Lindsey

My name is Lindsey, and I am currently 35 weeks pregnant.  This is my first child, who is expected to arrive October 29, 2012.  Oddly enough, one of the first signs of my pregnancy appeared during a CrossFit WOD.  It was the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, and I was partnered with my husband, Chris.  Boy, does that workout test a relationship!  Anyway, we were finally nearing the end and just had to get through the sit ups and squats.  These are two of my favorite movements.  So, although I was tired, I thought the rest of the workout would be all downhill from there.  Wow, was I wrong.  During the sit ups, I started feeling nauseous, but I was able to just push through that.  The squats were another story.  I will never forget having about 20 squats to go until the end and trying not to throw up almost every time I stood up out of the squat while Chris yelled, “Go faster.  Don’t stop.  I can’t hold this plate any more.  Just finish!”  He didn’t know I wasn’t feeling well.  I made it through those last squats and ran straight to the bathroom.  This was the first sign of my pregnancy, even before I knew I was pregnant.  See, I began CrossFitting about 2 ½ years ago and very rarely got nauseous during any workout.  Then, twice in one week I very quickly got nauseous.  Surprise, surprise...not long after, I found out I was pregnant.

I have continued CrossFitting throughout my entire pregnancy.  I didn’t really tell anyone at the box until I was out of my first trimester, but I began being more careful during workouts.  My doctor told me, “You shouldn’t be lifting heavy stuff...no more than 35 pounds, but it’s important to keep exercising during pregnancy.  When I say exercise during pregnancy, I mean walking.  However, whatever you were doing before you were pregnant, you should be fine to continue with during your pregnancy.  Do NOT start a new exercise routine.  Just be careful about what you are doing and take it easier than you did before.”  So, I lifted lighter weights than I normally would, and I didn’t push myself as much as I had before I was pregnant.  

I told Aimee about the pregnancy around my 13th week.  
She was so excited for Chris and me and so supportive.  She has helped me scale WODs appropriately...right down to giving me a special pregnancy WOD if I texted her the day of because I couldn’t figure out how to modify whatever was programmed for that day!  Instead of focusing on setting personal records and improving my numbers in the gym, she has helped me focus on scaling workouts, improving my form, and fitting in a healthy workout for me and the baby.  All of the other coaches at the box have been so supportive as well.  Many of them allow me to create my own warm-up that’s more pregnancy friendly, and they will all help me scale when I’m not sure about something.  They also check in with me to make sure I’m feeling alright while still encouraging me to find inner strength and keep going.   During the hotter days this summer, they all made sure I got the prime location in front of the fan – one of the perks of pregnancy ☺.

I have been lucky throughout this pregnancy.  I truly believe that without CrossFit, it would have been much, much more difficult, and I would have likely put on way more weight than I have.  CrossFit has helped me stay active and healthy during these past few months.  My hope is that it will help make labor and delivery that much more manageable as well!    

 Natalie

Kim

Hi!  My name is Kim, and I am currently a 16-week-pregnant KOP Crossfitter.  Deemed a "healthy patient" by my doctor, and encouraged to continue my already-developed level of fitness (at about 75%-80% intensity), I've been continuing my pre-pregnancy CrossFit journey, with just a few tweaks.  And, so far, it's been great (except for the whole "I CAN'T BREATHE!" feeling...or as Aimee calls it, "the elephant sitting on my chest.)!  Essentially, I'm no longer trying for my fastest times, or heaviest weights (although preggo hormones sure make weight go up easier!).  I do every WOD as intensely as I can, normally hogging all of the fan space from everyone else, and taking frequent water and breathing breaks.  Just recently, I stopped doing exercises that over-extend my torso, so I'm subbing in dead hang pull-ups (so hard!) for kipping pull-ups, partial range of motion kettle bell swings, and no more GHD sit-ups.  I also transitioned into doing paralette burpees, and step-ups instead of box jumps.  The last change for me so far is the frequency of wodding.  Pre-pregnancy I wodded 5 days a week, back to back.  Now, I get much more sore, so I normally do two days on, one or two days off.  I'll keep you posted as I get further along, but for now, all is well, in my CrossFit life and beyond.

Brady Cole

Click here to check out a post from Again Faster on Heather Bergeron.

"Pregnant CrossFitter - Tori"

My name is Tori and I have been a CrossFitting yogini throughout my entire pregnancy. This is my second pregnancy. I also work as a music therapist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, teach yoga, and am an avid runner. I ran until I was 20 weeks pregnant when my bladder told me that it would explode if I kept it up. So, I switched to walking and my in-home stationary bike. I am currently 39 weeks pregnant and just did a CrossFit practice (I mean workout) today, "The Baseline". I call it a practice because that's what I am used to as we call yoga, "a practice". I have found that the things I do to stay physically and mentally healthy are practices in life. It is a discipline. That's what I have seen my "CrossFit practice" as...a way to maintain health during my pregnancy.

When I was about 7 weeks pregnant I was told that I had a subchorionic hematoma and that I couldn't exercise at all. That lasted about 4 weeks and was the most frustrating part of this pregnancy. You see, I had just run 8 miles a couple days before my positive pregnany test and started being able to attend crossfit classes regularly before I found out that I was pregnant. It was disappointing to me that I had to take a few steps backwards. However, everything turned out to be fine and I approached Aimee to help me maintain my CrossFit practice throughout my pregnancy. I set up private sessions with her for a few months to learn how to scale and modify the crossfit workouts. I had plenty of experience modifying my yoga practice as I have had a yoga practice for 11 years now and had practiced yoga throughout my last pregnancy. Working with Aimee taught me proper form, how to adjust myself around my growing belly, and what/how to subsitute. It was very empowering to be able to attend a regular class and know how I could participate.

So why has it been so important for me to maintain a CrossFit practice when I already practiced yoga and was active? Why couldn't I have just picked it back up after my pregnancy? First of all, I just wanted to. Second of all, it is a very holistic approach to fitness and I really gravitate towards that. Third, it made me feel good about myself as a woman. I am not concerned about setting PR's or lifting a huge amount of weight. I am concerned with being healthy and being completely present in my body. Lastly, I believe that I am starting my child's life in a healthy manner. My baby is benefiting from my healthy body and healthy mind. There is such an intimate physiological and spiritual connection that we as mothers can experience with our babies in utero that it just makes sense to me to maintain the things that make me feel healthy. I work with many sick children and was sick for my last pregnancy to the point where it was life threatening. This time around, I am healthy. I never take it for granted and I will never give up on it. It is a part of my life whether I am pregnant or not. CrossFit has integrated naturally within that life practice.

Fiona