In case you hit them from my article title, I will spend the next nine months sharing my fitness experience through pregnancy and on the way back to competition.
In the beginning, when I knew I wanted to try to have a baby, many thoughts flew through my head: how long should I be out of competition, how long will it take me to get back in shape, will I be able to train as much as I can during pregnancy, is this the right time for me to try to start a family? The more I thought about it and the more people I talked about, the more I realized that it would never be the “perfect” time to start a family and if I waited to compete indefinitely I might never have the family I dreamed of.
Over the next nine months, I will share my fitness and nutritional experience from pre-conception to birth. Then I will continue to share with you my journey from the beginning. Thank you so much for reading!
Period Before Conception
Wanting to meet my goals, I decided to continue with my strict fitness regime; anyway, I changed my diet a bit. I decided to stop taking creatine and add carbs to my daily intake because I was afraid that with a lower percentage of body fat I would have problems conceiving. I had no reason to believe I was at risk of infertility, but I wanted to be sure that everything I did would not have a bad effect on my attempts to get pregnant. Here is an example of my daily routine and diet plan:
Monday
- 10 minutes warm-up
- stretching
- plyometrics
- abs
- stretching for 10-15 minutes
Tuesday:
Morning
- Upper body training
- 3-4 series of 10 lifts to the chin
- 3-4 series of 12 sitting lifts
- 3-4 sets of 12 wide lat pulldown
- 3-4 series of 12 benders with a lifting belt
- 3-4 series of 12 chest ejections
- 3-4 series of 12 even with ejection belt
- 3-4 sets of 12 chest flying exercises
Afternoon:
- cardio, stomach
- 30 minutes of cardio, 50 sit-ups, and stretching
- Rowing
Wednesday:
- In the morning: cardio, stretching
- 30 minutes of cardio and stretching
- Afternoon: upper body training
- 3-4 sets of 12 triceps-pushing down
- 3-4 sets of 12 triceps throw backward
- 3-4 series of 12 alternative folds
- 3-4 series of 12 folds with a straight bar
- 3-4 series of 12 supersets of front and rear lateral lifts
- 3-4 series of 12 standing elevations
- 3-4 sets of 12 exercises on a deltoid machine
- 2 series of 25 abs on the machine
- 2 sets of 25 on each side of the sloping abs
- Bicep bend
Thursday:
- Afternoon: lower body training
- 3-4 series of 12 leg extensions
- 3-4 series of 12 horizontal leg folds
- 2 series of 25 deadlifts with straight legs
- 2 sets of 25 exercises on the abdication machine
- 2 sets of 25 exercises on the abdication machine
- 2-4 series of 15,15,15 lifts for sheets on the floor
- 3-4 series of 20 walking turns
- 3-4 sets of 20 squats or machine exercises
- 3 steps with 50 repetitions on each side
- In the evening: cardio, stomach
- 30 minutes of cardio, 50 sit-ups, and stretching
Friday:
- Afternoon:
- 2 series of 25 abs on the machine
- 2 series of 25 oblique abs on each side
- 30-40 minutes of cardio
- stretching
- or
- plyometrics
- In the evening: cardio, stretching
- 30 minutes of cardio and stretching
Saturday:
Choose one exercise for each body part and do it until canceled. Use free matching weights (so you can get at least 10 reps but no more than 12)
- 30-40 minutes of cardio
- stretching for 15-20 minutes
- or
- 2 series of 25 abs on the machine
- 2 series of 25 oblique abs on each side
- 30-40 minutes of cardio
- stretching
Sunday:
Rest
* use free appropriate weights (so you can do your sets properly) and rest on average the same between sets (maintain a high heart rate, but that you can lift weights with proper movement)
* if you have time to warm up for 10 minutes and stretch before each workout it would be ideal, but I usually don't have time. On days when I don’t have time to warm up, I try to start with lighter weights like warming up and then do three stronger sets and stretch between sets!
Breakfast:
- 1 egg and 4 egg whites and one serving of salsa
- or half a portion of oatmeal
- or 2 servings of dry flakes (with less sugar)
- grape juice
- 0.3-0.5 liters of soy milk
- Snack
- protein shake
Lunch:
- 100g grilled / or roasted (chicken breast, steak, pork leg, or fish)
- 2-4 servings of fresh vegetables
- 1/2 brown rice or sweet potato
- or (as I eat for dinner)
- Snack:
- protein bar
Dinner:
- salad
- low-fat side dishes
- 100g grilled / or roasted (chicken breast, steak, pork leg, or fish)
- 1/2 brown rice or sweet potato
- or (as I eat for lunch)
