Barbells and Pregnancy - The Physical Journey

While I share the more emotional side of becoming a mom in my post Becoming A Mother, I enjoyed reading other women's physical journeys while I was pregnant so I thought I would share my experience of growing a human in the world of fitness and nutrition. I feel like I should caveat that my only goal here is to share my experience. Every pregnancy is different; thus, every journey will be unique.

37 Weeks Pregnant*

Peak Fitness in 2017

 

Baseline : Prior to getting pregnant, I had been out of competitive Crossfit for over two years. I was working out 4-5 days per week with the 5 am class at Backcountry Crossfit with the sole goal of pushing myself for an hour each day and staying fit for longevity. Diet consisted mostly of whole foods with little restriction within that category, and Saturday nights are always dessert nights in the Leachman household (at least for me. Marc would prefer a bowl of blueberries over chocolate). My weight had been consistent around 130 for the better part of the previous 5 years; albeit, body comp shifting with training volume over that time. I believe I was right around 17% BF when I found out I was pregnant eating 1800 - 2000 calories per day.

Fitness During Pregnancy : With almost a decade of Crossfit behind me, I have to say that I'm amazed at how many stages of life this sport has seen me through. Going into pregnancy, I knew two things: 1. I wanted to stay active as long as it was safe for the both of us and 2. I wanted to prioritize a long life in the sport over my ego during pregnancy. As soon as movements no longer felt good, I dropped them.

First things first, I bought a Fitbit very early on and started wearing it during workouts to monitor heart rate; throughout my entire pregnancy, I never let myself get above 150-160 bpm which is slightly above a conversation pace for me. Second came mindset. In Crossfit, especially competitive Crossfit, the question is always, "What is the fastest pace I can hold without imploding?" There is no concern for how much it will hurt or what the physical aftermath will be. My new question became not "can I do this" but "should I do this". I'd say I was successful at this 98% of the time and had a great coach and friend to remind me to slow down when my competitive urge took over. Thanks Josh :)

Aside from the first trimester, I stayed consistent with 4-5 workouts a week until the day I went into labor. During the first trimester, Crossfit honestly felt too intense. The elevated heart rate and heat triggered my nausea, and it just didn't feel good. Most of my workouts during the time were body building style at our local rec center. It was mentally challenging to back off, but it was the best I had in me. And even after almost 6 weeks of very limited exercise, I don't feel as if it affected my ability to have an overall healthy and fit pregnancy. If this is you right now, do what you can and hang in there. 

Movements I dropped and approximately when:

Bar MU - immediately

Ring MU - 12 weeks

Rope Climbs - 15 weeks

Box Jumps - 15 weeks 

Running - 15 weeks

Toes-to-bar - 17 weeks

Pullups - 17 weeks

Snatches - 17 weeks

Traditional Deadlifts - 20 weeks

Full-range burpees - 32 weeks

Loaded Squats - 34 weeks

Movements I did until the very end:

Kettlebell Swings

Sumo Deadlifts

Handstand Pushups / Handstand Walks

Wallballs / Air Squats

Box Step Ups

Rowing / Assault Bike

Sled Pushes

Double Unders

Power and Hang Cleans (Never above 70% of max)

Push Press / Jerk (Never above 70% of max)

Postpartum Fitness : I started walking pretty much the day I got home from the hospital (thank you Colorado for an amazing Spring) beginning with a walk down the street and working up to 3-4 miles over the course of the next two weeks. At one week PP, I added in pelvic floor and core therapy exercises. At about 4 weeks, I added in low-intensity body building type movements. I was terrified to squat so I stuck mostly to upper body. Once I was cleared at 6 weeks, I started Crossfit style workouts again. One blessing in disguise of quarantine life, is that I was able to come back slowly and gradually ramp up intensity. At ten weeks PP, the heaviest loads I've moved is 115# snatch, 135# clean or squat, and 185# deadlift.  All about 75% of what I would say a reasonable max might be (I don't use lifetime maxes anymore. Those went bye-bye after 2017 regionals). I have not, with the exception of 4 backyard muscle ups, done any dynamic gymnastics movements. This is partially due to quarantine equipment availability but also because I still have slight ab separation that I'm working hard to heal. I'm working out 5 days a week in the garage with the attitude of giving it what I have that day. I will say that I missed going hard and love being back to that fall-to-the-ground feeling after a workout.

Nutrition : Having weighed and measured food since 2014, it was a method of nutrition that I was comfortable with, and I decided to continue to track throughout pregnancy.

Nausea kicked my butt in the first trimester. I was lucky to get in 1200-1400 calories and 95% of them came from refined carbohydrate.  This boy's life started from pancakes, saltine crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and cheesy noodles. There were no green things consumed for a solid 6 weeks. I remember the day (yes it was that instant) that the nausea subsided. It was right around 17 weeks, and I went to Chic-fil-a and ordered two Marketplace salads and a grilled chicken wrap. Glorious. 

Once nausea was gone, I maintained the rest of pregnancy very similar to pre-pregnancy. 1800-2000 calories of primarily whole foods with a little more rice, whole grains, and flexibility. If I was craving something specific I ate it but tried to stick to keeping treats and desserts to Saturday night. Overall, I gained 21 pounds during pregnancy, but more importantly, I gave birth to a healthy 8 lb 6 oz baby boy.

Post-partum was more of the same. I was back to 130 lb about 2 weeks PP and stuck to the 1800-2000 calories through the first six weeks when activity was relatively low. Once I started Crossfit workouts,  my milk supply dropped almost instantaneously so I'm now eating 2200 - 2500 calories to maintain weight and keep little man fed.

One (of many) things I am grateful to have learned through my journey with Crossfit is that health and fitness is a lifestyle, and a lifestyle is something you can see yourself continuing for a long time.  Thus, my only goals through all of this has been to stay disciplined in a the lifestyle I want to live and the lifestyle I want to teach my son. The constant mantra is  "Focus on what you can control". I can control what I put in my body, how I exercise, and my mindset. Everything else is a result of those efforts that will happen in due time.

*All maternity pictures taken by the lovely Jade Hull

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8 Weeks / 38 Weeks / 10 Weeks PP