Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! According to my app, this week the baby is the length of a watermelon – about 19-22 inches. My app also says that he should be around 6.5 pounds, but we know from my last ultrasound that he blew past that landmark weeks ago! We’ll guess that he’s somewhere in the 8-9 pound range.

I’ve noticed this week that I am slowing down – big time. I have mastered the pregnant lady waddle and am not only slow moving, but slow to get up and down. This affects our Pilates lessons, as we’re able to fit fewer exercises into our 50 minutes together, but they are still fabulous nonetheless.

This week our workout focused on stretching and releasing muscle tension. Carey and I talked a little bit about delivery and the importance of learning to let go. We also started looking ahead to post-pregnancy recovery. As a mother of three and movement enthusiast, Carey shared some of the little movements she started doing after her children were born. These movements include Kegels, gently engaging her abdominal muscles, walking short distances, and arm circles in bed.

Note: the amount of exercise that you do post-pregnancy should be a decision that’s made between you and your healthcare provider.

So, with the focus on delivery and reducing muscle tightness, Carey had me start standing, holding on to the red rope. The red rope, which comes from the Ron Fletcher school of Pilates, is essentially three six-foot-long strips of terrycloth that are braided together. Because the rope is made of terrycloth it has a little bit of give. Carey had me hold the rope taut in front of my body with my hands near the ends. On an inhale, I slowly lifted the rope up over my head and then exhaled and brought the rope behind my body. We then reversed the movement, bringing the rope back in front of my body. This movement is great for opening up the shoulders and chest.

Next we worked on stretching the side waist and chest with some half barrel exercises. To begin, Carey had me lie on my side with the left side of my torso resting on the half barrel, my left arm reaching long to the mat, and my legs comfortably resting on the mat. Working to lengthen through my right side waist, Carey had me take a big inhale as I reached my right fingertips toward my left hand and then exhale as I brought the hand back down by my side (essentially a modified version of Mermaid).

Then, Carey had me start in the same position, except with both hands overhead. From there, I reached back with my right hand and rolled slightly onto my back, opening my chest in a very nice stretch. We repeated that move 5-8 times (see photos).

See you next week (unless baby arrives first)!

-Cassie

Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! I am 34 weeks along and baby is roughly the size of a pineapple. He is likely between 19 and 22 inches long and at least 4.9 pounds.

I have been feeling pretty well although my heels occasionally hurt when I’ve been on my feet too long. I searched the internet to find out why my heels might be hurting and the answer was pretty simple. Basically, as my stomach grows my body shifts posture to accommodate the extra weight up front and I end up leaning back for balance, thus shifting weight into my heels. As a remedy, I’ve been soaking my feet, applying foot lotion, and wearing socks to bed.

Another side effect of my growing belly is that muscles get tight that otherwise would work in balance with my other muscles. In particular, my outer hips and inner thighs. To combat the tightness, Carey had me focus on both exercising and stretching those muscles. We started with standing side leg kicks using the high barrel for balance. The side leg kick series is a traditional series of leg movements performed while lying on your side on the mat. That version is good for pregnant women too, but the work to stand while doing side leg kicks adds a level of difficulty to the movement.

Standing with one hand on the high barrel for balance, we did 3-5 of each of the following leg movements on each leg:

1. Side leg lifts – extending your leg straight out at your side and lowering it back down
2. Bent leg kick backs – keeping your knee bent and foot flexed, kick your leg behind you to open the front of your hip and lower it back down
3. Développé – a classic ballet-inspired Pilates move where you start with your leg externally rotated at hip height and then pull the toes in to drag along the standing leg, bending the knee as the toes slide up the leg, and then straightening the leg back to its starting position (and then the reverse)
4. Rond de jambe – another ballet-inspired Pilates move where you sweep one leg forward and then lift it out to your side and behind you in a half-circle movement (and then the reverse)

After working the legs, we did a nice stretch called Scooter on the Reformer. Scooter is a modified version of front splits that gives a great stretch without having to worry about balancing in a standing position on the Reformer – or, in my case – trying to bend down over my big belly to reach the footbar. (See photo to the right.)

To start, Carey had me line my right toes up with the front of the Reformer while placing my left knee on the carriage and bracing my left foot up against the shoulder block for stability. I held on to the footbar for support. To stretch, I inhaled as I pushed back with both legs until I felt a stretch in the back of my standing leg and the front of my kneeling hip. I repeated this movement 4-5 times on each side, each time trying to gently stretch a tiny bit further. The stretches felt great!

Check back next week for ultrasound updates!

-Cassie

Welcome back to our Pilates and Pregnancy blog! This week the baby is about 19 inches long and 3.9 pounds. I had a doctor’s appointment and am happy to report that everything looks good. Baby’s head is down, he had a strong heartbeat, and my belly is still measuring on track. Only eight more weeks to go!

This week I wanted to share my top 5 favorite Pilates exercises for pregnancy. Throughout my pregnancy, my body has changed immensely, but these exercises continue to feel good. Carey and I did some variation of each of these exercises this week.

1. Mermaid. The classical Pilates exercise Mermaid can be performed on the mat, Chair, Reformer, and Cadillac. My favorite version throughout pregnancy has been on the Reformer. This exercise is great because it stretches out the side waist and hips. Carey modified my leg position so that rather than having one leg stacked on top of the other, I position one bent leg up against the shoulder blocks and the other bent leg opens to the side of the carriage (see picture below).
2. Leg springs with my head supported. Using the Cadillac or Tower systems, Carey has me rest my head and neck on a small half barrel. I rest my arms beside me and she helps me get my feet into the leg springs. The added lift of the half barrel makes it more work to keep my hips stable, but also prevents heartburn or too much pressure from lying flat on my back. Leg springs feel great on both my inner thighs and outer hips, which are tighter now than they were before becoming pregnant.
3. Thigh stretch over the big ball. To do thigh stretch over the big ball, Carey has me sit back on my heels and then she positions the big ball directly behind me. I drape my body back over the ball so that my head rests on the ball. Even without moving this is a big stretch for my quads. To get the full thigh stretch, I lift my hips a few inches away from my heels on the inhale and then relax them back down on the exhale. Since everything in my hips/quads/lower abdomen region is tight, this exercise helps to gently stretch those muscles (see picture below).
4. Cat. My low back has felt tight or sore off and on during the second and third trimesters. There are many variations of Cat, but my two favorites are standing with my hands holding onto either side of the Chair, and kneeling with both palms flat on a big exercise ball. While holding either of those positions, I transition through a rounding and extension of the spine. I perform some variation of this exercise every day and it never fails to help relieve my low back pain.
5. Standing arm springs. Unlike the previous four exercises, the standing arm springs series does not stretch or relieve any pregnancy-induced tightness. However, this series is great for keeping up arm strength and working on shoulder stability (see picture below).