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!
