Bodybuilding.com - Staying Fit While Pregnant!

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Did you know?
Monica Brant will be competing at the Arnold this year!

I'm going to be spending the next nine months plus some sharing my fitness experience through pregnancy and on the track back to competing.

By: Simone Sziksai

Note: This is part one, click here for part 2!
click here for part 3!

In case you hadn't guessed from the title of my article, I'm going to be spending the next nine months plus some sharing my fitness experience through pregnancy and on the track back to competing.

In the beginning when I knew that I wanted to start trying to have a baby, many thoughts ran through my head: how long would I have to be out of competition, how long would it take me to get back in shape, would I be able to train like I want to during pregnancy, is this the right time for me to be trying to start a family? The more I thought about it and the more people I talked to, I realized that there will never be a "perfect" time to start a family and if I wait to complete certain milestones I may never have the family I always dreamed about.

Over the next nine months, I will be sharing my fitness and nutrition experiences from pre-conception through birth. I will then continue to share with you my journey back to the stage. Your questions and comments are very much welcomed! Please e-mail me at Simone@Simone6i.com. Thank you so much for reading!

Pre-Conception:

Prior to conceiving I decided that I would continue my strict fitness regimen; however, I changed my diet slightly. I decided to stop taking creatine and add more carbohydrates to my daily intake because I was afraid that with a lower body fat percentage I may have trouble with fertility. I had no reason to believe that I was at risk of infertility, but I wanted to make sure that everything I was doing would not interfere with my chances of getting pregnant. Here's an example of my weekly routine and eating plan:

Monday:

10 min warm-up
Stretch
Plyometrics
Abs
Stretch for 10-15 min

Tuesday:

Afternoon - Upper Body Work Out
- 3-4 sets of 10 Chin-ups - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Seated rows - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Wide grip Lat pull downs - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Bent over dumbbell rows - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Chest press - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Incline dumbbell press - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Chest fly machine

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday's Afternoon Workout!

Evening - Cardio, Abs
- 30 min cardio, 50 crunches and stretch

Seated Rows

Wednesday:

Morning - Cardio, stretching
- 30 min cardio and stretch
Afternoon - Upper Body Work Out
- 3-4 sets of 12 Triceps - Push-downs - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Triceps - kick-backs - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Alternating Dumbbell curls - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Straight bar curls - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Superset front and side lateral raises - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Upright Rows - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Rear Deltoid machine
- 2 sets of 25 Ab crunches on Machine - View Exercise
- 2 sets of 25 on each side Oblique side bends w/ weight - View Exercise

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday's Afternoon Workout!

Bicep Curl

Thursday:

Afternoon: - Lower Body Work Out
- 3-4 sets of 12 Leg Extensions - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 12 Lying Leg Curls - View Exercise
- 2 sets of 25 Good Mornings or Straight Leg Dead Lifts - View Exercise
- 2 sets of 25 Abductor Machine
- 2 sets of 25 Adductor Machine
- 3 sets of 20 Calf raises w/ Smith Machine weights
- 3-4 sets of 15, 15, 15 Calf raises on floor (toes forward, turned out and turned in) - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 20 Walking lunges - View Exercise
- 3-4 sets of 20 Squats or leg press machine - View Exercise
- 3 Glute moves 50 reps on each side

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Thursday's Afternoon Workout!

Evening - Cardio, Abs
- 30 min cardio, 50 crunches and stretch

Friday:

Afternoon
- 2 sets of 25 Ab crunches on Machine
- 2 sets of 25 on each side Oblique side bends w/ weight
- 30-40 min cardio
- Stretch
OR
- Plyometrics
Evening - Cardio, Stretching
- 30 min cardio and stretch

Saturday:

Choose 1 exercise for each body part and perform one set to failure. Use moderate - heavy weight (so that you can get out at least 10 reps, but no more than 12.)
30-40 min cardio
Stretch for 15-20 min

2 sets of 25 Ab crunches on Machine
2 sets of 25 on each side Oblique side bends w/ weight
30-40 min cardio
Stretch

Sunday:

Rest

* Use moderate - heavy weight (so that you can complete your sets but just barely) and rest an average amount of time in-between sets (keep your heart rate up, but be able to lift the weights w/ proper form).

* If you have time to warm up for 10 min. and stretch before each work out session it is ideal, but I usually don't have time. On days that I do not have time to warm up, I try to start out with a lighter weight as a warm up and then I do 3 harder sets and I stretch in-between sets!

Breakfast: