FIRST of a 3 Part Blog Series on Pregnancy Modifications
Pregnancy Modifications PART 1
Congratulations to all of our pregnant barre beauties out there! I look around class, and am seeing more and more of you. So, that had me thinking. Many of us don’t know what is ok and not ok to do during pregnancy. Now, I want to first preface all of this by saying two things, I am not a doctor by any means, and each day and trimester feels different, so take it one day at a time; if a modification isn’t working for you, stop doing the exercise and flag an instructor down, and she will help you find something that works for you and baby.
We will start this blog series with the First Trimester and a few modifications. Every month we have a Bring Your Baby/Belly to the Barre, and this week on Friday at 10:45, we encourage all our Pregnant Barre Beauties to take this smaller class to learn the modifications right for you. And of course, if you just had a baby, this is the class to come to to learn to tap into those muscles again and start back at a slower pace.
First Trimester
We all know, this is the trimester for feeling really lousy. So, the main thing to do is listen to your body. If you are feeling nauseous, stop, and take small sips of water. Take it slow. You may feel light headed during the first trimester, if this happens during class, again, take it slow, take small sips of water, and do what you can. Another thing that helped me fight some nausea and light headedness was to keep a protein bar or granola bar in the car and take a couple bites before class. If you are feeling great, and just have the usual fatigue that plagues you during the first trimester, then just being really mindful of the teachers cues specifically during the abdominal section of class. Be sure to pull your abdominals in and practice perfect form. This will help during pregnancy, labor, and recovery.
A FEW Modifications that you can start with. Learn more on FRIDAY!
Planks/push-ups: continue on knees, or if peaking is occurring come up to the barre and take planks and push ups; if you are seeing peaking happen on your knees come to all fours, and focus on pulling the navel up towards the spine on your exhale
High C-curve: Use a ball behind your tail bone. Do not hinge back as far as previously worked. Your focus should be on exhaling and pulling the navel down. You may tuck only if your belly stays nice a round. If you see the peak forming through the middle of your abdominals, just go back to exhaling and pulling the navel down. No forward curling, this only aids in the separation of abdominals. Oblique curling is completely ok.
That’s all for today. Next blog will be the last Wednesday of July. Congratulations again and see you at the Barre with your Belly!
Sharing Barre Love,
Rachel
