My adventures with pregnancy workout DVDs

Before getting knocked up, as I think I've mentioned here before, I was a huge fan of Spinning classes. I probably haven't been to a Spinning class since October of 2010. Now, I have no gym membership. When I lived in NOLA, I walked a lot, to do errands and for exercise (at Audubon Park). Now, I don't have a park quite as accessible to me (there are some nice ones in Baton Rouge, but they require a drive). Also, it is getting HOT outside. Yay Louisiana!

My solution: DVD workouts. I have three so far. I've found yoga to be really helpful in easing my back pain and anxiety, so I bought two of those:

Crunch Yoga Mama Prenatal Workout
This is a nice workout for the beginning of the day. The pace is gentle, but there are some great poses for loosening the hip area. This instructor is the kind of yoga instructor I prefer for an in-person class, too - she comes across as calm, friendly, and not show-offy or competitive. For those who are very experienced in yoga (I am not), this DVD might not be challenging enough. But I enjoy it, and I feel great afterward!

Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea
This one is a bit more challenging, but very easy to customize - there are 3 ladies, one from each trimester, wearing different colored full-body leotards! It's kind of funny. I found this one a little harder to follow the first time I did it, and had to pause the DVD a few times. It uses more props - blocks, strap, and a chair. Overall, I think it's great, but there are a couple of small issues I have: 1) you are supposed to breathe evenly, yet if I followed her "inhale...exhale" commands, I would not be breathing evenly AT ALL...so I ignore them, and 2) instead of mats, the ladies on the DVD are practicing on these lovely large square rugs...when I work on a sticky mat I have to change its direction sometimes so I can still see the TV.

My third DVD is more of a toning workout:

The Perfect Pregnancy Workout Vol.1
Before doing this workout for the first time yesterday, I was able to convince myself that I was still in fairly reasonable shape. HA. Not so much, apparently. I'm still doing some massage, so I figured my upper body strength was still decent. I also figured I still had a fair amount of stamina and endurance. When I saw that there were two levels for the workout (Beginner and Advanced), I figured I'd be Advanced. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. I mostly followed the Beginner instructions (though I did use dumbbells for the arm exercises) and it was STILL a challenge! In all fairness, when my baby's dad saw the intro portion to this DVD he commented that this woman, while pregnant, could probably kick his ass. She is BUILT. She is also lovely and has a cute accent. And makes me feel like a slouch. Well, now I have a new workout goal, and that is to do this DVD at least once a week for as long as possible. If I can manage to do that, surely I can manage to push this baby out!