“I felt confident enough to train even during my pregnancy.”

As promised, we’re bringing you stories, not just information on how women from our community benefited from lifting weights during their pregnancy! Why? Because you don’t need to fear weight training during pregnancy. In fact, it’s great for you! . During pregnancy your body is going through a lot of hormonal changes, one of which involves the release of the hormone relaxin. It is responsible for preparing the body to stretch and adapt to the demands of labour/delivery. The downside to this is the loss of systemic stability, which often manifests in poor postural control and lack of balance. Strength training will help stabilise the body and reduce the occurrence of common lower & upper back pains associated with carrying a baby full term. . First in our series of stories is @kandalavaishnavi. Please remember, each story is different, just like each woman’s experience. The point here is to inspire men and women to be open to the benefits of prenatal strength training and be better informed about how it works. We will not tolerate judgement and trolling. . Vaishnavi was such a champ all through this journey, and really learnt to listen to her body and enjoy training while staying safe. Here's her journey, in her own words: . WHY? I had my apprehensions to train during pregnancy, had lots of questions - can I do pushups? Is it okay to bend? Should I check with my doctor if I can train? At what intensity should I train? From my discussions with Coach @raj.ganpath, I felt confident enough to train. . WHAT EXERCISES? - I started training right from the beginning but it was a slow gradual process. I would work on squats, press, deadlifts, glute bridges, hinges and pretty much everything but this was slow tempo and calm reps. - Raj and I would have continued email exchanges to discuss various aspects and tweak the plan weekly as and when required. In the second trimester, when I was feeling my best - I even did my max on the deadlifts (around 64kgs) and it felt great. The third trimester - we included specific exercises to help during labour like belly breathing, kegel, and few others.