Short answer? Hell yes.
When it comes to workout – and life – everything flows from our intention and focus. Every movement and exercise we do should align with our ultimate goal for that workout and season.
In pregnancy – we have one overall intention: prepare + train well for labor + delivery while preparing for postpartum.
With general fitness, your focus may be maintenance, but is usually tied to an outcome goal like weight loss, or even a PR with running or lifting. As soon as you realize you are pregnant, this shifts towards a different focus:: you prepare your mind, body and soul for the most transformational event – your birth of a new role and the birth of your child.
Sure – having a fit pregnancy is cool and it helps mitigate aches + pains but that is certainly not the only reason you move your body in pregnancy.
You aren’t just working out to have a fit pregnancy.
- You are prehabbing your body to prepare for the season ahead, you’re building mental resilience for the early postpartum days.
- You’re learning body awareness that will serve you when you are rebuilding and rehabbing post birth.
- You’re practicing surrender + trusting the process – something motherhood honestly just demands.
In this season harder and faster is definitely not better – you don’t have to prove a thing, including your fitness. You train smart and with intention.
You can still get your heart rate up and have high intensity workouts without high impact. You can lift more than 10lbs and your heart rate can go above 140. (Unless medically noted otherwise). But we just aren’t going to send it every workout or have the intention of a PR or gaining as little weight as possible.
Your body will be WILDLY changing. Aesthetics or a focus of belly-only-pregnancies need to be shot down. Let this be your first opportunity of surrender, you can’t control how your body responds to pregnancy. What can we control? Strength, mobility and again, prehabilitation for the postpartum season.
Interested in training well for birth? Check out Blossom Strong Coaching! The perfect program for training, education and support during the motherhood transition.
