My back is in pieces!

[yellowbeaker]

I am only 5 weeks. I am overweight so this is probably the crux of the issue. I am being very sensible with what I eat and have lost a few lbs since I found out I am pregnant. I am trying to exercise more too but this is proving very difficult. I just went for a gentle walk and I am in really bad pain from it, I think my posture is really bad so I am not sure if I can correct this. We would have walked further if it wasn't for my back.
I am nervous about taking pain killers so I have a hot water bottle which is soothing it and I will try and do some yoga later as this always helps stretch out my back but I am worried I am going to be like this every time I try and do any exercise.

A bad/painful back is often caused by a weak core.

Try core strength building exercise, you need to do body weight stuff at 1st then as you get stronger you will be able to do more reps or longer sessions. Resistance bands are a good addition as you rebuild strength as they go from as little as 1kg to over 50kg. A free alternative is tins of food or water bottles. If you can just push yourself to walk a little longer every day you will eventually get less pain, you have it on you. If could try some chair exercises too, they are aimed at the elderly but they're really good as you can just rest in the middle if you need to. You need to be careful when starting any new exercise routines when pregnant and listen to your body.

After I had our twins I was so much weaker than I liked to admit. I had spd and they were 17lb combined at birth leaving me with diastasis recti. I was in constant pain for over 2 years and gained a lot of weight, I hit rock bottom. Went on a diet and started bodyweight exercises. I struggled to squat under the weight of my own body at 1st. After about 8 weeks I was strong enough to start hitting the gym but diagnosed with osteoarthritis and tendinitis not long after. 3.5 years of dedicated lifting I was able to squat with 80kg on my back below parallel and deadlift 125kg. I'm still lifting atm but I've reduced the weights by 25% for bigger lifts as my body is used to training like this it's safe to continue. It's amazing what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.

thanks thats really helpful. I did 10 mins of yoga and it has really helped- I also feel like it opened up my lungs a lot and I can breath easier. I am trying to get 10k of steps in a day so tomorrow I will do as you recommend and do the same walk i did today and hopefully go a little bit further. I might try doing my yoga in the morning before my walk and see if that helps to losen everything else up.

I am trying to do gentle exercise each day and I have found lots on youtube which I know are within my capabilities. I found a really good lucy wyndham reed pregnancy exercise video so maybe I will give that a shot tomorrow. I think that works on core exercises. I am not very good at doing them unless I have something to follow

You'll smash it! Sounds like you have the right mindset and are motivated, hardest part of establishing a fitness routine is self motivation. So many days I've wanted to just not bother but I've felt so much better after doing it. Tbh my joint cause me more pain on rest weeks than any other time, it's crazy.

Good luck with it all. I hope you are feeling fitter soon and enjoy the journey to motherhood too.