CrossFit & Pregnancy

You’ve just received the best news; you’re pregnant! There are probably a million questions running through your head, and while these are probably not part of your top 10, you may be wondering; “Can I still CrossFit?”, “What do I need to modify?”, “When do I need to modify?”, “Is Working out even safe for my baby?”. Lucky for you and despite the old school way of thinking, working out is one of the best things you can do for you and your growing baby. Working out is very dependent on each individual person during pregnancy. For you lucky gals who don’t get the luxury of experiencing morning sickness, you may be able to keep your existing workout schedule, but for those of us who are not so lucky you may have to adjust. For me the sickness hit for about 16 weeks which put a damper on my normal routine. While I was still able to workout about 5x a week, being pregnant forced me to take a step back to my approach. If you are anything like me and do CrossFit for its physical challenge and competitive nature, it may be hard for you to take a few steps back. Let’s face it, who doesn’t like to see that nice Rx by their name on the white board or in SugarWOD, but during pregnancy pride is definitely pushed aside. So, let’s take it trimester by trimester.

First Trimester:

This may be your most adaptive mentally, mainly because you have all these new feelings both good and weird and frankly sometimes you don’t know what your body is doing. Personally, I was able to continue doing my normal routine and movements without any issue, despite the tilt-a-whirl feeling in my stomach and wanting to take a nap for time, everything was ok. Now I am no Dr. so you should ALWAYS consult your OB before doing anything you’re wary of. You’ll most likely hear, listen to your body and if anything hurts or feels too uncomfortable don’t do it. Easy peasy right?

Second Trimester:

This trimester is probably the absolute most adaptive for me, physically. I still remember the workout where I was like “Wow I actually feel pregnant.” A lot of movements start changing during this time, burpees, toes to bar, olympic lifts, HSPU, and that’s just to name a few. Let’s not even talk about how much slower you feel, but remember there’s a baby growing and it’s getting bigger by the week and so is your belly. So really you are always working out with a weight vest on! You go girl!

Third Trimester:

Your belly is growing and growing even more at this point, so now you’re just trying to move. There are lots of substitutions you can do for specific movements to get somewhat of the same stimulus, and then there are some movements you still may be able to achieve. Running for instance, some women can continue running almost to the end, but then some may find the extra weight and pressure not so comfy. Remember this trimester is just all about moving and preparing your body for delivery. Also in this trimester, if you haven’t already done so, begin doing your kegels and pelvic floor exercises. These things will not only help you in delivery, but will help you post-partum as well.

Post-Partum (4th trimester):

This is definitely a real thing, and you probably won’t believe it until you’re in it. Physically and mentally you have changed. Your body is different and now working out is the last thing on your mind for the first few weeks, and mentally you’re exhausted from all the things. As the weeks go by you may get the itch to start moving, but keep in mind you just brought a human into the world. Even though you may feel great, I would suggest waiting until at least 4 weeks before doing anything but walking. The suggested wait time is 6 weeks and being cleared by your OB, but I honestly could do light lower body movements and light resistance training for the upper body around the 4th week. Believe me, if I felt the slightest pain I would stop. Take your time in this period and give yourself a break. You’re not going to be right back where you started but little by little you’ll get back there.

Modifying and listening to your body is super important during pregnancy. Like stated earlier the further along in your pregnancy the more you’re going to have to adapt and change. Burpees were the first modification for me. At about 18 weeks I couldn’t go to the floor anymore, some people may have wanted me to modify them earlier, but I knew my body and what I could handle. Lifting is another thing that slowly started to change. The idea of wearing a belt across my stomach did not seem like a good one so don’t expect to hit any lifting PR’s. You’re in there to move and keep your baby healthy, the PR’s will come back later. Another few movements you may want to take notice of are your Olympic lifts. Once your bar path is compromised then you should move to DB’s, good thing Dave Castro prepared you for this one, right? Don’t worry you’ll have the barbell back in your hands soon enough. Another movement that may cause an eyebrow raise are HSPU’s. You’re going to hear different opinions on this movement, some people say you should stop going upside down as soon as you hit 20 weeks or so, then others say it’s fine to be upside down. The real concern is balance. You don’t want to do anything that could cause you to fall on your belly. Which brings me to my next movement BOX JUMPS. These can be a concern even before pregnancy, I mean has your shin ever had the pleasure of meeting the box. If it has, I’m sure it hopes it was a one-time meeting. Regardless, these will most definitely need to be modified to a lower height or stepping onto the box rather than jumping because let’s face it at some point jumping 20 inches off the ground feels absolutely weird. Lastly, I want to mention things like pull-ups, push-ups, and rowing. You may have heard of the term “coning” during pregnancy. Basically, the separation of your abdominal muscles which you definitely want to avoid. So be sure to pay attention to how your belly looks and feels during these movements. There are methods of keeping this at bay, but that’s another blog post. With all that said, there are many great resources for modifications out there, but like I said earlier your doctor is a good place to start. The benefits of exercising while expecting can help you eliminate those extra unwanted pounds you hear some mothers complain about, it also helps reduce the risk of gestational diabetes and decrease pregnancy aches and pains. Doing CrossFit during pregnancy will not only benefit you but it can also benefit your growing baby. Expectant mothers who exercise have been shown to help their babies grow optimally while in the belly and be born at a healthy weight. Exercising has also been shown to speed up the babies’ motor skills and ability to control their bodies a little sooner than others. Even better news some studies show that babies of active mothers, sleep through the night sooner, self-soothe better, and tend to be healthier all around. How great is that?! I hope this can help motivate you to keep moving throughout your pregnancy and the few months after because remember you’re not only doing this for you, but for that bundle of joy you’ve got growing inside.