Anyone else secretly exercising during pregnancy?

[carlablack]

Does anyone else keep their exercise regimen a secret from other people? Not DH but other people, like relatives and friends.

I'm asking because I do. I feel the need to keep it secret because I'm sure I will be bullied into stopping. I tell everyone I'm spending my days on the sofa resting because I really cannot deal with all the drama that they will kick up over this. So many people still believe a pregnant woman should move as little as possible; my mom keeps warning me against doing anything physical everytime we talk and that validates my decision to keep this a secret.

Funny thing is that my doctor actually encourages me to do exercise, for I'm high risk for gestational diabetes due to parents having it. Unfortunately doctors' opinions don't matter for a majority of people (learned my lesson in the past LOL)

I wonder if others do the same?

Nope, I just smile and nod if someone tries to argue with me and carry on doing what I know is best for me and my baby! I can’t understand you wanting to avoid the hassle though. Good for you for trying to stay healthy!

Do whatever keeps people quiet. The amount of times I have been criticised for carrying my 4 year old or 1 year old whilst pregnant drives me mad. Enjoy being pregnant and do what makes you feel comfortable ☺️

Absolutely note. It's recommended to continue to take part in physical activity, and I'd argue all day with a family member or friend that tried to tell me to stop.

@Wineandrun Well, it doesn't always work as I've been driven to tears many times before when not even pregnant. People are pushy and my fragile state of mind is not capable of fighting.

Another thing is that if something happens to my baby from this point on, it would be blamed on my workouts. I absolutely cannot handle all that guilt put on me when in fact nothing I would do could prevent it from happening.

By the way I totally will tell people I worked out after I give birth.

I did Zumba til 28 weeks. So many people felt the need to tell me I should be at home resting from as soon as I started showing. This was despite the instructor being pregnant and probably about 4 weeks further on than me. I ignored. If it keeps them off your back then a white lie isn’t hurting anyone.

@Mynotsoperfectlittlefamily That's a very good point. If pregnant women were not supposed to move, we would have developed a way to prevent us from conceiving until our kids grew up :)

@Bubble29 You're stronger than I am! I'm noping out of this discussion

My sister constantly tells me not to walk up hills and that I should stop driving. It's really irritating!! She asks what I've done that day and when I tell her she says 'you shouldn't be doing so and so'. Argh!

@WillYouDoTheFandango @UrsulaSings wow I guess I did the right thing not telling anyone!

I workout 4 times a week (mostly running and pregnancy safe weights). On days I don't workout I do a 3 mile walk. I'm all for normalising it - it's good for you and the baby. I proudly run with my bump showing. I've not had any negative comments, mostly i've had encouragement - even from strangers.

No keep exercising! Better for you, the birth and post partum.

Wow I can’t believe people still don’t know that adjusted exercising under professional guidance is very beneficial for mums to be. I run prenatal workouts and the feedback from our participants is so great and reassuring plus I know myself how much it helped me during pregnancy

I did my last taekwondo lesson at 40+3

Sadly they wouldn't let me spar but I managed to do everything else and it certainly helped my stamina. No-one even suggested that I should stop thank goodness.

I would just smile and nod and then do what you want anyway.

Not secretly, no!

I talk about it. I probably bore people with it tbh. I’m a midwife, and I think being active is SO important, so I do make a point of being quite vocal about it. Plus it would be really bloody hard to try to talk me out of it 😂

Who are these people?
No one said a word to me when I was still at the gym a few days before DS1 was born 24 years ago.

The midwife told me to carry on doing what I was comfortable with.

I tried a prenatal yoga class once. It was pretty much a few very easy stretches and then encouraged to sleep on a yoga mat. I did not go back to waste £8 on that.
When pg with ds2 I was still hiking the peak district with 2yo ds1 and carrying him when necessary.
You crack on and keep it to yourself.

I ran all the way through my pregnancy with myDD, who is now 10 (and totally healthy :) )

I got a lot of open comments, but treated it as an opportunity to educate. People were soon bored of me enough to not say anything 😂

Deffo not secretly, I've worked out right until now and I'm 39 weeks.
My nana especially couldn't get her head around it but I thought that was just due to her age ha.
It definitely needs normalising! It's beneficial to pregnancy ....it's not like you're drinking alcohol or smoking !

Eat for one, exercise for two!

No one ever said anything to me! I worked out all the time through my pregnancy - heavily encouraged by my consultant, who said the fitter I was the easier my birth would be. I was at the gym doing jump squats with the TRX the day before my c-section. Never occurred to me to exercise in secret.

I'm 26+1 and still going to the gym for 4x30mins cardio per week, 3 weightlifting sessions and have a wonderful yoga teacher who comes to my house and gives amazing classes which don't just involve lying on the mat!
Fully intend to keep this up as long as possible as it does wonders for my mental health as well as physical.
As my doctor told me "you're pregnant, not ill" so crack on!

Wow 😮 I’m 37 weeks now and I’ve had OH tell me I can’t do anything for months. As well as my mother and the MIL. Wish I’d just carried on and done my thing, feeling pretty gutted

Is it a cultural thing I wonder?
My pregnancies were in the 1990s and I swam/rode horses/looked after horses and nobody said a word.

Is it a cultural thing I wonder?
My pregnancies were in the 1990s and I swam/rode horses/looked after horses and nobody said a word
My pregnancies were in the 90s as well and I was actively encouraged to carry on. I adapted some things like some of the work out classes but still lifted weightes and swam and cycled.

I went back to the gym after 1 week, I took it light of course and only did an hour. Two weeks later I did spin class but someone in the class reported me to the instructor! 😂 I was fine, I just took it a bit slower!

Nope, kept exercising, and no one I passed when I was out jogging said anything. If they had, I'd have happily educated them about it being healthy to exercise throughout. Although, I didn't start showing until lockdown started, and I didn't jog for much longer after that point (too uncomfortable) - mostly just worked out at home.

Prior to pregnancy I was cycling every day and running 2-3 times a week. I continued cycling until lockdown and told my midwife I was hoping to get back to running once my sickness subsided. She said maybe stick to light strolls or yoga instead. As it happened I have only managed a couple of runs due to fatigue and sickness. I tried to do some prenatal exercise videos but struggled with energy. I have kept trying to be active and ignore the midwifes suggestions but it hasn't worked for me. I imagine there would be someone women that took it as gospel. If anything the gentle exercises took more out of me than the moderate exercise.