Week 18 and 19

 

Changes. Changes. Changes.

 

The first and most OBVIOUS change is the shape of my belly. If you check out the pictures below, you will see I am really showing now! I woke up one morning and BAM! Baby bump. It was pretty cool.

 

The second change is the knowledge the world now holds and that is... IT'S A BOY! Joshua and I are very excited for this sweet little man to grace us with his presence in August. Yes, I have already registered for baby kettle bells and onesies that say "I get my muscles from my mom" and "I would flex, but I like this onesie."

 

 

Now onto Crossfit...

 

So much happened these past 2 weeks! 2 Open workouts, I went to Chicago and visited North River Crossfit downtown and a jump rope clinic. So much fun!

 

Well the open is completed and that is always a bitter sweet time. No more waiting by my computer at 4:45 anxiously waiting for the Open announcement. No more cursing at Dave Castro, a man I have never met, but seem to have an unnecessary grudge against. And no more Crossfit friends coming from across the country to brag/bitch about their times and scores.

 

15.4

A workout like 15.4 is something pre-pregnant Paige typically loves. As you know, I love handstand push-ups. I wouldn't have been able to get through the heavy cleans, but my "gym-nasty"ness would have given me a decent score. I haven't felt comfortable doing hand-stand push ups lately. I am about to do about 5 and I go find a way to scale them. So instead, I did the scaled version of 10 power cleans and 10 push presses. I went pretty light, I think 45# and 55#, but got through 7 rounds and 5 cleans. I was more winded than anything so I had to take a few breaks to catch my breath.

 

 

15.5

15.5 was another joy in itself. I have recently learned to quit hating rowing because I figured I am going to have to do a lot of it in the near future. I learned to become more efficient with stronger pulls and a tighter core. Have you ever watched a "good" rower vs. a "bad" rower? It isn't about speed as much as it is their pulling strength. But man, that workout smoked my legs. I did the crossfitmom.com workout and did 21-15-9... right after, I looked at the clock and was like, "eh, I'm already here. I am going to do the other 27." So I finished the other 27 at the end of the workout. I went light again, only 35# on the thrusters. I probably should have done 45#, but I was tired and I didn't want to so quit judging me.

 

Chicago

Chicago was an absolute blast. I would love to go during the warmer months, not pregnant, and go enjoy it with my husband. The cold wasn't very motivating when it came to exploring that charming city. However, I did get to do what I love, and that is visit a Crossfit gym! North River Crossfit was about a mile from my hotel so I took a taxi (like I said, it was freezing) and headed down there for a 7:00 AM WOD. I took my own advice (see week 15 and 16) and e-mailed the gym before to be sure they had experience with pregnant athletes. They were quick to respond and extremely friendly. I looked forward to it all week.

 

I walked in and their front desk guy was extremely nice. The coaches came right up and greeted themselves. We did some from squats and the WOD was 4 rounds of 20 Cal row, 10 thrusters (M95#/W65#) and 10 lateral burpees with a minute rest in between. Kinda looks like 15.5! I wasn't feeling very strong so I dropped to 35# and did up-downs. The coaches were encouraging, but not too pushy. I really had a great time and suggest you visit that gym if you are in the area!

 

 

Jump Rope Clinic

And finally, I went to a double under clinic that we had at our gym. It was extremely helpful, up until we started jump roping and I had some round ligament pain. It was awful. I kept trying to push through it, but I had to stop myself and remind myself to "listen to my body." It really sucked. I have slowed down in workouts, or skipped a minute during an EMOM, but never have I just had to STOP moving. Whatever I was doing was too much for the babe and my body told me to stop. So I sat and listened to the remainder of the clinic with my arms crossed and a pouty face.  I was not a good sport about it!

 

 

 

Enjoy the pictures below. Joshua and I got a kick out of how much I changed in a week. I didn't see him for 3 days when I went to Chicago and when he picked me up at the airport, all he could say was "Heyyyy Preggo!" I guess he noticed a difference too!

 



 

Week 16 and 17

My, my where is the time going? Two more weeks and I am half way there. Whoa, living on a prayer.

My two great topics for this post are going to include 15.2 and visiting new gyms while pregnant. Why not 15.3? Well, because I wimped out and did not go to class that morning. So big respect to any of my expectant mamas that did!

As many of you know, the second Crossfit Open workout was a repeat of 14.2. For those who don't know, it was a combination of overhead squats and chest to bar pull-ups. You have 3 minutes to complete two round of 10 OHS and 10 CTB. If and when you complete that round, you have another 3 minutes to complete 2 rounds of 12 OHS and 12 CTB. The reps increase by two every three minutes, assuming you complete your rounds. This was my favorite workout last year. I loved being able to complete the chest to bar when I know that is where a lot of women...and men... struggled. I believe last year I finished one round of 14  at an RX level.

This year I had to scale it down to 45 pounds and I used a band for pull ups. I completed one full round of 14 and then 5 pull ups on my second round. This time felt a little more "punishing" in that the harder I worked to complete the rounds, the more work I had ahead of me. The squats and pull-ups felt fairly easy, I just had a hard time catching my breath. I went way too fast on the first round and had about a minute and a half rest. I think if I would have slowed down, I would have had the ability to complete the 14 rep round. Overall, I achieved a great workout and was proud of the work I did.

Now, I wanted to talk about visiting new gyms while pregnant. Last weekend we went to Las Vegas for my brother's 30th birthday. What a blast, right? It actually wasn't too painful. However, instead of going to a Las Vegas pool party, I decided to hit the gym instead. There aren't too many Vegas opportunities where I feel good enough early Saturday morning to go to the gym, so I took advantage of this one.

The gym I went to was in a nice and convenient location. The coach was very welcoming and I wasn't hit too hard with a big drop-in fee. However, I would suggest one thing if you plan on dropping in on a gym, call ahead. Call ahead and ask if the coach has experience training pregnant athletes. They will probably automatically say "yes," but I challenge you to ask them questions such as "When do suggest pregnant women quit doing sit-ups?" or "what is your substitution for sit-ups?" or "what are other restrictions you have in place to protect your pregnant athletes?" These are simple questions that they should immediately be able to answer. My mistake was choosing any gym, walking in and telling the coach I was 4 months pregnant. "Great!" he said. And proceeded to check me in - or check me out... I'm still not sure about that.

Anyway, I could immediately tell this guy has never trained a pregnant woman before. For the warm up run, he assigned every athlete a weight for a med-ball to run with. I did a 500 meter run with a 14lb med-ball for my warm-up. Luckily, I have been at this for a while and was fairly strong pre-pregnancy, so I completed it and didn't die. However, I am not very big and I don't look very strong, so he could have easily assigned that weight to someone who couldn't handle it. Not too smart on his part. My home gym knows my strengths and they would never assign a weight to me while pregnant, even if they think I am sand-bagging a workout. I have had a harder time with my balance lately and I felt it was liability for the gym if, heaven forbid, anything were to happen.

The next red flag was the sit-up debate. We did a Tabata with sit-ups, which I have been told not to do after month three. I asked him what else he would like me to do and I got a "Why, because you're pregnant?"  *My thoughts: No, you moron. Because I would rather do something harder like toes to bar or box jumps.* I feel like that shouldn't have even been a question. We agreed upon leg lifts and I went on my Tabata little way.

Then, during our cool down, he had us pushing our hips against kettle bells, with the quote, "Ladies, here is a way to kill those ovaries." *My thoughts: Well, I am growing a baby close to my ovaries so I am going to skip that part.* I gracefully declined the movement and stretched my hips instead. He looked at me like I was trying to ditch out of the workout. It was pretty annoying.

So there you have it. If you are ever going to visit another gym besides your own, call ahead to do some screening. I never realized how lucky I am to have coaches who have experience coaching pregnant athletes and what it means to do so. In my opinion,  as a pregnant woman, you should never be told what weights to do, told to go faster, or questioned when you don't feel comfortable doing a movement. If you are feeling any of that at your home gym, sit down with the owner or head coach and explain your goals and expectations. That way everyone can be on the same page and you can get a safe, yet effective workout!

Now for Pictures!

Week 14 and 15- 15.1 Workout Review

The Crossfit Open. One of my most favorite/hated events last year. Last year I was signed up on the first day, was able to RX all of the workouts and though I was no regionals competitor, I stood hard in the middle of the pack. It was definitely $20 wasted, however it gave me something to work toward and be excited about each week. My most competitive side came out and that is a feeling I didn't appreciate until today. I missed my competitive side today. It was roaring in my heart, but my mind was smart enough to keep me grounded. I wanted to RX this workout, burn through toes-to-bar and PR on my clean and jerk.  I hated to scaled the Open this year, but I am RXing this baby makin' thing and I think that is pretty remarkable.

What I love about the Open is that it brings all Crossfitters together. Of course we have "the girls" and "hero WODs," but these are workouts we are ALL doing in the same weekend. I love seeing how my friends across the country did and see their improvements. I love the feeling of gathering around an iPad or computer to watch that bushy-eye-browed man tell us how he is about to challenge us for the next 3 days. I love the events gyms have to "celebrate" Crossfitmas. It is just a great time of the year.

Here is how the workout shaped out for me:

My thoughts for Dave Castro may be impartial, but my thoughts for 15.1 were pure joy. I dig toes-to-bar, easy deadlifts and moderate snatches. Pre-pregnant Paige calls them fairly light. However, pregnant Paige thought they were too heavy, so here is how I scaled it:
Toes to Bar for 2 rounds - the last few rounds I did knees to elbows
Dead Lifts- 55#
Snatches- 55#
Total Reps = 155
Clean and Jerk = 105#
 *I probably would have attempted 115#, but I think I was worrying the girl who was counting my reps. My max clean and jerk pre-baby was 125# and I was just on the peak of going over that. The clean and jerks were surprisingly fun. I was so amped up from 15.1 I felt like I could lift for days!

I took one solid minute to rest between 15.1 and 15.1A. This gave me more energy so I took less time between clean and jerk attempts because I wasn't winded.

The thing I struggled with the most was my hands. Oddly enough, I had a hard time gripping the bar for an extended period of time. I think this is what made me scale to knees to elbows. I had to remind myself I was not competing, just trying to get a workout in. If I spent too much time resting my paws, it would defeat the purpose of the light weights and low rep scheme. I didn't want to lose the cardio benefits of this work out. While I believe this WOD does need to be done quickly, keeping a steady pace will help make every second count.

Best of luck with 15.1 everyone!

 

 

A little beach day... I love how slim you look while lying down! I am taking a beach picture once a month to show progress!

 

 

 

Week 12 and 13

Aw, the wonderful bridge from the first trimester to the second. Where my body started changing and my gym performance followed along with it.

The major changes these past two weeks were a difference (negative) in my stamina, my sit-up performance and my mind's ability to allow myself to squat heavy. I caught myself stopping in the middle of WODs a lot this week, as well as dropping down in weight when it came to front squats, back squats and cleans.

According to crossfitmom.com, sit-ups are off limits in the second trimester. I still feel physically able to do them because my mid section has not felt too heavy,  but the owner of my box is the proud father of three babies and his wife is a Crossfit mother, so he is very strict not to allow me to do anything on my back. This is probably a liability issue on his part, too. So, I have been doing a ton of planking and toes to bar. If anyone has any other suggestions on what else to do, I am happy to hear them! Unfortunately, burpees are still in my workouts and I have been doing those whenever they are programmed.

My poor stamina has been conquered as well. We ran an "Insane Inflatable 5K" last weekend and I walked about half of it. I had a good 5-7 minutes in the beginning and after that it was just little spurts of running that I was able to handle. Its like running with a 5 pound kettle bell. Not a HUGE difference, but just enough to slow you down. Long WODs have been exhausting me too. We had a time cap one today with a calorie row buy in, followed by 3 rounds for time, followed by 100 DUs. I made it to 20 DUs. The movements weren't difficult, I just couldn't seem to catch my breath so I stopped a lot during the WOD.

Squatting has been the last big change. I start to feel pressure if I am doing too many weighted or jump squats. We have been working on back squats and cleans these past two weeks. To scale, I will either go down in weight, or do power cleans... or both. For jump squats I obviously just sub in air squats. I truly believe that squats are going to help in the delivery process later on down the road, so I want to be sure to do them. However, I am not going to put myself at risk by trying to show off and go too heavy.

Just general pregnancy news - My belly is starting to make it's debut into pictures. I got my first pair of maternity pants... WHY didn't I have these my whole life for events such as Thanksgiving, the county fair and Superbowl Sunday!? These stretchy God given pants are incredible. Oh, I also got a large body pillow which is also a must have. It makes sleeping on your side much more enjoyable!

This was a challenge that some of my 5AM friends had to do. Technically a 5 person plank... 12 Weeks Pregnant

This is from the finish line at the Insane Inflatable 5K - We had a blast!

 

Week 10 and 11

Week 10 was a teeter-totter for me. One day I am feeling great and doing hand stand push ups, the next day I quit half way through a fairly easy Tabata. There were no major changes in ways I had to scale or in exercises I couldn't do. It is just a matter of listening to my body. If I don't think I should continue, then I quit. Luckily my coaches understand.

I went to the doctor and saw the healthy baby for the first time- Yay! My doctor went on to tell me I can work out just as I was before. I explained to her my routine and she requested I go light on the weights. She then went on to explain to me the relaxin that was taking over my body, weakening my ligaments and muscles.

I passed week 11 and I feel like a whole new woman! My energy came back over night, my belly is starting to pop out a little more, and any sort of nausea I had is completely gone. I feel like I have been able to lift heavier, do more movement and finish WODs in decent times. One of my friends gave me a heart rate monitor and mentioned I needed to keep my heart rate below 150. I used the monitor for one day and it BEEPED the entire time. This was not going to work for me.

I did some research on heart rate and pregnancy. According to the Mayo clinic website, as a healthy, active person previous to the pregnancy, there is not need to worry about heart rate. It used to be women had to keep their rate under 140, but that does not apply anymore. Of course, they suggest talking to your doctor and keeping some precaution. Mainly, try to maintain a level that allows you to carry on a conversation. If you aren't able to do so, you are pushing yourself too hard. Wonderful. Anymore reason to talk is a reason of mine!

More research was done on the benefits of increasing my heart rate while pregnant. Not to be quoted,, but in one study I read, the greater the intensity of the mom's experience, the lower the fetus' heart rate and the greater the variability. In a different study, the benefits extended until 4+ weeks into the baby's life. This was pretty cool. I spoke with my husband about the studies I read. My husband and his younger sister were  long distance runners for the University of Arkansas - Woo Pig Sooie! That's right, I am the wife of a National Champion Track Runner. (Insert husband's eye roll here) He told me that his mother played softball and volleyball up until her final days before delivery. This was pretty encouraging and reassured me I am doing the right thing for my baby and his/her future.

I know this post isn't much about Crossfit, but hopefully encouraging if you are hearing some of the scrutiny I am hearing lately.

Week 8 and 9

I have done a lot better in the past two weeks. All of my coaches are aware of my +1 and I have started telling friends at the gym.

I have definitely struggled with a couple of things. It is frustrating going into new classes, not knowing anyone, and having to scale the way I do. I didn't think this was going to be an issue, but apparently I didn't realize how competitive I was. It is aggravating to do a workout that 2 months ago I was able to do with 30 more pounds on the bar, yet I am struggling through it the same way. I hate meeting new people and feeling like I have to explain why I am going so light on my weight, as if they even care.

I have also had a heck of a time dealing with weight gain. I used to be heavier in high school and when I look back at pictures, I always think "Never Again." I never wanted to allow myself to get over a certain weight and now that weight is rapidly approaching. I don't mind gaining a belly and once it is popped, I think it will be adorable. But no one tells you about the first trimester when you are just...pudgy. I feel/look like I just ate Chipotle and drank a bunch of beer and I can't suck my gut in. But my boobs are getting bigger, which makes push-ups much easier... and that's pretty awesome.

We have done testing in the past couple of days to look for 1 rep max in cleans, dead lifts, snatch and push press. We also did time trials.

Testing is a real bummer because you're really not supposed to be maxing out once you are pregnant. It is also a bummer because I have been working hard to increase these numbers.. and I never got a final verdict on how I have progressed. Luckily they weren't too much of a disappointment, except my mile time. That was about a minute slower than my last time trial 3 months ago.

Do you know that little voice inside of your head that pushes you along in your workouts? The one that goes " You can do Fran in under 6 minutes, you can do this quickly, too." Or "You have lifted more than that several times, you can lift this easily." Yeah, well, that voice is gone. There is absolutely no one inside of my head pushing me to gain anything in the gym. All I hear is "Don't go too fast... baby can't breathe." Dang it, baby.

I guess one thing that has gotten me through all of these struggles is the thought that there are many women who struggle with infertility and that would love to be in my position. Joshua and I were very blessed to be able to get pregnant as quickly as we did, and so far have a healthy baby. I need to rejoice a little more in my blessing, than be a whiny pregnant woman. There is nothing worse than a pregnant woman complaining about getting fat!

Week 6 and 7

Wow. What a change a couple weeks make.

I was in New York for 2 weeks on business and came back to California with the determination to get back in the gym, make some gains, and get better for the new year. My first day back after two weeks was rough. We did a work out of 75 KB swings, run 1 mile, and 75 more KB Swings. I love KB swings. I am able to get in a good groove with a solid breathing pattern and rock through them. I think I got through 30 and was exhausted. I blamed it on being out for 2 weeks (the longest I have been out of the gym in 2 years). I pushed through, finished the workout, and went on my merry way.

I got home and just felt... funny. I took a pregnancy test and sure enough... + + +.

I went back to the gym the next day, a little more cautious this time, but still with the ambition to rally through workouts like I normally do. Wrong. Very wrong.

You see, I thought when I got pregnant, I could continue my same Crossfit routine, with the same weights and movements, until my belly started getting big. I didn't realize that my body started making adjustments right away to make room for my passenger. Apparently, and I found this out the hard way, your ligaments start to loosen up and cannot support the weight they once did.

So this next day was a 3 rounds for time that included KB Swings, pull ups, air squats, hand-stand push-ups and sand bag runs... I LOVE these things!! I was so excited to RX the crap out of it, but baby had a different idea. On my 3rd round of hand-stand push-ups, I jacked something in my shoulder/neck and pretty much had to chip through the rest of the workout. It really, really sucked and that's when it hit me: It is NOT all about me anymore.

The coach made me take a few days off which gave me a lot of time to reflect. I couldn't be super Crossfit mom. I can still do Crossfit, but I have to scale down, I can't push myself as hard, and I have to listen to my body. I started telling my coaches one by one that next week. They say to wait 12 weeks before announcing a pregnancy, but if I wanted to stay pregnant, I had to have my coaches hold me accountable to stay safe.

So the lessons I learned:

-Your ligaments loosen up right away
-Scaling is a new word in my vocabulary :
         That means 26# KB and hand-stand push-ups are on a case to case basis
-It is not just about me anymore

Introducing Paige + 1

I have been an avid Crossfitter for a year and a half. It is the first sport that I have been a decent competitor. I am not exactly runner-up to join in the Crossfit Games, but I can do a bunch of pull-ups, I can push press my body weight over my head, and I have a mean handstand push-up.

My husband and I decided two months ago that we wanted a baby and BAM, we got one. At just a few weeks along, this new addition was already completely life changing. Not only did I get to drop the drinking, but I am tired, I'm hungry ALL THE TIME, and my ambition at the gym has completely changed.

For whatever reason, Crossfit is such a controversial subject, pregnant or not. And then adding pregnancy to it, people have their opinions don't they?! Do you remember lee-Ann Ellison? She was the pioneer to all of us crazy women who want to do Crossfit while pregnant. She posted pictures of her adorable self at 8 months doing Olympic lifts. I have to love her for it. And to quote her in this article, "Haters gonna hate." http://www.examiner.com/article/pregnant-crossfitter-ripped-for-lifting-weights-haters-gonna-hate

I have done a lot of research on working out while pregnant and not much research is done on Crossfit. I have found a lot of blogs which have helped, so I figured why not write my own? Please note: I am NOT  a doctor and I do not have a risky pregnancy. All entries are based on my own personal experiences and are to help other pregnant women gather ideas to use in their workouts.

I will touch on various topics such as heart rate, my growing belly, body image, how I scaled movements and my thoughts along the way. I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I think I will!

Here are a few pictures pre-pregnancy:

 

Strict Press

 Weighted Box Jumps

 Rope Climbs

 (If you haven't already found it, www.crossfitmom.com has been pretty helpful. The information on what to do at each trimester was extremely helpful as well as the substitutions for movements.)