Exercising at 28 weeks

It's official, I entered my third trimester last week!  And finally, even though I'm still having a lot of sinus trouble, I'm feeling well enough to workout!  Hallelujah! 

This photo is deceiving.  I won't tell you how much I weigh.  It's A LOT.

Here's a typical workout routine for me - and this can be adapted to any fitness level, pregnant or not.  I like to alternate between cardio and strength intervals because it keeps me from getting bored.  For the walking intervals, I walk at 3 mph at a 1 or 2 percent incline for 5 minutes - which will give you 1.5 miles for this routine.  And I'm not going to lie, sometimes I have to put my hands on the rails to help keep my heart rate below 140 (because I'm pregnant).  Pre-prego, I would run at 6.2 mph ..... um ..... that ain't happening now, folks.  I use 8-10 pound weights for the strength moves as opposed to the 12's and 15's I used before and I do three sets of 8-10 reps (for a total of 24-30 reps).  If you need to, take a SHORT reprieve between sets, and by short I mean just a few seconds.  And the strength intervals shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes; they typically take me about 3.  It's important to remember that because I'm pregnant I'm supposed to keep my heart rate in a certain range, which is VERY different than the range I had before I was pregnant.  So, if you're not pregnant, push yourself a little bit.  If I can do this during my third trimester of pregnancy, you can do it, too!  :)

Walk
Overhead Press
RT Stationary Lunge
LT Stationary Lunge
Walk
Squats
Tricep Extensions
Calf Raises
Walk
Bicep Curl
Plie' Squats
Plie' Inner Thigh Squeezes
Walk
Dead Lifts
Bent Over Row - arms narrow
Walk
Bent Over Row - arms wide
Push-ups
Walk
Chest Press
Chest Flye
Glute Squeezes
Stretch

I can complete this routine in 50-55 minutes and doing the modifications for pregnancy, I still burn about 400 calories.  I did this same routine pre-prego, pushing myself and using heavier weights and moving immediately from one move into the next, and I burned 600 calories in the same time frame.  You can change the walk to a jog or run and increase the incline to adapt to your fitness level.  You can use heavier weights or add pulses to each strength move, as well.  For the push-ups, you can do them against the wall, on your knees, with your legs extended and on your toes, on the ball or BOSU or if you're really a stud muffin, try doing them on one leg.  You can do some of your strength moves on the BOSU to give you the added challenge of balancing.  If you're just starting your fitness routine you can slow the walking pace down and use 3-5 pound weights and as your fitness level improves you can increase your speed and weights.  Because I'm pregnant, I do not lay flat when I do the chest press and flye, I lay at an incline on my BOSU.  Monitor your heart rate, listen to your body and drink plenty of water throughout the routine.  If you're not familiar with the names of the moves listed, let me know and I'll do my best to explain!  :)