Second Chance: Workout For Pregnant Women

My husband and I decided on our second child 2.5 years after the birth of our son Nikita. During my first pregnancy, I gained 17 kg, which were not outwardly visible, and on the day of discharge from the hospital weighed less than before pregnancy. True, during the feeding period, she quickly made up for the missing kilograms.

I came to the idea of ​​carefully planning a second pregnancy right after the first birth, when my doctor after the operation (the birth occurred exactly one month ahead of schedule) said that next time you need to prepare in advance in order to reduce the risk of such a situation recurring.

I decided to resume fitness classes in order to recover, albeit with a delay, after pregnancy and get involved in the training process. I started with the pool, because after giving birth there were problems with the veins. An hour of training - and the muscles are toned.

Then I added classes in the gym. I entered the rhythm for a long time, it turned out to be difficult to start after a long break, so we teamed up with a colleague, found a coach (wonderful Andrey Malshakov) and began to train in a team - this does not allow to relax. We were constantly cheering each other on and reaching out for each other.

Thanks to Andrey, I started to master functional training. Each lesson he came up with interesting ligaments, exercises, did not let him relax for a second. Then he literally hooked me on Nordic Walking! Scandinavian walking in Neskuchny Sad alternated with functional training on a crossfit site. Two minutes of rest - and we again walk along the paths. An hour and a half passed unnoticed.

The peculiarity of constant training is that over time you are drawn to train more and more. Over the course of a year, I developed excellent endurance: I could climb stairs without shortness of breath and talk on the phone!

She began to get sick a little, easily coped with BodyCombat (this is high-intensity cardio workout) and withstood GRIT (30 minutes of intensive training, where burpees were combined with strength loads; 500 kcal was spent in one lesson). Andrey was going to send me to a 10 km marathon, so I ran 12-13 km per hour between planks, abs and jumps.

The workouts in the pool were no less intense. I realized that in the water you can get the same load as in the gym, when the blood rushes to the face so much that the water seems hot.

I found an excellent trainer and nutritionist Elena Petrik, who adjusted my nutritional system. I always ate a lot, and sweets were one of the main places in my diet. Chocolate after lunch - easy! When I went to the cafe, I always consulted with Lena what is the best order. Of course, she immediately banned sweets, replacing them with dried fruits, honey, and cereal bars. But is it really possible to replace chocolate? So I strongly resisted and said that I agree to increase the number of workouts in exchange for chocolate! But the more I did, the less I wanted sweets. Plus, thanks to Lena's nutritional advice, the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates was harmoniously redistributed throughout the day, I was full and did almost no snacks. The transition to such a diet took about three weeks - this is how much the eating habit is formed. To my surpriseI noticed that I began to eat less chocolate! And the weight has decreased by one kilogram.

The greatest pleasure is to see how your body and well-being change, energy appears. These results make us not stop at what has been achieved and increase the pace.

In the process of planning my second child, the coaches changed my training program. The main emphasis was now on strengthening the muscles of the press, back, legs, lower back.

Lena and I did exercises with weights, simulators - power loading, and with Andrey there was still a lot of functional training. I did pull-ups, / push-ups on TRX, stood in the plank, at the same time lifting arms and legs alternately, and did burpees - Andrey's favorite exercise.

During training in the pool, I focused on breathing exercises, strengthening the back, straightening the spine, and strengthening the abdominal muscles.

I trained about 3-4 times a week either with a trainer or on my own: after a year of intense training I had a technique set, so it was easy to perform any exercise.

In parallel with fitness, I underwent a medical examination, did additional examinations. We all have weak points, and during pregnancy it is they that make themselves felt.

The second pregnancy, in contrast to the first, took place without interruption from training: swimming pool, ballet, gym classes (at least 2-3 per week) plus daily walks. Despite the fact that I indulged my increased appetite, I managed to gain no more than the 12.5 kg recommended by the trainer.

Many experts said that I had every chance of giving birth a second time a month earlier, since there is a biological memory. At the 39th week, I did a half-hour workout in the pool, and at the 40th week, I gave birth safely.