September Goal Recap and October Goal Setting

I wasn’t sure if I’d have had the baby when September came to a close and here we are, September 30th and no baby yet. I have a lot of emotions around that but luckily I’m getting some strong signals that she’s coming soon. But regardless, it’s time to talk about how my September goals went.

My goals in September were:

1. Relaxation practice (including yoga) a minimum of 5 times a week
2. Complete Squat Challenge (or keep going until baby arrives)
3. At least 90 sec of holding a deep squat per day (this is an option for a pushing position and the average contraction in pushing phase is 45-90 seconds so it’s good to practice holding it for that long!)
4. Keep up with yoga up until delivery
5. Do something active (minimum being a walk) every day

I did a great job at relaxation this month! I was MUCH better about doing my relaxation practice (either using YouTube guided relaxations, listening to yoga music and visualizing birth or doing a relaxation practice with Mike) on top of all the yoga I did this month. In total, I did 24 relaxation sessions (with 10 being yoga sessions).  

I did not fully complete the squat challenge but I did give it a pretty good go! By the end of the month when the squats were getting to be close to 200, I decided to only do them when I felt fresh or wasn’t already doing a class like yoga or barre. I didn’t want to end up tiring myself out in case I went into labor. Plus, with the heat wave there were several days when the thought of getting all sweaty doing them wasn’t appealing! I did, however, hold the deep squat almost every day for at least 1.5 minutes, sometimes up to 2 minutes.

It’s safe to say that I achieved my “keep up with yoga” and “do something active daily” goals easily!

September Totals: 

• ~20 hours of walking or hiking (wow!)
• 10 yoga classes
• 9 Xtend Barre classes
• 24 relaxation practice sessions (including yoga)

  

I’m feel fortunate of how I held up physically in my final month of pregnancy. I’m still working out daily and taking long walks at 40 weeks, 5 days pregnant and I don’t see any reason to stop until I give birth. I love taking long walks with friends or Mike and it has been a great replacement for running because I still get to enjoy the outdoors and sweat while chatting along with friends.

I’ve really come to love my prenatal yoga classes as they connect me with women who are experiencing the same things as I am and I don’t ever have to modify! We also tend to spend at least 5 minutes at the end of class connecting with baby during savasana. My Xtend Barre classes are also something I look forward to and that make me feel strong. I’m pretty excited that both studios (CAP wellness and Xtend Barre) have mommy and me workout classes! I can’t wait to come back with Siena for a fun workout with fellow new moms when the time is right.

Although I was a bit disappointed that running felt so crappy throughout pregnancy (I’m not sure I really had more than a handful of “good” runs and probably ran longer than I really should have, stopping at 33 weeks), I have become so much stronger in other ways. My arms are more sculpted thanks to yoga and barre classes (I do additional arm strengthening moves for the 10 minutes of class that they do abs so I get bonus arm sculpting) and my butt and thighs, although covered in an extra layer of cushion thanks to pregnancy pounds, are definitely stronger. I’ve become more centered and my yoga practice has grown leaps and bounds. Although I can’t work on inversions or advanced balance postures in yoga, my form in the most fundamental poses has dramatically improved. The shift in my focus from running (and specifically, qualifying for Boston) to more holistic, overall well-being centered goals has been therapeutic for me.

October Goals: 

1) HAVE A FREAKING BABY.

That’s all. 🙂

Have you ever been forced to change your primary workout method and found that you grew stronger as an athlete?