I'm planning on getting pregnant. My daughter is turning 10 years old next month. Crazy spacing with kiddos but what am I going to do :) I'm aware of doctor clearance and listening to the body and every one is unique I will take all answers as friendly advice. I'm curious how far I can go with the workouts here on this site before I have to cancel my membership and use the pregnancy DVD which I plan to order. I LOVE these workouts and have been a member off and on. I want to keep up my strength and health and also I like to plan. Any thoughts on if I could adapt through 9 months or once I hit a certain point just use the pregnancy DVD.

Hi Meg! How exciting!!! So the rule of thumb is you can continue training the same way through pregnancy as before you became pregnant, but with modifications as you need them. Avoid jumping, jarring movements, or anything that puts you at risk of falling or injury to abdomen. I personally avoid heavier lifting type exercises (deadlifts, back squats, heavy RDL's, etc) starting in my 2nd trimester because these exercises require a lot of joint stability. Because your body releases the hormone relaxin week 7-10 during pregnancy, this allows ligaments and joints to relax and soften. So, unless I’m doing a fixed movement like a leg press or leg extension on a machine at a gym, I don’t do the heavier lifts that may compromise my joint stability with very heavy weights. However, the barre, yoga, body weight exercises on my site are very beneficial during pregnancy and you can still incorporate dumbbells with the exercises. I find by the 3rd trimester I only use weights for my upper body because performing all the lower body exercises are challenging enough with the weight of the baby and belly. So, within my site, there are a lot of workouts you can still do during your pregnancy but you may want to avoid some of the heavier lifts from some of the Iron Barre series. I also recommend easing up on plank work that puts a lot of pressure of the abdominal wall to help prevent diastasis recti (the Fit and Sleek prenatal physique series has a great mat workout and core workout that is suitable for a growing belly). Also, after the 4th month, keep lying on your back to less than a couple of minutes because the weight of the uterus can restrict blood flow. Every person is different and every pregnancy is different, but the prenatal series is going to be the most beneficial if you have been already exercising during the mid to late 2nd trimester and 3rd trimester, where a specialized prenatal program is needed. The great thing is for someone who has never exercised before, they can ease into exercise with the program and the 15 minute workouts are very doable when you are exhausted in first trimester. However, since you have been already doing the workouts on my site, you may want to combine both and be more selective on the workouts that will feel best for your body as your pregnancy develops. Also, this will help with exercise boredom as you probably don’t want to only be doing the Fit and Sleek prenatal series for 9 months straight! If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me!

Signed up again, because I really missed the great workouts. My favorite were the light weight upper body workout and the dancing arm workout. Can’t find it anymore 😫Can anyone tell me where I can find those or are they even still available?