I have said it before and I will say it again: Exercise is hard! It takes a lot of motivation, effort, and commitment to continue to exercise day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. It is HARD! There are countless reasons why many of us cannot seem to make the commitment. Sometimes the biggest challenge in exercising is getting started i.e. putting in the workout video or going to the gym. If we can conquer that initial struggle of just getting started, the workout happens and is done sooner than we thought (it does not take that long to workout … just thirty minutes to an hour five to seven times a week). Let us say that as pregnant women and mothers that we HAVE made the commitment to exercise. That our resolve and determination are set and that we ARE working out thirty minutes to one hour five to seven times a week. What could possible get in our way now?
How about other people? I am sure that I am not alone in this. It can be surprising how negative and unsupportive other people can be about our resolve to exercise regularly. Usually this negativity comes from the people closest to us: spouses, family, friends, coworkers, etc. Usually these people are NOT committed to regular exercise and they tend to have very little understanding of exercise in general and its overall importance for life long health. The negativity can come in many forms. I have been laughed at, scoffed at, yelled at, told that my workout is not going to do me any good (whatever that means), told that I do not need to workout, and gossiped about (by overweight coworkers). The negativity comes and it goes and it is anything but encouraging. When I first started working out I never imagined that the people closest to me would give me such a hard time about working out.
I have been working out several times a week since the beginning of my first pregnancy. It can be a struggle at times and I had some difficulty getting back into the workout routine after our son was born but I never gave up. At this point I am determined to workout regularly for the rest of my life!
Bottom line: If you have made the commitment to exercise and are doing an amazing job day after day, week after week, and month after month (and possibly year after year) do NOT let someone else’s negativity and ignorance about regular committed exercise discourage you from your resolve to get healthy before, during, and after your pregnancy. Exercise is good for you and your baby!