Update -- down to walking

I haven't gone to the gym this week. Instead, I've been trying to go for a walk each day -- a couple of kilometres at least. I was pretty exhausted for a couple days after last Sunday... Maybe because of overdoing it, or maybe just because I'm at that stage (ie: overdue!) Anyway, Ken and my mom have discouraged me from going to the gym because they don't want to put up with me all tired and cranky. I'm okay with that.

So, walking it is. (Though I jogged the three blocks home from the kids' school yesterday. Just in case it would help, you know, move things along. It actually felt pretty good -- despite the fact that I was wearing boots and jeans. I didn't really get winded at all, but I did get a nice contraction out of it. Which led to nothing more... Sigh.)

Hi! Still here.

Tomorrow is D-Day. Now I'm just trying to jostle the baby loose:

Walking - 3/4 mile at 3.2-3.5 mph/10% grade (13:45 min)
Squats - 25 lb x 20, 20, 20, 20
Incline chest press - 20 lb dbs x 20, 15, 12 (wow those dropped off fast!)
Seated rows - 75 x 10
Bent-over rows - 20 lb dbs x 18, 18 (per arm)
Bench dips (feet on floor) - 15

I had to sub in the bent-over rows for the seated ones because the gym was so damn busy. Either because it was a rainy day or because the recent spring-like weather has made folks start thinking about their beach bodies...

Also - lots of energy today! Must be the daily hour-long naps I've been enjoying. I was able to walk further and faster on the treadmill than I have in a long, long time. When Paradise City come on the shuffle, I quelled the urge to start jogging, barely resisted indulging in some air guitar and settled for upping the speed to 3.5 mph, which I was able to maintain for the whole song. No cramping or excessive contractions. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, in terms of coaxing the baby out.

Weigh-in - Still just this side of 160.

Seriously? Another workout?

It's starting to look like I'll be posting into week 39... Sigh.

My workout today was lighter than it appears -- I drove to the gym, instead of walking like I usually do. I happen to have a car to today, and I have some shopping to do this afternoon, so I figured I'd save some energy for that.

At the gym:

Walking - 1/2 mile, 3 mph/10% grade (10 min)

Shoulder press - 20 lb DBs x 12, 10, 10
Bent-over rows (per arm) - 17.5 x 18; 20 x 15, 15
Step-ups - 20/leg x 4 sets (4" lower step than usual; gym equipment issue)

Press finishers - 40 lb barbell x 16

The weight I used for the rows felt pretty light -- as indicated by the high reps -- but I didn't want to go higher because of the strain it would put on my abs, which are currently on vacation. As it was, the weight I used felt good: the position was comfortable and I didn't have to strain at all, and I got a decent-enough burn from the reps.

I considered finishing up with a session of rowing, but kind of didn't feel like it. And maybe I'm at a point where it's just okay to not feel like pushing it. Right?

Weigh-in: 159! Maybe I'll hit 160 in my final week. (Please let it be my final week.) Or maybe I'll be back to 155 by Monday. It's all very mysterious.

Last week of required gestation

Hi. I can't believe I made it this far. It doesn't feel different than last week, but this week is the last week my body is officially required to house it's current resident. Next week, we'll be considered "full term" and ready to go at any time.

In the spirit of celebration, I of course, did some squats. :-) Actually, I went to the gym late in the day and it was packed, so I didn't have much of a choice. Although I'd planned on doing a circuit involving rowing and bodyweight stuff, the squat rack was the only quiet place in the gym, so I camped out there for while, alternating between squats and shoulder presses.

Weight - Squat rep/Press rep:

45 - 15/15
50 - 15/10
55 - 12/7
60 - 12/5
65 - 10/3

Lat pulls (chin-up grip) - 100 x 6, 85 x 8, then some chick took the machine while I snuck in some calf raises, even though my towel was hanging right on it. She even changed the bar.

Calf raises (per leg, BW) - 10, 12
Push-ups (knees) - 15
Walking - 1/2 mile, 3 mph, 8% grade. Couldn't go higher than this without contracting.

The heavy "chin-ups" were really hard on my abs, as were the push-ups. My abdominal muscles no longer meet in (or near) the middle, and they just don't function efficiently any longer. Future lat pulls will be with lower weight, and I've seen the end of push-ups for the time being. Another one bites the dust.

It felt like a short workout, but I did have the 2 km round-trip walk to the gym, toting groceries the second half. That ain't nothing any more.

Weigh-in: 156. Sort of hanging out here, huh? The 159 last week must've been water, or lingering puff pastry.

Just enough to hit all the key points

When I woke up this morning, I thought it was going to be a stay-in-bed day. I'd had a crappy sleep and had to get up at the crack of dawn for a chiropractor appointment. But Chiro Kelly set me straight, and I was able to brave the elements to get to the gym. That was the highlight... My workout was tough, and the walk home from the grocery store even tougher.

I started with a walk:

Walking - 2/3 mile - 3.2 mph/10% grade/12:40 min

I'd meant to go 3/4 mile, but had an everlasting contraction and my back was seriously aching so I called it quits. I had to take a 2-3 minute break sitting down to let the midsection to unwind.

I took it easy thereafter, rotating through the following sets:

Squats - 45 x 12, 12, 12
Presses - 45 x 14, 10, 9
Seated row - 75 x 10, 8, 7

And that's it. I did an extra long stretch and then headed to the grocery store. And by the time I was headed home from there I was tired. And my back hurt. And it took forever to walk home. But I made it. And will live long enough to make supper, including brownies. :-)

Weigh-in - 159!

Catching up

I didn't make it out last Friday because we went away for the weekend. A weekend during we which mostly just sat and ate. In a good way. Ah well. It felt good to move again today (though frankly, most workouts are followed by an afternoon of not being able to walk without staggering and groaning -- my sacro-iliac area really seizes up afterward. This has been the case for months now, after workouts specifically.)

Anyway, I'm still taking it easy-ish on the weights, mainly because I've begun thinking of the giant belly as holding an actual person who needs protection. So I'm being a bit more cautious.

So, today:

Walking - 2/3 mile, 3.2 mph @ 10% grade (10-11 minutes?)
DB presses - 17.5 dbs x 12; 20 dbs x 8, 7, 7
Presses - 45 x 10
Calf raises (BW, single-leg) - 10, 10, 10/leg
Squats - 55 x 12, 12, 12
RDLs - 65 x 13, 12, 12
Rowing - 1500 m/7:55 min

It all felt fine. No major contraction action. I would walk for longer -- I don't get too out of breath and my legs are okay on the grade -- but my hands get uncomfortably swollen from swinging, and my back begins to hurts early on, even though the grade actually feels like it make it easier on my back than flat walking would be. So mixing it up with rowing seems like the right thing to do. The feels like it works my lower posterior (calves through butt), and the rowing works the upper posterior. Just what I need.

Weigh-in: 156.

Apparently, I'm not likely to gain much more weight from now to the end. All my parts are in place, and though the baby will likely gain another 2 lbs or thereabouts, he'll be displacing amniotic fluid at the same time. And god forbid my hands take on any more water...

Bodyweight helps to avoid contractions

I had a great workout today! As in, it felt really good. I wasn't even going to go -- I thought I might go for a walk instead -- because all last evening and through the night I experienced fairly continuous contractions. Which aren't uncomfortable per se, but they make it uncomfortable to move much (and can also be a sign of "overdoing it"). So I played it by ear today, and just rested for most of the day. By the afternoon, I realized I felt fine and hadn't been contracting, so I decided to head to the gym for a gentle bodyweight workout. I find bodyweight workouts can still be really intensive, because I tend to push through the reps quickly. I also mixed things up by starting with a hill-walk.

Walking - 1/2 mile @ 3 mph/12% grade (10 minutes)

3 rounds:
Row - 500m (2:22, 2:24, 2:35 min)
18 push-ups - knees on bench, hands on dbs (20 on the last set)
40 squats

I had a contraction during the last rowing set, so had to go a little slower. Those squats are HARD! I can do the first 20 at a good steady pace, but during the second half of the set I have to pause for about 3 breaths after every 5 reps or so. I can do the push-ups without a break (and at a good pace). I try to touch my forehead or belly to the floor on each rep. Whichever touches first!

According to my sources, increased contractions are normal for this point in pregnancy. The ole uterus is just getting warmed up for the big show!

Weigh-in: 155. Expecting the chocolate pudding to show up at any time.

I'm writing this immediately after returning home from the gym/grocery store. It feels like the baby thinks we're still at the gym, and is doing a few more sets...

Home stretch territory

I think that at 30 weeks pregnant, we cannot discount the walk to the gym as part of my workouts. It's a km each way, and between the snow and tricky hips, it's starting to feel like... well, not nothin'. Also, pregnancy may be known to beget princess-like behaviour. (AKA Big Wimp Syndrome.)

But after the arduous walk (in the extremely lovely winter weather, and I'm not even being sarcastic about that), I managed to eke out a circuit:

4 rounds:
500 m row*
12 thrusters - 40 lb
10, 7, 6, 6 lat pulls (chin-up grip) - 105 lb
15 good mornings - 50 lb

Plus 10, 7, 6 bench dips at the end of it all. Which are starting to hurt my wrists. Damn 151 lbs of body weight!

* Last set was usurped when someone else hopped on the erg. I subbed in a walk on the treadmill (after completing the 4th round of weight stuff) -- 1/2 mile on a 10% grade, but only at 3 mph. Anything faster and I experienced superfun shooting pain.

Then I came home and did some shoveling.

Also, 30 weeks! Starting to feel like home stretch territory. (I'm already starting to think of training goals for summer/fall.)

Christmas warm-up

I did actually make it to the gym one more time before the hours (the gym's and mine) got Christmas-crazy. Let's see if I can remember what I did... I know I squeezed it in between the final big grocery-get, last minute gift-finding, and making dinner, while my mom watched the kids (which included tobogganing and playing little-tiny-ball with Ben. She's a hero.) I do recall that it was short and sweet, and likely involved squats...

Yep:

Squats - 75 x 10, 10, 10, 10
Lat pulls (regular pull-up grip) - 85 x 9, 6, 6, 4
Bench dips - 10, 8, 7

Treadmill - 3/4 mile at various speeds and pitches ranging from 3.3 mph/11% grade and 3.6 mph/7% grade. (The small speed differences are bigger when you're walking.) I was experimenting with keeping the Braxton-Hicks at bay (they seemed to subside when I walked a little faster on a lower grade. It might be the other way round. Must continue experimentation)...

Since then, it's been nothing but eating carbohydrate-rich foods and working on crossword puzzles. (Just one, actually, and five days later, we're only about 2/3 of the way through the 1200 clues...) The gym is open for a brief window of time this afternoon, but I may have inadvertently signed on to accompanying a kid to see Twilight. Ugh.

Carbo crash

I had to go to the midwifery clinic first thing this morning to do a blood test for gestational diabetes. (My mother had it when she was pregnant with me, so that is enough of a risk factor for me to get the test.)

First, I had to fast for 8 hours (thus the 9 AM appointment -- I got up and went without coffee or breakfast.) She takes a blood sample, then I drink 75 g of glucose (!) in the form of an orange crush-type drink. An hour later, she takes another blood sample; an hour after that, yet another. The first hour, I felt quite ill -- nauseous after all that sugar on an empty tummy. Then I just felt hungry. It was hell.

At last it was over, and I ate (inhaled) some nuts and half a peanut butter sandwich in the car. On the way to the gym. The first couple rounds of the circuit were great. Then the true hunger kicked in, and I struggled. Anyway, I managed to eke out:

4 rounds of

500m row*
25 push-ups
15 RDLs - 65 lb
15 step ups - per leg (I do one leg at a time, leading)

* I was sure I wasn't going to do the 4th set; I couldn't face the slog of the row. Someone was on the erg when I came up for #4, so I skipped it, and went straight to the push-ups.

I replaced the missing row set with a 1/2 mile uphill walk (3.3 mph, 10% grade, @ 9 minutes). Ultimately more work than originally planned, so that is good.

At home, the ensuing avocado and cheese sandwich barely saw the light of day.

Such a thing as too much walking

Instead of the gym today, I walked. A lot. My feet hurt. My back hurts. I'm going back to the gym tomorrow -- it seems that vigorous suits me much better than gentle.