Hi Erica,
The main thing right now is to “listen to your body.” What is right for you may not be right for everyone and vice versa. My advice would to be to cut your cardio down a bit. Remember you are growing an entire new person and that needs energy as well. If you are reading “Exercising Through Your Pregnancy” you have read that a fit person only needs to exercise at 50% of their pre-pregnancy level to reap the benefits of exercise.
You are smart to cross train. You may find that one mode of exercise may become uncomfortable after a while and you will definitely have others to fall back upon. You may also find that as your ligaments loosen up (from the effects of the hormone relaxin), kickboxing might not be as comfortable as before and you may actually feel pain while executing some of the moves (i.e. kicks, twists, etc.). I would definitely listen to my body when kickboxing! As for spinning… I would definitely add in more upright “posture breaks” and try not to “go all out.” Fit spinners tend to “take it to the max” and that should not be the goal of a pregnant exerciser. Remember, nobody but you knows how much tension is on that bike either! Give yourself permission to slow down. It is okay for now.
One more thing – when you do any form of cardio you must do it with your “kegels engaged.” If you cannot do this, you should not be doing that form of cardio. Your pelvic floor is also affected by the hormone relaxin. Coupled with the weight of the baby and the impact placed upon it by exercise, the pelvic floor is under a great deal of stress during pregnancy. You have to be able to provide the “upward force” of a kegel contraction in order to counteract the downward force put upon it by the baby and your exercise. You don’t want to be one of those women in the “Depends” aisle of the grocery or drug store in a few years. Need I say more?
Hope this helps. Good luck. Keep in touch and let us here how your pregnancy is progressing.
Sheila Watkins
