Congratulations Hazel!
Oh, thats so wonderful. I'm very excited for you
! Keep us posted on your progress!
As for your classes. In the first three to four months of pregnancy, I personally found that I did not need to do many modifications. As long as you are having a normal pregnancy with no associated risks, the main thing to focus on in the early stages is staying extra hydrated. Drink lots of water before, during, and after your workouts(as well as throughout the day), and avoid letting your heart rate go beyond the mid range of your target zone. Interval workouts should be avoided totally. Whatever your current level of fitness is, strive to maintain it during your pregnancy(of course you will need to make adjustments along the way), and avoid pushing the envelope. As you enter your 4th month, you should avoid flat on your back crunches and any other exercises that put you flat on your back(ex, chest presses, abs, and some of tricep work in Body Pump). Also, keep in mind that the hormone relaxin is in your body throughout the coarse of your pregnancy. This hormone actually softens the ligaments and bones in your body to help ease that baby through the birth canal. This softening of your support system can promote injuries in your body at any time. Knowing this, you should exercise with caution at all times. As you approach the later stages of your pregnancy, you may find that since your center of gravity is shifting, its wise to lower your step height(in case you ever trip and/or lose your balance). Also, the weight of the baby will start to put more pressure on your joints and pelvic floor. For this reason you would be better off reducing any hi impact moves in your classes.
As for your kickboxing classes, I already mentioned that interval workouts are not recommended during pregnancy. Therefore, if this is the type of class you teach, then yes, I would do more demonstrating and walking the floor. If you feel that you can do the class but keep yourself from getting too winded then you should be ok participating with them. When I teach, if I find that I am starting to breath a bit too heavily, I back off of the movement, recover a bit, and then join back in. This keeps the workout more of a steady state one for me. Also, I don't know if you read my pregnancy update or not, but I specifically mention that I had to just recently give up kickboxing. The relaxin in my joints had softened my round and broad ligaments to the point where my hip and groin area feel very unstable. If you find that you experience this discomfort(especially during round house kicks, side kicks and all forms of deep squats), then I suggest you leave this workout alone as well.
As for your body pump class, again, this relaxin will begin to soften your ligaments, therefore lifting at your maximum strength is not recommended. You may find that deep range of motion type moves such as lunges and squats, will become uncomfortable as well. If they do, simply decrease your range of motion for these exercises. I found that Body Pump became uncomfortable as my belly grew because even though I put my step on an incline for chest work(and any other flat on my back exercise), the quick position changes became impossible. Also clean and presses, upright rows, and dead rows felt awkward because I could not keep the bar in its proper position. My belly got in the way. Just some things to consider. Lots of luck and best wishes to you Hazel(and hubby too of course)!
Sheila, please chime in if I'm missing anything.
