Maternity Active Wear

This one goes out to all my ladies! Athletic fashion has come a long way from leg warmers, unitards, and ratty sweat pants. As my job requires me to wear active clothing all day, everyday (no complaints here!), it has been a blast to shop for cute outfits. Until now.

My favorite brands generally include Lucy, lululemon, Nike, Addidas, and Underarmer. Luckily, some of these brands will give discounts to personal trainers, group fitness instructors, and PE teachers. Unfortunately, NONE of these brands have MATERNITY gear (tear). Thus, my search to find the perfect active gear was underway and here is what I have found to be the best "go-to" pieces after much trial and error!

GAP and Old Navy seem to have the maternity thing down. Although I still try to pull-off a size bigger in my favorite Lucy style pants, the GapFit gBalance pants have stolen my heart. Boasting a fold-over waist band, allowing you to go from "full panel" to "below the belly." Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think I would enjoy wearing my pants up to my bust (think Steve Urkel style), but having the ability to unfold these pants up over my belly has been heavenly. The full panel option gives just a little extra support for "the belly" and the lower back: almost like a gentle hug:) The best part of all is that Gap offers these in length sizes Short, Regular, and Tall. Being a shorty myself, having the ability to order the Short sizes has saved me money in alteration costs, hurray!

My favorite pick from Old Navy is the Maternity Scoop Rib-Knit Tank. Talk about versatile! Good for the gym or layering under your favorite tees and sweaters. The stretchy sides allow for belly growth and has worked with me for my entire pregnancy thus far (3 weeks away from the third trimester).

The two items I am struggling to find are sports bras and underwear! These things are VERY important to have. At the moment I am simply sporting a bigger size in both items, but they don't grow with you like other maternity wear does. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. This preggo lady is about to lose all her britches!

We're expecting!

The ultimate journey begins; the journey of pregnancy and parenthood! We will be welcoming a little girl into the world January 23, 2013! The photo on the left was taken at about 20 weeks. Keep reading to take a look into my pregnancy fitness journey so far...

Not gonna lie, weeks 8-12 were rough. Although I never actually vomited, I was definitely nauseas most of the time. The two things that really helped me were walks outside and saltine crackers. I was still able to do a lot of the same exercises I had been doing; jogging, weights, teaching fitness classes, and even boot camp! With the exception that I was moving a little slower and no longer doing jumping exercises.

The second trimester has been fabulous so far! I feel wonderful and definitely have the "pregnancy glow." Although I still get fatigued, it's not nearly as much as the first trimester and exercising most days of the week helps my energy levels. There are a few more exercise limitations now, besides having to modify exercises for my growing belly:) The doctor has prescribed that I keep my heart rate at or below 140, I'm not supposed to lay flat on my back, and shouldn't lift more than 25lbs. But this doesn't mean I can't exercise,  I just change a few things! 

Walking, elliptical, or indoor cycling has been my cardio of choice. I teach 2 weight training classes a week, one for upper and one for lower body, and try to spend a little more time stretching after exercise. My minimum goal is to exercise 3 days a week, but I feel so much better when I'm active most days of the week (5 seems to be the magic number). Light dumbbells and the stability ball are my go-to pieces of equipment!

I plan to keep teaching group fitness and personal training until my body says "no more!" As far as group fitness goes, I am hoping to make it to at least the 8th month, which is only 3 months away!

That just about sums up the last 5 months! I look forward to sharing my pregnancy fitness journey with you and hope that any other moms-to-be out there will find this helpful:) Happy exercising!