Staying Active While Pregnant: Client Spotlight with Carolyn Rector

September 4, 2013 Crystal Zuzek

Meet awe-inspiring Dancers Shapeaddict Carolyn Rector. Despite her rapidly approaching pregnancy due date (Sept. 27!), she manages to get to the studio three times a week and battles her way through Advanced and Shape classes. She hasn’t let her delicate condition hinder her from exercising and credits Dancers Shape with her ability to tie her shoes, paint her toe nails, and shave her legs this far along in her pregnancy.

“I feel like myself when I am at Dancers Shape. So much of myself has changed physically, but it is uplifting to still be able to come to the studio and do a good portion of the exercises I was able to do pre-pregnancy,” she says.

She’s not Wonder Woman; she’s had to make some modifications as her belly’s grown. “The first exercises I had to modify were abdominal exercises early in my second trimester because of the pressure in my core and positioning required for the ab section. I attended the prenatal workshop at Dancers Shape and learned so much from about continuing to exercise the core during pregnancy using a wedge,” Rector says.

Staying active has benefited Rector in more ways than one. She hasn’t experienced any swelling in her extremities, has maintained her flexibility and balance, and has kept her weight gain within a healthy, normal range (even after all of those Baskin Robbins runs). “Before pregnancy, I would push myself as much as I could during exercise. Now, I have to think about the baby, so I have to stop myself at a certain point to protect myself and the baby from getting overheated and too tired,” she says.

While she can’t wait to welcome her baby, Rector says giving up running has been frustrating. She completed her first half marathon right before she found out she was pregnant. “I was really enjoying finding a new part of my physical self in running. I tried to run as long as I could, but by 22 weeks, my ankles, shins, and knees were aching a lot. I had to stop,” she says. Rector plans to return to running after giving birth and says she’ll be eager to get back into the Dancers Shape studio.

Do you have questions about staying active during or after pregnancy? Dancers Shape is happy to answer your questions and help with modifications. Email us at info@dancersshape.com, stop on by the studio or give us a call at 512-382-9150; we’re always happy to talk with you.

About the author:

Crystal Zuzek is an Austin-based writer with more than a decade of experience in the journalism industry. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism in the magazine sequence. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, going to movies and concerts, and spending time with her husband, Patrick, and her dachshund mix, Saffron.