement. During pregnancy, I will just say, hands down, doing that for 40 weeks. I gave birth at 40 weeks and one day was the best decision that I made throughout my entire pregnancy. And yes, my workouts looked different. Yes, there were weeks and even months where my workouts were way so different than pre-pregnancy. But I made a commitment to honor my body with movement, some sort of movement on a daily basis. And that was key. That was so key in my pregnancy. I hope that you found this episode helpful. If you are pregnant, I wish you a safe and healthy and happy and blessed pregnancy. If you weren't active before pregnancy, it is. Just remember, it is not too late to start working out now. If you did work out prior to pregnancy, that is amazing. I want to encourage you to keep it up and continue with a workout plan. Continue with honoring your body with movement. Even if it looks a little bit different, you will literally thank yourself both as you progress into the third, you know, the last few weeks of pregnancy and postpartum recovery. You are going to thank yourself, are staying active with your workout plan. And I just want to remind you, if you are inside the moment when Juliana and you are pregnant, you can definitely do the majority of the movements. I would say up until about 30 to 33 weeks, again, with some modifications. So core movements, you really want to make sure that you're modifying to those pelvic floor strengthening exercises, which in the flex workouts I have a few pregnancy friendly exercise routines that you can just kind of swap out for core. And then when it comes to any of like jumping movements, you can always switch to an alternate if you need a bodyweight version. Instead switch to an alternate. And then for all the movements that are kind of laying on the floor, especially in that second trimester starting there, you're going to want to incline your back. So either investing in an incline bench is going to be very beneficial because not only will it help you during pregnancy, but postpartum and post-pregnancy, you'll have the incline bench to be able to do so many more moves or just simply elevating your back on pillows or Swiss ball. That's going to be amazing. But stay tuned. This fall we have our pregnancy program, I guess like I mentioned, so over 800 videos of pregnancy movements that I filmed when I was pregnant. And so we are working hard to make sure that that is an amazing resource for you. So stay tuned for that. That will be inside the moment with Julia community at no additional cost. If you are an active subscriber and if you want to learn more about my move with Julie group, you can go to sale that's elite at noon, which slate.com demo workouts for women. There's a 30 minute 60 minute. All you need is a few pair of dumbbells and a small space if you have a bench. Amazing. But I always give no bench alternates and I believe that it is possible to have an incredible pregnancy while still honoring your body with movement. Again, don't forget to tune in to episode 473. I will link that in the show notes below. Five Myths That Need to Be. I said about fitness during pregnancy, so I'll go ahead and link that below. But that is all that I have for today's episode. I hope again that you found this helpful and I will talk to you next one. [00:35:35]

[00:35:45] All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two. [00:35:49]

[00:35:49] Things that I need you to do. [00:35:50]

[00:35:51] First thing, if you are not already following me. [00:35:53]

[00:35:53] On the gram. Be sure to do so, Julie. A lot better. Yes, it's with a in the middle. [00:35:57]

[00:35:58] For that Daily Post account, real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest. [00:36:02]

[00:36:02] Accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second. [00:36:05]

[00:36:06] Thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never. [00:36:09]

[00:36:09] Miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the. [00:36:13]

[00:36:14] Absolute. [00:36:14]

[00:36:14] World. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life. [00:36:19]

[00:36:20] Are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so. [00:36:27]

[00:36:27] Much deeper. [00:36:28]

[00:36:28] Than the surface. So go out there and embrace real because you're worth it. [00:36:28]