Biking at 32 weeks Pregnant

This is a series where I document exercising while pregnant. You can see the last post at 28 weeks here

While my belly is pretty big now, and I’m regularly wearing maternity pants, there’re still days that I can’t believe I’m 32 weeks pregnant and the baby is coming in ~ 8 weeks 😱.

Overall, things are going well. I still bike around and I’m working out a lot but I’m definitely walking around a lot slower. It’s hard to move around with a big belly and even the smallest of hills can get me winded.

I’m proud to say that I biked 92 KM in March though - which is pretty good considering I was in my 3rd trimester and getting bigger. In general, I prefer biking to walking - it’s easier and I can go at my own pace but my health practitioners are encouraging me to keep walking so that is what I’ll do. The strength training I do 2-3x a week has also been good to maintain my stamina and strength. I do a lot of modifications in my workouts - I don’t squat as deep nor do I use very heavy weights but I’ve not noticed that much SI pain recently which is great since that means I can keep walking.

Notable Bike Trips

We’ve been using the Urban Arrow a lot as well, mostly grocery trips and errands. Notable trips includes picking up furniture at Ikea in the rain and using it to buy a stroller from FB marketplace.

Ikea trip in the rain - the garbage bag kept the boxes dry for the trip home.

Baby stroller pick up in the rain. I tried using the cargo cover but it didn’t fit under and it still got a bit wet.

More Biking still?

I’ve noticed that I’m more easily tired now that I’m in my 3rd trimester. This means I take more naps and I’ve not been going in person to the office as much anymore since I want to prioritize my energy levels for workouts and working at home. However, I have a few more in-person activities in my last few weeks before work ends so I’m going to try and bike in to the office. But as always, I’ll do what I feel comfortable with so it’s nice to have Bikeshare as an option or take transit if I feel like it. My promise is to to listen to my body and do what feels good.

The Big Picture and ‘What’s Next’

I feel like I re-learn this lesson every few years but there’s no point in thinking about a future, or a future you’re scared of, when really, you need to be living in the now and thinking about this moment, and maybe the next moment.

It’s my 32nd week and I’m still exercising, working, and feeling pretty good. Well that’s because for the most part, I’m just thinking about the workouts I‘ll do today, the yoga workout I wanna pre-load for tomorrow and whether or not I want to or have time for, a walk this afternoon. Oh and whether or not I feel good and comfortable stepping onto my bike today. And don’t you know it, all this adds up to a lot of exercising and leaves me feelin’ pretty good and energetic 🥰.

As I look ahead to the weeks, I do feel scared. Like what is the 34th week like, the 36th week like, and should I even be biking or exercising like this? The answer is I don’t know. A lot can change but for now, for this week, I feel good, I feel energetic, so let’s do this. The 34th and 36th or whatever week will come and we can deal with it later. Don’t need to think or plan too much on something that’s not here yet and we have no control over.