Now that my roving outdoors guest blogger Romy Beard is excepting a baby, her approach to fitness activities has changed. Over the last few weeks Romy reports that the bump is stopping her from moving around in the “normal” way  and she has been starting to get some back pains. She says: “But as with previous niggles earlier on in the pregnancy, I am certain that another type of exercise will actually help.” So Romy decided to give a gym class called AquaTone a go. Here is her blog.

When I register for the class at reception, I check with the girl: “It’s ok to do this while I am pregnant, right?” She confirms and adds: “Actually, it says here that the class is ideal for pregnant women.” Great! Then she goes on to ask how pregnant I am. When I reply “six months”, she laughs out loud. I’m not sure if she meant: “Oh dear, only 3 months to go until birth!” or “Oh my, you are crazy to do this class!” I just laugh and make my way to the changing room.

I’ve always been quite active, so just stopping with all the exercise once I became pregnant was never an option – plus it’s good for me and the baby. I’ve simply adjusted the amount of exercise that I do and slowed down a bit. adjust, and slow down.

I get changed and then have time to do a few lengths in the pool before the class starts. One of the women in the pool next to me says “It’s hard work” but then she also admits having swum for half an hour beforehand. The other women around me – about a handful – are middle-aged and, well, a little larger. I am optimistic.

We start by jogging on the spot and I immediately think that this may make up for my lack of running. At least I am sort of doing the same movement?! But soon I have another worry: While my new maternity tankini looks good have you ever tried jogging on the spot without…erm… a sports bra? Plenty of bounce there! Thankfully I am short and most of me is under water!

The class itself is quite varied. Apart from jogging on the spot we jump up in the air, do squats, lunges, star jumps, leg kicks, throw our arms up in the air and jog around in a big circle.  The jumping up and down is fine with the bump and it’s nice to use my legs for different movements. Yes, I use my calves and shins and hamstrings again. Woohoo!

But the downside of this is that little baby Beard it also jumping on my bladder and  I have to heave myself out of the pool and visit the loo.

There’s quite a lot of activity for the arms and shoulders, too, like boxing underwater . If you’ve never tired it have a go and see how hard it is!  The best part comes about halfway through the class when the instructor hands out the long foamy spaghetti things that we now throw up and down in the air. We also twist the tubes into a knot and pull them through the water for an effective tricep workout.

It’s a 45min class and I enjoy it. My arms and legs feel worked, although I haven’t really broken into a sweat. AquaTone fulfills  the purpose of doing helping me to workout and it is fun. I’ll definitely do the class again while I’m pregnant but I’m not sure I will bother after I give birth.

So my suggestion for pregnant women is: find something that works for you and get moving!