Student Spotlight – Carolyn S. and Baby Gretchen

Coach Nancy here, excited to be sharing a new Student Spotlight Series! Usually our spotlight is a chance for one of Get Fit NH’s family members to shine, but over the next two weeks I have several to highlight. In fact, three people in particular have caught this coach’s eye. They have one commonality – they are all pregnant or have recently given birth. All of these women are inspiring individuals. Adding to their uniqueness is their continuation of their training while pregnant. It is inspiring and leaves the rest of us thinking, “If they can do this, I can too!”.

To start off our two weeks of spotlighting Get Fit NH’s inspiring pregnant women, we have Carolyn S. She has written about her experience training with Get Fit NH while being pregnant, here is her story:

“Approximately three years ago, a friend introduced me to Get Fit NH… and it’s been a huge part of my life ever since. Before Get Fit NH, I felt limited to walking and hiking with my dog, which I still enjoy doing, but I was looking for a new way to challenge myself. I really wanted to be a part of a group because I was tired of feeling isolated and trying to adapt to a healthier lifestyle on my own. A couple years ago, I attended a workshop in Epsom on Pre/Post Natal training put on by Nancy, just to gather information. I knew before getting pregnant I wanted to be healthy and strong. I was also looking to get an idea of how training would change for me if or when I become pregnant.

Fast forward to today and not only do I train in the company of friends, but my family is training together, which is the best gift we ever could have gotten. My husband started training with Get Fit NH over a year ago; we started doing this together to be healthier for our “future” children. I remember Nancy saying at the Pre/Post Natal training that when the mother’s heart rate increases so does the baby’s. That stuck with me. I’m currently 38.5 weeks pregnant, and I’ve been able to train 3-4 times a week throughout my pregnancy because of the care and dedication of Nancy.

Nancy was one of the first people to know that my husband and I were expecting. From the beginning, we knew we were in good hands, but we wanted to make sure we were communicating with our trainer, doctor, and chiropractor. I don’t feel like a whole lot has changed for me in terms of training, but that’s probably because Nancy has done such a wonderful job of quickly and discreetly modifying exercises I was struggling with. This is something I really appreciate because, generally, I don’t like to draw a lot of attention to myself.

Back in November, my doctor had to fill out paperwork in order for me to continue to train throughout pregnancy. Nancy wrote a letter explaining that this was something that I’d been involved in for the past couple of years. I remember the doctor encouraging me to only lift 15 lbs, which left me feeling both limited and frustrated. I talked to Nancy about this because I knew I wasn’t trying to increase the amount of weight I was lifting, but if I wasn’t able to lift more than 15 lbs I wasn’t even going to maintain where I was. Our conversations left me feeling more confident in my own judgment and strength. I also knew that if I wasn’t feeling comfortable with a particular exercise, then I could lighten up on the weight or ask for a modification.

During training, I started to wear a heart rate monitor, which I was excited about because I had attended the 8-week heart rate monitor training session in Concord last year. I’d grown to really like seeing how quickly I could recover after getting my heart rate up. With this pregnancy, I was using the heart rate monitor to keep my heart rate below 80% of its maximum. Check-ins were subtle throughout training and I was encouraged to respond with at least five words so Nancy could gauge how I was doing. I regularly required reminders to breathe.

During my first trimester, I was able to participate in all of the exercises although there would be days (maybe weeks) where I felt so tired that I appreciated being able to choose a modified version of the exercise.  I felt like I had plenty of energy during my second trimester, but pushups, knee grab abs and lying T’s were beginning to be a real challenge.  On certain days where I was suffering from lower back pain, Nancy quickly came up with another option for me to do that would take the strain off of my back.

Being pregnant didn’t exempt me from goal setting. Instead, I was given the opportunity to focus on nutrition. I would fill out my food journal every other week, hand it into Nancy, and get feedback. I found this to be really helpful because it helped me see when and where I was eating my carbs, fats, and proteins. Nancy shared recipes with me and suggested other food options.

Training as a family is something we look forward to doing together, and it had bonded us in a way I’m not sure anything else could have.  Kellen and I can’t wait for you to meet our next generation of Get Fit NH.  This little one has been training with you for almost a full 40 weeks!” – Carolyn S.

Update: Carolyn and Kellen are happy to announce the birth of Gretchen in August. Congratulations from your Get Fit Family!