Saturday, April 28, 2007

UFC, here I come - not really.

I decided a few months ago that I was feeling decidedly frumpish and that I needed to do something to get my old self back. When I got the “ok” from the midwife at my 6 week post-partum visit I signed up for personal training sessions at the gym near my house. Twice a week after Jim gets home from work I walk up and meet a trainer and we do some weights routines. If I have enough time or energy I will stay for an extra half an hour and “jog” on the elliptical runner or ride a stationary bike. Well, that was back in January and I'm still about 10 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight.


Before I got pregnant I was a pretty fit person. I worked out at least 4 times a week and I was kickboxing training with a private coach as well as taking 2 or 3 yoga classes a week. After I got pregnant I was told that kickboxing was too dangerous for the baby as it would elevate my heart rate too high and I might over heat, not to mention possible difficulties arising from accidents while sparring. I certainly didn't want to take any chances to I cut that out of my life. By the time I was a month into my pregnancy I was usually too nauseated in the early mornings and evenings (when I had “free” time) to bother. I kept up with my yoga for the most part, but even still the first trimester really takes a lot out of you.


The Lo! the second tri came about and I felt like new. I still had to shy away from kickboxing but I was able to spend the majority of the World Cup back on the elliptical runner, exercising while watching the matches with one of my very closest friends. (E. if you're reading this, I miss you. I also know you read this blog with a fair amount of frequency... drop a comment every now and then. :) ) Life was good again although some of the yoga poses became quite a bit cumbersome. Who knew just how much a belly could get in the way? (yes, that is a rhetorical question.)


Unfortunately, as soon as the World Cup was over Jim and I packed up our belongings and jumped in the car for our big move from Toronto to Miami. When we arrived in Miami in the middle of the summer it was just too hot for me to even think about walking anywhere and I could not find a suitable pre-natal yoga class. Needless to say that in my 3rd trimester I got... well... large. I had gained well over 35 lbs and was feeling very much like Orca... without the water displacement and the sharp teeth. To make matters worse, the midwives were concerned about the fluid levels surrounding the baby and I was strictly instructed not to sweat too much. Um, they knew I was in a Miami summer, right?


I have now decided it is time to take my body back. I no longer wish to feel like a frumpy old mother. A mother? yes. Frumpy and old? HELL NO! Which leads me back to my original statement. I have been going to the gym to meet with my personal trainer (PT) since January and this past week I signed up at a new martial arts studio, which conveniently is within walking distance of our house, to train for kickboxing again. UFC, here I come! (just kidding)

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