EDITED: I WAS pregnant. I am now a mom trying to lose the baby weight. Go me! So. I’m pregnant. Surprise! Which means that I’ve had to modify just about everything over the last 3 months. With Smalls, I wasn’t nauseous, I felt awesome, but I didn’t exercise as much as I should. This time around, I’m determined to change that, so I tried out the new Physique 57 Prenatal Workout.
Physique 57 Prenatal Workout Review
This time around, I vowed that I would workout regularly…that was, until the “morning” sickness hit me like a mac truck. Y’all, I feel HORRIBLE. But I’m still determined to workout, even if it’s not as often as I had originally planned.
I have a number of prenatal barre workouts that I’ve been using, and I’m going to be reviewing them over the next couple of months in hopes that it might help you find your perfect pregnancy workout, too.
You really should exercise while pregnant
The first workout I tried was Physique Prenatal. You can watch a preview HERE. Like all of the Physique workouts, the Physique 57 prenatal workout has smooth transitions, is challenging, but gentle.
Instructors Who Are PREGNANT?! HECK YES!
Unlike so many prenatal workouts, the women in this video are ACTUALLY pregnant. So I felt like I could at least try to keep up. They are far more flexible than me right now, though, so I just modified my movements. This workout is led by Alicia, who is super sweet and soothing as you transition from one movement to the next.
It Hurts So Good
I love the whole body focus, starting with arms. You really can work your arms while you’re pregnant (the baby isn’t growing there, after all!), and this workout gave me jell-o arms, which is ALWAYS a good thing. I will say that I needed a day between workouts to recover because of this. Beyond the arms, the legs section is very familiar, but modified gently for pregnancy.
Physique has always been one of my favorites due to it’s quick movements, upbeat music, and fast pace. Compared to other pregnancy workouts, this fits right into the mix. While slower moving than Physique 57 Classic
I was a little surprised by the ab work-which is on the floor with a wedge-shaped mat. While I don’t have one of those at home, I was able to substitute quite a few pillows.
I Have No Abs
This was probably my least favorite part of the workout, and quite honestly, I only did it once just to see how it felt. With my cramping (yay for an expanding uterus!), and nausea, laying down was NOT what I wanted to do.
I prefer to use The Dia Method, which focuses on gentle exercises to strengthen your belly and prevent diastasis recti, which is the separation of your stomach muscles…not a good thing.
Overall, I really liked Physique 57 Prenatal workout. It’s low impact, effective, and fun, just like I expected. My one caveat? I really wish it was on DVD, rather than streaming.
I’m not terribly savvy (um, yeah…I know I’m a blogger…I blame my preggo brain.) when it comes to figuring out how to connect my television to a website. It was frustrating, to say the least. I wasn’t thrilled with having to crane my neck to see my laptop. That aside, it’s a great workout.
