Brit Williams - Mind, Body, Bump The complete plan for an active pregnancy

THE COMPLETE PLAN FOR AN ACTIVE PREGNANCY

BRIT WILLIAMS

WITH FOREWORD BY TAMARA HILL-NORTON, SWEATY BETTY FOUNDER

INCLUDES RECIPES BY

What a brilliant book for expectant mums! If you have enjoyed training especially strength training before your pregnancy, Mind, Body, Bump will be an insightful and inspiring support as you transition to training for two.

I wish Id had Brits book on my shelf during my three pregnancies. In the early 2000s, there was nothing like this for prenatal women. I remember well how people would tell me I shouldnt be raising my heart rate and how I should do little more than some gentle prenatal yoga. Without much information available, I didnt know who or what to believe; aside from cycling and yoga, I prevented myself from doing the exercise I loved best.

The other experience I remember poignantly is the guilt when I did carve out time to train. During my last pregnancy I had weekly sessions with a prenatal trainer, but it entailed leaving my home and my children on top of taking time away from family to run my business. For busy mums-to-be and mums with younger children, I particularly love the flexibility and adaptability of Brits programme. You can work out at home and spend as long or little as you can, all while knowing you are receiving the best advice and guidance.

Having worked with Brit and watched her journey through personal training and motherhood, I cannot imagine a more passionate and qualified trainer to be there for every step of your active pregnancy. You can hear her enthusiasm in the way she writes. She includes all the information you could ever want, but makes it accessible with personal anecdotes and a sense of humour that reminds us that exercise is a fun and enjoyable part of pregnancy. Mind, Body, Bump is the next best thing to having Brit there by your side.

There is a lot of synergy between MBB and Sweaty Betty. Our mission is to empower women through fitness and beyond, and Brit is supporting that empowerment through one precious and incomparably rewarding female experience. I wish you well on your MBB journey, and hope that pregnancy and motherhood enables you to become your strongest, happiest self yet.

Tamara

FOUNDER & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER OF SWEATY BETTY

There are a handful of experiences in life that leave you wondering how you got from there to here. Pregnancy is one of them. Becoming a mother is, perhaps, the biggest one of all. For me, writing this book has been another. It is fitting, then, that Ive filled the following pages during the first six months of getting to know my daughter, and that, in becoming a mother, Ive had the opportunity to reflect on the unique there-ness of pregnancy.

At every turn of pregnancy from the moment the stick turns blue to the first scan, the emergence of your bump to the initial exhilarating contraction there is a sense of leaping suddenly and irreversibly away from the familiar comfort of there and arriving at a kind of limbo that we can only describe as here.

Pregnancy is arguably natures most transient phenomenon. Among its rapid physical and mental changes, the only real continuity is a sense of waiting and waiting

The word itself implies inactivity, awkward stillness and uncertainty, but this doesnt have to be the case. Life neednt stop when youre expecting. Its just beginning in more ways than one. This book explores how to stop waiting and start living, by embracing action and reclaiming ownership over the here, wherever here is for you.

Exercise is an opportunity to quiet a busy mind and focus on the simplicity of moving and breathing. Each workout improves your physical awareness, while achievements along the way help you to celebrate your changing body. Lets not forget about the source of change the beautiful baby growing beneath your bump. It makes good sense that the healthier your body, the healthier the baby who calls it home.

Mind, Body, Bump is the result of trialing hundreds of exercises while pregnant myself, as well as creating and modifying prenatal training plans for many expectant mums, who have since given birth to thriving babies and continued to enjoy exercise as new mums. Throughout the book Ill refer to modifications as pregnancy-progressive. Some of these modifications may not look like the progressions youre used to in workouts, such as moving faster or lifting heavier, but theyre adapted to benefit your body from one phase of pregnancy to the next. After all, youre producing a tiny miracle inside you, and theres no denying thats a pretty progressive task.

Beyond providing a means of carving out valuable you-time during pregnancy, exercise has ample benefits for both you and your growing baby. Listen to your body and seek out any action that creates a health- and happiness-boosting reaction.

Recent studies have invalidated old fears about prenatal exercise, instead proving that an active pregnancy can aid fetal heart health, reduce maternal hypertension and support a shorter labour. Training can also improve lower-back strength and reduce pregnancy-related injuries. University of Montreal researchers have even identified a positive link between active pregnancies and advanced neurodevelopment in newborns yet more evidence that workouts are physically and mentally beneficial for expectant mums and their babies.

The science is compelling. But theres one benefit of prenatal exercise that is even more obvious: it makes you feel good.

Im not just talking about feel-good endorphins, which will undoubtedly give you a buzz that turns any waddle into serious pregnancy swag. A consistent prenatal training programme achieves far-reaching benefits, buckling you into the driving seat during the wild ride of pregnancy. The focus required during the more technical aspects of strength training in particular encourages you to turn your mind inwards and manifest the kind of self-belief that helps to frame pregnancy and labour in a positive light.

Television presenter, mother and fitness expert Davina McCall brilliantly stated that fear is the greatest closer of cervixes. I couldnt agree more, which is why the benefits of this book exceed the physical benefits of working out. The same self-belief that gets you through your workouts will guide you calmly and confidently through your labour. Youll discover strength you didnt know you had, tap into newfound respect for your body and connect deeply and meaningfully to your baby. Youre about to undertake the ultimate labour of love.

GO FOR GOLD

The most inspiring evidence for staying active is the example set by exceptional athletes who have continued to train and compete throughout their pregnancies. Most recently, Serena Williams has been hailed the mother of all athletes, winning the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant and returning to Wimbledon within a year of the birth of her daughter. British ultra runner Sophie Power also proved mothers can go the distance during the 166km Ultra Trail Mont Blanc in 2018, which she successfully completed while expressing milk and breastfeeding her three-month-old baby boy. Sophie gives her prenatal training full credit for her strong recovery, and found that her labour was easier for being fitter.