I figured for my very first post I would touch on the single most asked question I get: “You still do that?!” Yes, I do – and I have never been more thankful for my health and the ability to continue working out while pregnant. The days I exercise I notice a huge difference in my energy and comfort levels. I feel WAY better when I get a good sweat in. I have more energy, less discomfort, and I can still sleep well (despite the nights of insomnia)! Apparently baby Kensie loves it too, because she has been perfectly healthy at every ultrasound and check up!
I am not here to tell anyone what is right or wrong or good or bad…all I can do is share my personal experience. The photo above was taken last week, at 30 weeks pregnant, and I did the WOD (workout of the day) posted on the top left with a partner. I can still row, do barbell thrusters and pull-ups. For the second workout, I did the double-unders (jump rope) and my partner did the majority of the sit-ups. When she got tired, I did plank jacks instead of the sit-ups. For the last workout, I did deadlifts and I subbed ring rows for the handstand push-ups.
Yes I can jump rope and yes I can still lift weight – and it is all 100% approved by my doctor. I ask him questions at each check-up to make sure everything is still cleared. The best advice he gave me was also confusing to me at first, mostly because of things I had “heard” about working out while pregnant. My doctor said “just listen to your body”. He did tell me to be careful while lifting heavy as my ligaments would begin to loosen and if my form was off, I could hurt myself – but he assured me the baby would be okay. So, I kept doing everything I was before.
I started to worry that maybe I was missing something I should be feeling? Then, I went to do a heavy front squat at about 16 weeks pregnant. I started the squat and immediately tossed the bar off my shoulders and stopped. It was the first time the whole “listen to your body” tip made sense to me. My core had started to separate and was not as strong as before. As I went to squat, I couldn’t engage the muscles like I usually would and felt myself overcompensating by using my back. I knew at that point heavy front squats were out! From there, as my tummy grew, I started having to step up on to a box instead of jump because there was no room to pull my knees up to my chest, I put mats under my hips for burpees so my stomach wouldn’t hit the ground, and if there’s a movement I cannot do, like sit-ups, I just sub a different movement all together.
Through my pregnancy I have noticed that the biggest misunderstanding is that just because one person can/cannot do something, doesn’t mean someone else is the same. I get told a lot “well my friend couldn’t put more than 15lb above their head or squat below parallel”. People assume that is the “standard protocol for a pregnant woman” and it just isn’t true. Each pregnancy and person are completely different. Someone can be told that by their doctor for many different reasons.
People start at different points before their pregnancy so what they have to scale just needs to be relative to where they started. Also, people carry differently and their bodies all react differently. For example, I am carrying low, so I had to stop running around 20 weeks because it was extremely uncomfortable – some ladies can run up to 38-40 weeks!
I’m not the best about photographing or filming my workouts but I will try to remember some over the next few weeks so I can share how I scaled and hopefully help other healthy mommas!
Today marks 31 weeks with KB…she’s over 3lb, hiccups almost every day and LOVES to wiggle!!!
Bows of KB & Elle 