Devised by a man named Joseph Pilates, the exercise was first created to help rehabilitate bed-ridden patients.  It helps to strengthen the core muscles with specific breathing techniques that result in improved flexibility, strength, muscle tone, body awareness, energy and mental concentration (more details on Wikipedia).

I took my first pilates class in Australia after I suffered a back spasm at work that put me off work for a day and a half.  The doctor told me the cause of the pain was muscular and it was the result of weak back muscles.  He advised me to start strengthening those muscles with exercise.  I'd heard that pilates was great for people with back pain so I decided to try it for myself.

During my first class I remembered thinking to myself, "Stretching exercises...  How hard can this be?"  Aside from my initial difficulties with balance (yes, I had problems with it even back then), I found the class very light.  By the end of the class I felt like I had hardly worked out at all and I had some doubts lingering in my head whether this class was even helpful.  That was, until I woke up the next morning... 

I never thought my muscles ache the way they did just from stretching - or at least that's what it felt like I was doing.  Suffice to say I was a pilates convert from that day onwards. 

When I heard they were offering pilates for pregnant women at fitfor2, I decided to start again.  I was already starting to develop a little bit of back pain from carrying the extra load up front so I figured pilates would be just the exercise I needed.  Pilates is a pretty popular class among the pregnant Moms and since there's only one class a week, getting into a class requires advanced planning. 

My first class highlighted a couple of my problem areas:

• Weak core muscles - because I found myself unable to complete some of the exercises
• Poor breathing technique - nothing new here since I've always had problems with my breathing rhythm as demonstrated by the fact that I can swim back stroke but my freestyle and front crawl strokes leave a lot to be desired. 

With the emphasis on training the core muscles, I figure pilates should also be good preparation for the upcoming delivery.  I've heard it's going to be the workout of my life...

I've yet to get accustomed to the idea that I'm pregnant and that there are certain activities I am excluded from by default.  For instance, a friend asked me if I wanted to take a walk at the park in Kiara and I immediately said, "Ok." 

I figured walking would be okay - it's a light activity that wouldn't strain a pregnant woman unnecessarily.  What I had overlooked was that the time my friend had suggested was 3pm on a Saturday afternoon and what the books had advised was not to go walking during the afternoon when it can be a little too warm.  The best times are during early morning or evening when the sun isn't too strong.  Alternatively, there's always the air conditioned environment of a shopping mall...

The 9:30 class was surprisingly more crowded than my first fitball session I took.  Contrary to my former thoughts that I might not sweat as much in a fitball class versus the regular aerobics class, I found myself sweating just as profusely for this particular session. 

They say that as you approach the third trimester, heating up easily is a common problem.  Perhaps that's why I'm sweating more in my classes.  Even a mild flurry of light activity around the house is sufficient for me to break into a sweat.

I remember the first time I ever saw a fitball class was in the first gym I joined in Melbourne.  The classes were always full of pregnant women with what appeared to be the occasional non-pregnant woman or two (or perhaps they were pregnant women who weren't quite showing as yet).  It looked a little silly bouncing around on a ball, but I always did take things too seriously back then.  Now that I've tried it, it is fun - sort of like being a kid all over again.

Even though I hardly felt like I was working out during the fitball class, it does require a little more skill in terms of balance, particularly during the times when you lose contact with the ball.  I've since discovered that "balance" isn't one of my fortes.

My main reason for taking fitball classes is that I get a workout for my pelvic floor muscles without consciously working on them (Kegel exercises can get a little boring and tedious after a while).  It seems that the action of bouncing up off the ball causes the unconscious contraction of the pelvic floor muscle.

Now I finally know what to do with the fitball I have at home - other than sit on it, that is...

I may be pregnant and forced to abstain from rock climbing until I've delivered the baby, but I think my subconscious mind is manifesting  withdrawal symptoms through my dreams...

Since the start of this pregnancy, I've had one dream on hiking and three dreams about rock climbing - at least the ones I can specifically remember.  The latest dream was this morning.  I dreamt that a new rock climbing wall was going up in the park opposite my house.  In the dream before this, I was climbing in a gym that turned into a cave.  There was one particular roof sequence that was very interesting but I woke up before I had a chance to try it.  In the first dream I can remember, I was in Nyamuk climbing the "Dengue" section.

During every one of these dreams, I never want to wake up.  I try to stay in the dream state for as long as I can manage until something inevitable pulls me out of it - like a phonecall, or the need to use the bathroom (an increasingly annoying condition of pregnancy).

I attended my second class at Fitfor2 yesterday.  The class was an hour earlier and since getting up early is no longer a discipline of mine, it was a bit of a struggle to get there on time.  Still, I made it.  Perhaps it's good that they require prior booking of classes because it forces you to keep the commitment instead of rolling over in bed and catching class another day.  I think if it weren't for that fact, I probably would have skipped class.

The class was a regular aerobics class - still for pregnant women, but regular in the sense that it did not involve the fit ball.  Intensity wise it was about the same as the fit ball class I took last week although I was sweating a lot more.  The instructor warned me that I was sweating too much (a possibility that I might be overexerting), but I personally felt like I was well within my physical limits and heart rate.

I've been wondering about the sweating because I'm the sort of person that sweats easily even with mild exertion.  One of my fitness instructors said I had a very effective cooling system because I sweat so easily.  My question now is: "Is sweating a lot a good or bad thing?"  Before I was pregnant, sweating easily was a good thing, but now that I'm pregnant and the danger of overheating threatens baby, what does it imply for me?

Back in the days of climbing, even when I was climbing an "easy" route, I'd still sweat like I'd taken a shower even if my body didn't feel the exertion.  When I recall the previou class of fit ball, I don't think I sweat as much so perhaps I should switch back to those classes?

The aspects of exercise that a pregnant woman needs to be aware of are:

- possibility of injury to baby due to falling, accidents, etc.
- adequate hydration (drink plenty of fluids during exercise)
- adequate oxygen supply to baby (remember to breathe!  Yawning during exercise is hint that you're not breathing enough)
- heart rate - make sure it isn't too high
- keeping cool so baby doesn't overheat
- exhaustion - avoid exercising to the point of exhaustion because it's bad for baby.  A good measure is to check if you can still carry out your daily activities after your exercise.  If you need to crash for a while, you're overexerting.  In general, exercise should make you feel energised, not tired.

So far, I meet all the requirements.  I've switch back to fitball next for week just to avoid the possibility that my excessive sweating is a sign that baby's getting too warm.  I've also managed to get myself into one of the pilates classes - not an easy feat as it is a very popular class that is often fully booked.  I figured pilates would be good for me since it has been touted as an excellent exercise for people with back problems and I'm already starting to develop lower back pain from the added weight to my front.

I've read that yoga is good for breathing especially during delivery but unfortunately, due to the popularity of the class I haven't been able to get a session.

Alright, so I was supposed to maintain some sort of exercise regime through the pregnancy...  I'm now in my fifth month and all I've done is walk around the shopping complexes and the occasional Kegel exercises when I happen to remember them.

For those of you who aren't aware, Kegel exercises helps to strengthen a woman's pelvic floor muscles.  It's original purpose was to help women suffering from urinary incontinence post delivery, but it is now also tooted to be great way to improve your sex life even for women who have never given birth.

There are some tips at this site that explain how to identify your pelvic floor muscles.  The easiest way is to think of the muscle you contract when you are trying to stop of a flow of urine in midstream and you'll get the idea.  Kegel exercises are basically variations of clenching and unclenching your pelvic floor muscles.

The doctor had encouraged swimming and gentle walking and believe me, I had the best intentions to do both, but with all the haze and rain of late, it was pretty easy make excuses and to turn into a couch potato.  I think the last real bit of exercise I did was the 15km run the day before I discovered I was pregnant, although I have to add that a good walk around the shopping mall is often enough to send me to "la-la land" by the time I get home.

My friend E referred me to a couple places that provided exercise classes specifically for pregnant women.  My main concern was that the gym instructors at my gym were not adequately trained to instruct a pregnant women.  I'd never even seen a pregnant woman working out at my gym either so I wasn't keen to risk it.  I suspended my gym membership at Celebrity Gym (though not without running into some difficulties but they were amenable to it at the end - read about it here and here).

To date there are only two places that I am aware of which offer exercise classes specifically for pregnant women:

1. Fitness First in the Curve and John Hancock building run a couple of classes a week that are free for pregnant women.  If I'm not mistaken, they used to have a class around about 10ish on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays but you'll have to call for more information.

2. Fit For 2 on Jalan Bangkung, Bangsar is an exercise studio and cafe specifically for Moms, kids and Moms-to-be.  They hold exercise classes for pregnant women on Fit Ball, Yoga, Pilates and Aerobics.

I can't really comment on the Fitness First classes, but my experience with Fit For 2 was great.  I attended my first Fit Ball session on Wednesday passed.  The first class is free of charge and is intended as a "taste test" so you can decide if you want to come back again.  Aside from feeling a little silly bouncing on a ball, I was pretty much sold after that session.

The instructor Debbie was experienced and down-to-earth.  She checked our stages of pregnancy and offered plenty of "intensity options" for us if any of us ever felt that the exercises were getting too "tough".  There were only seven of us in the class (not including Debbie) so she could observe each of us carefully to correct our postures and movements.  She warned us about the "dos and don'ts" - especially on working out the abdominal muscles.  She was also careful to intersperse the exercise intensity with "breaks" so we don't overheat or raise our heart rate too high.

The rule of thumb when exercising is that it should energise you.  If you feel like you've got to go home and crash, you've worked out too hard.  I'm glad to report that I seem to have maintained my fitness levels because I felt pretty good for the rest of the day.  Now if only I can maintain the discipline to exercise...

Not that I am a fan, but with the hubby's enthusiasm, I've started to pick up a little on the World Cup Fever that has seized the World.  Hanging out with a bunch of football fanatics, I could almost pass off as one - almost. 

Here were a couple of blunders that gave me away for the football ignoramus that I am:

Me: (as I looked at the screen and saw that Germany was one up - this was several matches back) Yay!  Germany scored a goal!  Erm... which colour is Germany?

Or in another situation when the hubby and I were talking about the Australia vs Italy match:

Me: Poor Australia.  That was such a rough cut.
Hubby: Yeah.  Bloody Italians damn cheats!
Me: Yeah - bunch of sliders!
Hubby: It's "divers", dear, not "sliders"...

Then again in yet another conversation while watching a match:

Me: I wonder how they control the direction of the ball when they head-butt it.
Hubby: (laughs) They don't "head-butt" the ball, they "head" it.

But other than that, I think I'm getting the hang of it all.  I even know what "off-side" is now.  And yeah, it's "off-side" not "off-site".  But then, nobody hears the mispronunciation - until you write it out...