I love my Body

Mo:

I LOVE MY BODY.

My body is my work tool, it carries me around on the most fabulous adventures and it is Strong, Healthy and Powerful. It´s also the home of Bebbelina the "circus-artist" right now.

What doesn´t stop to amaze me, is how my body talks to me and how well it tells me what it wants, especially now during these quite extraordinary circumstances. With everything from food to training.

Very few things do not feel alright training wise. I still do heavy lifting in the gym, kettlebell-training, running, spinning and yoga.

The only things my body has told me it does not like are:

• lying on the stomach. Not because it feels "dangerous", but because it´s so bloody uncomfortable.
• wearing a headset belt during spinning class. The feeling is very similar to wearing a pair of far too tight denims over a bloated, period infested stomach... Not very comfy.
• doing powerbased work in the gym. The muscles don´t fire like they normally do. Boring.
  
• doing yoga twists/rotations. A short while is fine - even nice. Too long and I have actually felt Bebblina flutter. It´s like she´s going: "...ehhhrmm..excuse me?...hello?...excuse me??!" (Please picture these words being said with a scrunched up face. Just like a face would look if you put your hands to it and twist in in two different directions....and then try not to laugh....) Again, it´s not because it feels "dangerous", it´s just not comfortable....

Whilst researching training and pregnancy for a workshop I was teaching a year ago, I came across a fantastic book:

"Exercising through your Pregnancy" by James E Clapp.

This should be staple reading in ANY fitness professionals library!

Clapp is one of few doctors who has actually done tons of research on women and pregnancy since the -80s. He absolutely KILLS a whole bunch of myths out there, such as "heavy lifting is dangerous, a pregnant woman should not exceed a heart rate of 150bpm (b*llsh't!!), jumping increases the likeliehood of miscarriage, don´t do situps too late into pregnancy (or too early), training too early after delivery will increase the likelihood of a ruptured linea albea or that your bits fall out (well, it didn´t actually say "your bits" in the book, but you know what I mean...), etc etc etc etc...
I could go on FOREVER! (..you can probably tell it´s a subject close to my heart?.....)

Clapp says that the subject of women-pregnancy-training is too infested by "guilt by association" or a "better to be safe than sorry"-mentality and that far too few doctors/midwives know what they´re actually talking about when they dish out well-meant "advice" (read: prohibitions).

I am absolutely sure I will find great reason to come back to this book in later threads... until then - keep doing what feels good in your bodies, pregnant ladies, and know that your body is the boss.

Just listen and your body will certainly tell you what is working well (and what is not) - LOUD & Clear.

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