Exercising while expecting can be a tricky process. What movements should you avoid? How many times a week should you workout? Should you still lift weight? Well, the truth is, it depends. There are many many factors to consider when programming exercise for the soon to be mother. However, it’s a process we have done many times here at TrueFIT, and we actually enjoy it! 
TFA members Matt and Kait Mathias are expecting their first child in December. And if that’s not enough excitement for you, throw in a global pandemic…now you got yourself a Hollywood plot line. Kait volunteered to share her story to help all the soon to be mothers out there who have questions about what exercising while pregnant during a global pandemic looks like. 
How did your workouts change while being pregnant?
-Honestly, they got a lot harder. I had to learn how to share my body during my workouts with someone else. A very tiny someone else who was already demanding a lot from me. (I know, I know, they never stop demanding. 
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I had to “relearn” how to breathe effectively in my workouts to sustain a safe working pace for myself and the baby.
What was the toughest part of working out while pregnant?
-For me it was the mental battle of “losing all my progress”. I hated scaling from just learning how to do muscle ups down to ring rows, from handstand push-ups down to push ups on the rig or a box…etc. I played that mental game for a while and hated the changes I was seeing in the mirror. I felt like I was failing in the gym. I look back now and wish I would have been more excited about the fact that I was growing a human and still trying to do the best that I could in the gym. I wasn’t seeing “gains” in the way that I was before, but I was seeing gains in my growing little boy and seriously, nothing beats that.
How did TFA help you during this time?
-I can’t say enough great things about TFA working with me while pregnant. I am so appreciative for the knowledge base they have on what is safe and what is not safe for working out during pregnancy. The coaches double and triple checked on me during each workout to make sure I wasn’t overdoing it. They also made it so easy for me to want to come in because I knew that when I got there, they would already have ideas on how to safely modify every single workout to fit my pregnancy needs. They were encouraging and supportive the entire time!
Any other workout advice to other women who are expecting?
-My advice is DON’T STOP GOING TO THE GYM! Pregnancy is so hard, but you can do it. I promise it’s worth it to push through and get in the gym and MOVE your body. You’re not going to move like you used to, and you’re not going to feel like you used to. Your 5 day a week gym days might turn into 3 and that’s okay. If you need to rest, then rest! Just stay as consistent as you can and sometimes you have to push through that mental block. Remember that you’re still doing something awesome which is growing a baby, keeping that baby safe, and helping yourself by staying active!
Anything else you’d like to share about your experience of exercising while becoming a mom?
-Something that helped me stay motivated was that I’ll be able to look back on this one day and know that I was setting a good example for my son even before he was born by staying active. Even when it was hard. And it was hard! One of my goals is to instill these same values for my son about staying active even when you don’t want to or when it’s tough for whatever reason. I hope that one day he and I will get to do workouts together! Preferably outside the womb. 
So…what does working out while pregnant look like? CHECK OUT KAIT’S WOD HERE!