Anyone interested in a pregnancy check-in?

Hi Lisa,
Ugh, pregnancy nausea is the worst. It takes the fun out of eating. I'm sorry you're going through that! I hope your nausea takes the high road before 20 weeks this time. Glad that working out helps your symptoms, though.
So at the risk of sounding like I'm rubbing it in (but you asked)... I'm a total pumpkin lover. I made pumpkin oatmeal this morning, went for a pumpkin ice cream cone last week -- I love the fall flavors, especially special fall treats. But also the everyday fall stuff -- roasted root veggies and sweaters -- yay!
I do love dark chocolate but candy bars don't really do it for me. And I love a treat but I don't keep many treats in the house because there are some things I just don't want to have to control myself around. It's not so much about weight gain/calories as it is about not making myself miserable eating too much (especially if I'm at home for much of the day with DD). Plus I just feel better/happier when I eat right.
I did GS legs this morning. Those slow lunges at the end of the standing leg work are killer! And I can usually deadlift till the cows come but those stiff-legged deadlifts on the platform just toast my legs to a crisp -- in the good way. Not sure what I'll do for my second leg day (or maybe I'll just wait till total body Sunday) -- do you have any fave Cathe lower body workouts?
I also did Core Max segment 3 today. I've been gravitating towards the shorter ab segments (this isn't one -- almost 20 mins) because frankly I feel like I get as much benefit from an intense 10-min core workout than I do from a 20-minute one. But I like this one because I love stability ball abs and medicine ball abs and this one has both!
BTW, you mentioned the STS extended stretch. I tried it several times but could never really get into it... I always got bored and did my own thing. I don't know -- I guess I like a more intense stretch? Not sure what it was. But I tried Stretch Max segment 3 (uses resistance band) a couple weeks ago and I love it so much! Amazing. I need to do it again.
Hope you're feeling well and enjoying the fall (if not the fall foods)!
Roz
 
Hi Lisa,
GS Back/Shoulders/Bis for me this morning -- love this one. I increased my weights a bit (from last week) for some of the back and bicep exercises. (Funny, I feel like I'm often increasing Cathe's weight selections for back and bis but using her selections or even lightening up a bit for shoulders and tris. Chest can go either way. I guess we're all different!)
Then added on the Party Rockin' Step #2 bonuses (3 combos and stretch from PRS #1) -- I know it's not on the pregnancy menu with all those turns, but it's a great add-on for a quick moderate cardio + stretch.
I was tempted by today's Cathe Live Step Choreography but working out at that time isn't usually an option for me. I may try it on my cardio day this Saturday -- we'll see.
Hope you're feeling well!
Roz
 
Hi Roz! You enjoy ALL the pumpkin for me, okay? I'm glad someone can. Thankfully I can still stomach vegetables, go figure. I guess it's better to eat than sweets. We don't keep too many sweets in the house either because I agree that you feel like garbage after eating too many. When I'm not pregnant or nauseous, I'm thankfully to the point in life where I can take a taste of something and walk away. I'm all about 80-90% healthy with a small treat each day, then I never feel deprived or the need to gorge on the sweets. :)

Awesome workouts for you yesterday and today! Cathe totally kills on GS Legs, I couldn't agree more. I also feel the exact same way about core workouts that are longer than 10 or 12 mins. Core Max actually has a dread factor for me because 20 mins just seems to last forever. I don't match Cathe's weights either on BSB. I tend to always have to go lighter on shoulders, no matter what the workout. Just seems to be an area that is hard for me to develop. It doesn't help that your shoulders get incorporated in almost every upper body move as a support muscle, so by the time you "focus" on your shoulders...they're already dead! Once my toe is 100% I do plan on doing PRS2 again. I love it. I just won't do the turns.

What's my fave Cathe leg workout? That's a toughie but I'm going to have to say Lower Body Blast. I think I do that one the most. Number 2 spot held by STS Meso 2 legs (trisets!!!!!); Number 3 spot held by STS Meso 1 legs.

Today was total body for me, did a 60 minute sculpting video from The Firm that I recently bought. I thought it was going to be easy, but boy I was breathing hard and feeling it. They moved very quickly from one exercise to another and I used a heavier weight, so I got in a great workout. Felt kind of like one of the harder Jari Love workouts. Tomorrow will probably be spin or elliptical. Hopefully my last day of "lame" cardio because of my toe, ha!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa,
Glad you enjoyed your new Firm DVD! I have never done their workouts. Do you think they will be good to continue to use well into your pregnancy?
Oh I love Jari Love but haven't done her workouts in a while -- was just thinking about doing one for my total body day. We'll see...

I definitely want to try Lower Body Blast, especially on your high recommendation. I want to see where 2-3 days/week of traditional leg work takes me in this rotation, then I will definitely give it a spin. But OMG, I actually HATED STS Meso 2 legs. Really the only Cathe stuff I've felt that way about. Such a dread factor for me. And I am in quite good cardio condition, but there was at least one day when I felt like I was going to puke. I had to lie down on the floor and wait for the spins to pass. Plyo legs were totally fine/great for me, and I liked Meso 1 legs, too. Don't know what it was but the those workouts killed me. On week 3 I lowered my weights and that make it more do-able but still... didn't enjoy them, sadly.

So today I did Pure Strength Strong Legs & Abs. Loved it! That inner and outer thigh floorwork with the body bar (I used my 15-lb barbell bar) is amazing... haven't seen that elsewhere. The standing/traditional stuff is solid/not overkill for 2 days after GS legs (still feeling my abductors from all the band work on Wednesday), and the music is good.

Not sure what cardio I'll do tomorrow. Initially I was planning to do a longer interval cardio on Saturdays (e.g., an Imax or Tabaticize) but that's a lot of plyo work to stack on my legs between a legs day and a total body day. So maybe I'll boogie around to some steady state step or kickbox. I can't get enough of Rockout Knockout -- so fun!

Have a great Halloween with your little one!
Roz
 
Happy Halloween, Roz!

Yes, I definitely think I can do the Firm workouts I purchased as my pregnancy progresses. That's one of the reasons I actually opted to buy them. I did a lot of Jari Love in the later months of my last pregnancy and I will still use her videos this time, but I wanted to add more variety!

Your comments on Meso 2 legs made me chuckle. I think the reason I like those trisets so much is because of the fact that they kill me and make me want to beg for mercy! :) I just feel so accomplished afterwards. Plyo legs are awesome too and I'm excited that Ripped w/ Hiit is going to have a similar style leg video, even though I probably won't do it until postpartum. I had forgotten about PS Legs. That one is really quite good and I agree that the floorwork with the bar (I used my barbell as well since it's heavy like yours) is effective and different from Cathe's norm. Have you tried Legs & Glutes yet? Love that one and if you are ever in the mood to mix high intensity cardio with legs, there is a 61 minute premix and an 82 minute premix that combines the intensity drills from Kick, Punch, Crunch with the legwork from Legs & Glutes.

Good luck figuring out your workout tomorrow. So many options to choose from! Today I did intervals on the elliptical again, hopefully for the last time. My toe is so strange. The first 3 hours of each day it is really stiff and then it loosens as the day progresses. I will do weights or some kind of low impact circuit tomorrow, take Sunday off, and hopefully be 100% on Monday.

Have a terrific Halloween with your sweet girl! We are excited and have a busy day ahead of us. We are going to attend several local events throughout the day so that she can get the most wear out of her costume possible!

Also, FYI, I will probably start a new thread tomorrow for November. Probably a good idea to start a new one for each month.

Lisa
 
Hope all pregnancies are going well.

I am embarking upon my 3rd trimester in the next couple of weeks. I hit a wall of exhaustion in December and chose to rest instead of getting up early to exercise. Started back up this past week. I enjoyed Cathe's Legs and Glutes along with Step Blast and Beachbody's Slim Series (light weight workouts). Feeling 100% alive and almost normal again. Really looking forward to more intense workouts come late Spring/Summer.
 
Hope all pregnancies are going well.

I am embarking upon my 3rd trimester in the next couple of weeks. I hit a wall of exhaustion in December and chose to rest instead of getting up early to exercise. Started back up this past week. I enjoyed Cathe's Legs and Glutes along with Step Blast and Beachbody's Slim Series (light weight workouts). Feeling 100% alive and almost normal again. Really looking forward to more intense workouts come late Spring/Summer.
Hi F.I.T.,
I think I just replied to another post of yours elsewhere, and hadn't seen this yet!
It's great if you want to join our check-in! We're now posting in the January thread (we create a new thread every month).
My first is over a year now, and I'm trying to get my body in gear for #2. So I'm not pregnant, but hope to be in the not-too-distant future.
So glad you're feeling better. And good on your for listening to your body when you needed rest.
Nice work on L&G, Step Blast and Slim Series! (I don't know the Beachbody workout, but love the other two.)
Hope you're well,
Roz
 

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