Exercising

[Novella12]

Hello everyone,

I'm 6.3 weeks pregnant with my first child so very new to all of this. One thing I'm struggling with at the moment is the exhaustion. I've read that you need to keep up with exercising throughout pregnancy, but after a day at work I'm finding myself absolutely shattered at the moment and can't bring myself to even go for a walk. It's better at weekends when I can get out and about in the mornings, but just impossible on weekdays (I start work at 7.30am too so struggle to fit anything in before work).

Any advice? I know this tiredness may only last a few weeks, but the guilt is already getting to me. I have an office job so if I'm not doing any exercise I'm quite sedentary.

Thank you!

I would just take it easy and listen to your body, hopefully the tiredness will go in the second trimester and you can do some exercise.

I’m 21 weeks and also struggling to find the motivation and energy to exercise during the week! I’m trying to be active at work and then go for 5k walks at the weekends xx

Hi @Novella12, in the first trimester I was exactly the same. I got home from work each day and couldn't do anything else. My energy returned in the second trimester....in fact I was just thinking what a difference in comparison!

Just listen to your body. Take it easy, simple dinners and early nights. If you feel like it on the weekend go for walks or do some yoga. Hopefully you'll feel much more energised in several weeks!!

I have managed to do Pilates throughout - less in the first trimester because I was also really tired - but even now (at 39 weeks) am again tired but finding that I am less tired after my Pilates. I would find gentle ways to move - but don't push yourself, especially in those early days...

@Jupiter92 @Kaw10 thank you both - that makes me feel much better! ❤️

@jmap81 thank you - running has always been my go to exercise so I think transitioning to something like Pilates may be the way to go. Do you go to classes or use online videos?

@Novella12 I actually got a 1-1 teacher. She came to me or I went to her. It's been totally invaluable as the classes have changed as I could do less and as different parts of my body ache more. I am a total convert - I had no lower back pain - which I totally put down to the Pilates. The other thing people swear by is swimming but with covid, I didn't really want to do too much of that

@jmap81 ooh wonderful- I will give it a go!

Hey avid exerciser here and my first pregnancy knocked me for six. I remember feeling so bad around week 10 that I couldn’t walk 100 ft to a shop for food. My back really got sore In the first trimester and I started yoga which helped. There’s some really good YouTube ones to pick from for pregnancy. I did a class in a studio (pre covid) and it was nice to be around other expecting mums. After that my energy slowly came back and by week 14-18 I was up and running (literally). Hope you feel better soon!

@madeleine85 thank you so much! It’s good to hear that hopefully the energy will come back soon. I’m going to try some gentle yoga/Pilates and see how that goes

I used to exercise very often prepregnancy but during first trimester I could not do much tbh. Nausea and exhaustion had me from work to couch, that's all. From week 15 I was able to go back to my work out routine (adapted of course because my energy levels are not the same as before bump). So my advice would be take it easy next weeks, listen to your body. You will feel better and more active for sure once the first trimester is over.

Honestly do what you feel you are able to at the moment. First trimester exhaustion is awful. Before falling pregnant I would go to the gym 5 days per week and would do at least 10000 steps a day. I didnt go to the gym after 6 weeks because I was so sick all day and felt exhausted! Some days I would do 4000 steps and that would be it. I'm 20 weeks now and in the last few weeks I've been able to start swimming twice a week and hitting my steps again daily. I saw my midwife at 15 weeks and she basically said that exercise in pregnancy is good but we have to listen to our body - she recommended swimming and I'm
glad she did!

@Lostintranslatio @wishuponastar1988 thank you both so much. It’s really reassuring to learn I’m not alone. I knew mum guilt was a thing but didn’t think it would kick in so early!!