A BUMP in the road

I always imagined when I got pregnant I'd show Gwyneth Paltrow a thing or two. My meals would be blindingly colourful and impossibly grainy and every household product would be so natural and harmless they could also be used as face masks and salad dressings.

Instead however, I've eaten every batch, bloomer, bun and baguette baked in my local vicinity. My nutritional priories are twisted like a brioche, and I can’t help but judge myself rather harshly despite the fact I know it’s The Hormones.

Having worked hard to build great musculature over the last decade, I’d mistakenly believed the gods of pumping iron would bless me with a will of iron throughout my pregnancy… at least 50 per cent of my rep maxes.

But no. They were laughing at me, as instead I mooch about my beloved gym listlessly struggling with twenty per cent. To compound my mojo-less misery, I started working out to 1980s soft rock love ballads.

I must sound terribly ungrateful, but I’m honestly not. I’m happy-happy-wouldntchangieitfortheworld that I’m pregnant, but totally conflicted about the bodily changes. Those muscular lumps all over are packing up and shipping out, because there’s a new bump in town, and that’s what took me ages to come to terms with.

Last week though (Week 13) I turned a bit of a corner, right out of the blue. I didn’t inhale bread and I pulled off a satisfying back session. Guess it was just a phase. Phase 1 lets call it. I don’t train 5 times a week as I did before Dumbbellina (Dumbbellino if it’s a boy) was conceived. In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I trained last week but I’m doing it when I physically and mentally can and I’m more productive that way.

Ok, so now that the bump is out [snort!] I’m going to document my journey as a pregnant personal trainer who is determined to take care of her baby AND herself at the same time. I AM WO-MAN. Roar. Roar.

There will be blogs, training ideas and training videos and possibly odd things born of Baby Brain Syndrome, but the goal is to offer companionship, reassurance and constructive ideas to help fellow Mighty Mothers to Be. x