Biological Clock Ticking? Are you currently in the “working on it” phase of getting pregnant?

Do a quick search online and through your local bookstore and you’ll quickly find a ton of resources related to pilates and pregnancy.  There are videos, books, blogs, studios focused on guiding you through your pregnancy and then helping you bounce back quickly using pilates workouts & techniques.

But what about before your pregnancy?  Should you prepare your body in any way prior to getting pregnant?  Should you avoid doing sit ups or other abdominal work?

Let’s start with the basics of preparing your body for pregnancy…

Fitness Strategy

• What’s your goal here…to get in shape, lose weight, tighten up, build muscle? Think about this and understand that you will feel like you step back a bit when you get pregnant and your body starts changing. That said, if you start out in great shape, you will have an easier time bouncing back after you go through pregnancy and have an actual baby!
• Decide which activities fit into your strategy — maybe you already have a workout routine and just want to add pilates to the mix.
• If you need help deciding what your “strategy” or plan of attack will be, let me know. I will point you in a few directions that are right for you.

Nutritional Habits

• Clean up your act big time.  The cleaner your eating habits are, the better you will stick to them.  Take it from me, once I got pregnant, my already floundering sugar/fast food addictions flourished.  If you build a habit of eating well, making your own food, limiting sugars and really taking care of yourself, it’ll be much easier to stick to it.
• See my post on Doing a Kitchen Cleanse!

Consistency

• Set a schedule of workouts…and do the work. Even if you don’t work at the same intensity every single time.  Show up. Do the work to the best of your ability on that day.
• Keep your goals written down and read through them often.  Keep them posted on your fridge or in your home office.
• Set a routine for yourself that includes things like the workout, what your snacks are, walks, routine activities that will become your anchors when you are pregnant.

Habits and The Myth of the “Free Pass”

There are no bullet points here.  Just one main point I want to make…people love saying, oh you have a free pass for 9 months.  People said it to me often and they will say to you…maybe every day even.

No you do not.  While you can definitely eat more calories…you can also start some bad patterns of eating, and little to no exercise… You are building habits that will be tough to break.  If you breast feed, you will continue those habits because again you’ll be famished from all the nursing your little one does.

There is no free pass. Habits form easily…and take a lot effort to break.  Be prepared for this reality.  I’m not saying you have to be perfect, but the less you veer from your good established clean eating, the less you’ll be fighting your way back to pre-pregnancy weight.  So don’t go hog-wild and think you can finally down pans of brownies and lasagna with reckless abandon.  Sure, have yummy foods but try to fill up on healthy foods.

Now that you know the basics to getting your body in shape and ready to get pregnant (this sounds bizarre, but you know what I mean), read on to find out how to integrate pilates into the mix.

Your Pilates Pregnancy

• Find a studio that has at least a few prenatal pilates classes.  Start taking whatever type of class you want. Get to know the studio, and then continue there once you are pregnant.  Email me if you are having a tough time finding a good studio in your area.  I know several great pilates studios across the U.S and here in Los Angeles that specialize in these sort of classes.
• Find a physical therapist that also specializes in prenatal and postnatal care.  While it seems very L.A. to go to physical therapy for all the aches and pains of pregnancy, you don’t have to endure them for long.  I speak from experience that this type of treatment is great — you’ll strengthen areas of your body you need to keep strong fro delivery, get TLC in those tender/achy spots, and feel great when you leave…plus, your insurance covers it…so do it.  If you live in the Los Angeles area, please check out:  Bebe PT in West L.A. and Playa Del Rey.
• Start doing pilates at home using a DVD or online video.  Check out my recent post: “Simple Pilates Moves for More Energy?“ to get you started.
• Start right now!  Pilates workouts can be as short as 10-15 minutes to start getting all the benefits it has to offer.