It was March 2022. I was already freaking out to visit the OB GYN to talk to her about my pregnancy positive results. I had started imagining how it would change the next 9 months and yes, the rest of my life. The OB-GYN further freaked me out by being the first one who simply denied strength training for the next 9 months. I was completely anguished, as someone whose every weekday ritual starts with exercises was just asked not to do; that too without any medical justification or reason. For compensation or for general guidelines she had suggested to me to “WALK”. I was like, walking is an activity just like breathing, sipping water, or even eating. When I checked if I could run, it was a NO again with no justification! I was being asked to rest as much as I could.
While I had been doing strength training for the last 7 years; it was when I got pregnant did I realise the importance of it. But it was not easy to understand. That’s when I decided to change, not my fitness regime, but THE DOCTOR!
This time I chose a doctor who definitely encouraged me to follow the routine of what I had been doing for the rest of pregnancy. But the series of NO didn’t stop though. The second NO or probably the fear came from the family. They really tried hard to not encourage it, but yes could not do much because of the determination that I had. This was followed by some friends’ concern, as they hadn’t seen anyone in this state. Yoga was still something which would have been encouraged with guidance and attention, but strength training in a gym with all the weights and equipment was complete NO and very unusual for many of them.
Yet, I didn’t stop myself. With a better OB-GYN who herself promoted Fitness regime during pregnancy and a Gym trainer who himself was a father understood it better than no-one. I , once again, got free to follow my passion and was able to run and workout at gyms.. Initially nobody got to know.. Later people started noticing. In fact, when it was the 5th month, a bulky and muscular guy came and advised me to start focusing on my abs, assuming it was my belly fat, while it was a small baby bump. In no time, people started noticing, but appreciating me for the all unusual efforts I was trying to put on it. Of course, with all the precautions, my gym trainer was guiding and kept modifying as per the energies for a particular day or as per the month I am into.
When the third semester approached, another big NO came from the instructor himself, but he was an easier one to convince! I continued and was able to work-out with full strength and energy even before a day from the date of delivery. It was an astonishing achievement for me.
When no-one is around you to look up to, you have to become your own role-model!
- You can’t lift weight, while you’re pregnant- No, you absolutely can, if this is what you’ve always wanted and have been doing it.
- Pregnancy means rest: Big No, the more active you’re , the better life you’d give to yourself and your child after birth
- Eat for 2 people: Another misconception, you can only eat what your body demands on any given day. It is smart enough to extract the right nutrients to pass on the growing one.
And just to change these misconceptions, I got inspired to transform lives around me. To make people aware of all the misconceptions and focus on benefits any exercise brings for anyone. And that was just the beginning of My1Hour. Almost 2 years later, I quit my high paying job at Microsoft, the perks attached to it, rewards, recognition and stocks to start and not just create awareness, but change people’s lives.
Welcome to My1Hour: 1 Hour focus everyday is enough to keep you fit and healthy at your doorstep.
My Key takeaways on this journey:
- If you’ve been a runner, you will always be a runner. I used to run within my society till the 8th month of my pregnancy. I had to stop only because of the urine pressure.
- Nothing better than gaining strength during pregnancy prepares you mentally, physically, and emotionally for a new life. I had strength till D-day.
- People who oppose you or deny you for doing something which you had been doing should absolutely come with a scientific reason or logic.