Week 31...Freaking out!

I woke up the other morning and had a slight freak out. In as little as 8 weeks I will have a baby and I'll be a mum! Now I know I've had 7 months to realize this but it doesn't stop the freak outs happening. So many questions go through my head. Will I be a good mum? Will I know what to do? Will mothering instincts just kick in? Will I lose myself having to devote so much of myself to this new baby that will be totally reliant on me? How will I go with limited sleep? Will I ever have abs again? Will I even care about any of this if all my priorities change?

This week I started to experience a pain in my ribs on the right side. So off I went in search of possible answers again. A lot of movements were uncomfortable. Hell even rolling over in bed and sleeping on the right side hurt. I don't remember feeling a sudden pain during a workout I just had it over the weekend. Hence why I didn't train till Thursday and even then I had to modify most movements. I don't know if it's caused by the baby moving up into that area or whether it's muscular but I know I can't ignore it during training.

I only managed two workouts this week which was so frustrating to me, one on Thursday and one on Friday. Here they are detailed along with the modifications made.
Thursday 21.12.11 HF session
Speed and power on the minute every minute x 4 rounds
7 x dumbbell burpees 8kg
8 x kb swings 16kg
9 x sprint intervals (subbed for bike instead for whole minute)
10 x k2e (did hanging straight leg raises)
20 x air squats

Didn't get much speed or power in this workout happening. Just wanted to work up some kind of sweat.
Friday 23.12.11 PT session
Did a session with static holds to at least try and maintain strength seeing as my mobility was severly limited. Did 15 secs holds then 30 sec holds, 45 sec, 60 secs then worked back down to 45 sec, 30 sec, 15 sec.
Movements were bar hang, wall squat hold and 10kg weight plate overhead. Movements felt fine, albeit frustrating.

In the meantime I'm getting bigger by the day! Heres a pic to prove it.

Week 30

Here we are week 30. Thought I'd never get here. I remember way back when thinking that 30 weeks was sooo far away...

Mon 12.12.11- HF workout
Endurance
2-4-8-16-24-24-16-8-4-2
Kb swings @ 16kg
Toes to bar (did toes thru rings instead, less strain on my lumbar)
Box jumps burpees (did box step ups onto 20 inch box and jump back burpess not full chest to floor)
Rime: 38:00min
This was a good one. Worked up a decent sweat. Made sure I took lots of water breaks.

Tues 13.12.11
Practiced some oly lifts.
Snatch @ 25kg 3 reps x 5 sets
Clean and split jerk @ 35kg 3 reps x 5 sets
Snatch felt better than the cleans today. Focus on technique.
Then did 10 sets of 10eps of pull ups & front squats. Only ended up doing 8 sets all up. Used green band for pull ups and practiced kip for most of them. Did most in sets of five. Used 20kg kettlebell for front squats.

Wed 14.12.11- HF class
Focus was sled pulls over 15m. Loaded sled up to about 95kgs and felt good grind in the legs.
Workout 30:30 x 6 sets
Bicep squat curl with db 10kg
Push up on rings
Sumo deadlift high pull with barbell @ 25kg
Lateral lunge press with 10kg dumbbell (changed these to forward lunge press as lateral felt like a strain)

Thursday- Rest day

Friday 16.12.11 - HF class
Max strength session . Obviously I didn't go for max strength but still got a decent session from this one.
Did 5 sets of 5rm deadlifts @ 80kg (used sumo deadlift as belly feels a bit squashy doing standard ones)
Max wall sits for 2 mins
Max bar hang for 1 min
10 x dumbbell burpess @ 10kg (did jump back ones)
15 x back to standing rope climbs
16 x turkish get ups with 12kg
All with 1:30min rest between each movement. Overall felt good. Took about 25 mins to complete.

Overall felt really tired this week. I think the baby is going through a growth spurt. I napped for about 2 hours on average each day. Whats that about? Couldn't seem to peel myself off that lounge except to eat and pee haha lovely :)

Myth 2 Debunked

Should I squat or not???

Now this is one topic you hear about all the time during pregnancy. Squatting. It is said that you should not squat below parallel due to a loosening of supportive tissues caused by an increase in the hormone relaxin.
I found an article by Doctor Jacqueline Gradish titled 'Full squat during pregnancy-to do or not to do.' She is a pre/post natal exercise specialist and the article explains some of the potential pitfalls of deep squats during pregnancy:
"Doing a full squat exercise when you are not pregnant is recommended for people with healthy backs. Squatting is a primal developmental stage for babies and is a precursor to standing and walking, on the other hand, what if you are pregnant, what type of squats should you do and in what range. Many birthing classes recommend performing a full squat or a partner assisted full squat for a natural delivery. I have studied many fitness articles that indicate to avoid “deep knee bending”, a full squat, while pregnant. So what should you do during your fitness routine? This article will attempt to answer this.
As your pregnancy progresses your pelvis is opening and widening almost like a book from the front of your pubis symphasis. This makes more space and allows for your growing uterus to house the baby. This growth puts more strain on your pelvic floor muscles. As you squat to neutral where your knees are at 90 degrees to the floor the pressure of your uterus increases on your pelvic floor muscles and your pelvis tilts anteriorly. If you were to squat lower you are at risk of going into a compromising anterior pelvic tilt position due to the extra front load of your protruding belly and your relatively inefficient abdominal muscles, this can put undue strain on your back. As your belly grows you have to place your feet further than hip distance apart to perform a full squat otherwise you would get stuck and jam your belly. At a 90 degree squat your knee ligaments are at their least stable position, and due to relaxin your joint stability can be further compromised. So what do you do, compromise your back, feel extra pelvic floor strain, or squat to where your knee joint is least stable with your legs at 90 degrees to the floor.

Pros for Full Squat
Doing a full squat allows you to use your gluteus maximus (the behind) thru its full range. During pregnancy the tone in your glut muscles increases in a standing position to allow you to stand upright. Constant low grade firing in this limited range causes your gluts to become tight. You would naturally squat to 90 degrees to sit in a chair giving some strength in that range, but it is still limited. Performing a full squat keeps your gluts strong in their full range and can help counteract tightness. Working thru your full squat range will prevent you from pausing at 90 degrees where your knee joint is least stable as well. Performing a full squat during pregnancy helps relax the pelvis and provides pressure for waist elimination which can help prevent constipation and haemorrhoids. Using a full squat for a birthing position may reduce the need for an episiotomy or the use of forceps.

Cons for Full Squat
A full squat is very metabolically demanding, so make sure you replenish your food store after performing this. You may become lightheaded during this move. The majority of people have muscle imbalances and are unable to maintain neutral spine position. Performing a full squat with an imbalance can further pull on your pelvis to one side and may exacerbate pelvic shearing forces in the pubis symphasis (front join of your pelvis) and put strain on your sacroiliac joint. The stress on your pelvic floor muscles increases you need to be cautious not to overstrain them. Most women in Western culture are not attuned to performing a full squat, so performing this move is dependent on the fitness level of the exerciser. You can perform a full squat using the stability ball against the wall to help keep you from pitching forward.

Conclusion
Since you should not use excessive external weight during your full squat and you are in controlled environment knee stability should not be the major issue that you base your decision on, but a history of knee issues is a key factor.
Performing a full squat will potentially increase the stress on your pelvic floor muscles, exacerbate pelvic shearing and could put more strain on your back due to anterior pelvic tilt and compromised abdominal muscles. These symptoms will be increased if your baby bump has just gone through a growth spurt. For the small percentage of women who were performing a full squat exercise with neutral spine before you were pregnant, keep it up during your pregnancy, as long as you are comfortable. This exercise is great if you can perform it correctly, but a very small percentage of women would be able to complete this task.
If you are confident you do not have a muscle imbalance and can maintain neutral spine, do not suffer from any pelvic shearing forces and have particularly strong pelvic floor musculature you can perform a full squat. This is an ideal exercise for fitness and to prepare you for labour.
A mid range squat still allows you to perform exercise, work in your most functional range to sit on a chair, and will not put your pelvis, back and pelvic musculature thru undue stress. But this squat is not an optimal as it does not train you for labour or birth. This exercise is a good alternative.
The type of squat most commonly recommended for Western Culture women during pregnancy is a full range stability ball squat. The inability to maintain neutral spine or lack of practice of full squat in western culture should not be factors with this exercise as your back is supported on the ball. You will work your gluts through their full range of motion preventing tonic muscles while standing. A full stability ball squat puts your knee joint in its most stable position as well as opening the birthing canal and helps with other pregnancy related issues such as constipation and haemorrhoids. Work yourself up to the full range stability ball squat squeezing your pelvic floor during the exercise to avoid straining these muscles.
If your fitness level is moderate and you have never performed a full squat before start with half range squats and work your way up to a full squat in time for your delivery if this is your goal for squatting."

So there you have it folks, food for thought anyway. Always do your own research and only do what feels ok for you at that time. I for one intend to keep squatting whilst it feels good and will keep reducing loads as necessary as the pregnancy progresses. It makes sense to me, as why forgo such a functional movement. After all won't I need a stong squat to be able to bend down to pick baby up, put her down, get her in and out of the car etc. Won't it also help me be more comfortable to labour in a squatting position? Labouring in a full squat is said to be the best position thought to reduce the labours duration (yes please!), it helps opens up the pelvic area and of course works with gravity to help the baby descend more quickly and effectively. Wouldn't continuing on with a weighted squatting program seem beneficial seeing that I'll being weighing even more by the time I give birth? I can't imagine trying to do this lying on my back. Hmm time will tell I suppose.

In the meantime you'll catch me busy squatting away in the gym! Happy squatting to all!
...

It's a Girl!

Back tracking now to week 20...had an ultrasound and found out its to be a girl! We're pretty happy with that. Girls are cool. I think she's going to be a pretty strong girl too judging by her kicks these days. During the ultrasound she grabbed both feet and did a big hamstring stretch....so flexible haha takes after me obviously and already has a better stretching routine than I do.
Here's a pic of the ultrasound for you. I'm trying to work out if she's pretty or not...she just looks kind of weird haha sorry baby oh and sorry for bumping you into all sorts of things like benches, walls, car doors etc I just keep misjudging how big you are these days.

At 20 weeks she is as big as a spaghetti squash (20cm) and weighs about .45kg. Amazing huh :)

Week 29

Mon 5.12.11- HF class
5 x rounds
7 x full squat cleans @ 40kg
14 x kb swings @ 16kg
Time: 11:58

Switched to hang power cleans 2nd round in as my belly felt squashed. Swings felt super easy and really light. I love these type of workouts. Took it pretty easy and had lots of rest breaks. I make myself have a sip between rounds or chalk up so that I make sure I catch my breath again. I videoed the workout and will put an extract of it up.

Tues 6.12.11
Did a bit of work on Olympic lifts. Worked on full snatch in sets of 5. Stayed at 30kg. Focus was on technique not load. Probably felt that the drop into the squat wasn't as quick as it should be but overall the movement felt ok.

Also did deadlifts and tried it sumo deadlift style. The Crossfit mom site suggested it as a modification for when the belly gets in the way. Did a few set of 5 at 80kg. Felt my adductors the day after that's for sure.

Wed 7.12.11- HF class
30:30 x 8 sets
1 leg deadlifts 16kg kettlebell
1 leg box squats
Push ups on ground

Happy to get all rounds out. Reduced range on push ups now due to belly but focused on getting belly to the floor haha

Core: Did static L- sit (way hard) and alternate leg/arm superman on bosu ball to make the movement a bit more difficult.

Thurs 8.12.11- HF group
AMRAP in 20 mins
Add on one rep each round
10m sled push
Turkish get up @ 12kg
Knees to elbows (did on rings as can get better range)
Burpees (did jump back ones)

Completed 6 full rounds plus 11 reps. Worked at a steady pace but didn't push it. Felt great at the end of this.

Fri 9.12.11- Pt session
10-1
Hang power cleans @ 35kg
Bent over rows with kettlebell 16kg

Sat 10.12.11- HF group class
Workout 1
21-15-9
Thrusters @ 25kg (did unbroken) felt pretty easy this load
Double unders sets of 63, 45, 27
Time: 7:30 including loo break haha

Workout 2
12 min amrap
Burpee jumping pull ups (did jump back burpees not chest to floor)
Do 4 x kb swings @ 16kg on the minute every minute
Score: Approx 50 lost count

Week 28

Mon 28.11.11- HF group class
40:40 x 6 rounds
pullups using green band
walking lunges & press 10kg dumbbells
reptilian push ups

This session was surprisingly hard especially the pull ups.

Tues 29.11.11- HF group class
AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) in 15 mins
Thrusters @ 30kg
Sit ups (subbed for hanging leg raises)
Double unders

I did 11 rounds even including loo break lol. Not too bad considering I'm 6 months pregnant. Also compared my rounds to last time i did it back in June @ 4 weeks pregnant. I got 11 rounds plus 9 using the same weight but did sit ups back then as requested. Kind of makes me think I was slacking off back then.

Wed 30.11.11
Didn't train today as was a bit sore in the pelvic region so had a day off.

Thur 1.12.11- PT session
8 x rounds of sets of 8 reps
1 arm swiss ball chest press using kettlebell 16kg
SDHP barbell @ 25kg
Ring dips using yellow band (most sets unbroken)

Fri  2.11.11-Crossfit mom advanced workout
5 x rounds
10 x hang power cleans @ 25kg
10 x front squat using kettlebell @ 20kg
10 x push press @ 25kg
10 x overhead squat @ 25kg
start and finish with a 400m run

Didn't time it but it felt like it took forever! Everything felt ok except for the overhead squat i really had to focus on keeping my weight centred and the run felt heavy in my pelvis. Funny enough I'm feeling a bit of pressure there these days haha. I have a feeling that that was the last of my runs for a while. Might have to use the dreaded rower after all aarrggh

Sat 3.12.11- HF class
21-15-9-9-15-21
Push up on rings
SDHP (used 25kg barbell)
weight plate 15kg ground to overhead
4 x stair repeats (didn't do these)
400m run start and finish (subbed row)

No more running for me so used rower instead. Left the stairs out of this workout too. Feeling too clumsy.

                                  Here's a pic of me in action at 28 weeks

Wearing a 10kg weight vest all day is hard!

3^rd trimester 28-40 weeks

So here I am officially entering my 3^rd trimester. Things should start to get interesting now as ill have to start modifying my workouts a bit more. Things are getting a bit harder which is understandable seeing that in all my workouts I’m wearing a 10kg weight vest. A really helpful website I have found is crossfitmom.com and would recommend it to anyone whether you crossfit or not. The site suggests modifications to movements that are universal and also has a great forum. I’ve spent a lot of time on there recently. I’ve started to implement a few of the posted workouts into my training to add a bit of variety.

Week 26

Monday 14.11.11- advanced workout from Crossfit mom site

Chipper

400m run

20 step ups

20 push ups

20 kb swings 16kg

20 kipping pull ups (Yah I can still do these)

20 barbell deads @ 60kg

20 ring dips with green band (these are getting harder)

20 clean & jerk @ 35kg 

Tuesday 15.11.11- advanced workout from crossfit mom site

5 x rounds

3 x rope climbs

10 x K2E

10 x walking lunges with weight plate overhead 10kg

200m run

Wednesday 16.11.11- HF workout

Focus: SDHP with kb 20kg x 5 sets 40:20

Workout

30:30 x 8 sets

1 arm sb chest press 16kg

1 leg squat to crate

Rope climb back to standing 

Thursday 17.11.11- HF group class

5rm push press 47.5kg

Workout

50-40-30-20-10

Hanging leg raises (subbed for V style sit ups)

Air squats (subbed for touch jumps)

Time: 21:54

Friday 18.11.11- Pt session

10 to 1 reps

Ring dips green band (these are getting way harder)

SDHP kettle bell

Dumbbell Chest fly

Pull up holds 60:45:30:15 

Saturday 19.11.11- HF group class

7 x rounds

400m run to start

7 x toes to bar (did toes to rings as felt more comfortable)

7 x hang power clean and jerk 35kg

400m to finish

Time: 22:29 not too unhappy with the time

Week 27

Monday 21.11.11- HF group class

Workout

40:20 x 8 rounds

Barbell deads @ 55kg

OH walking lunge

Push ups on ground

This workout felt hard for me today.  My quads are in agony, really tight with reduced range of motion on the lunges. So about 3 rounds in I did hori rows instead of deads and body weight lunges not weighted and was ok. More foam rolling in order for me I think. 

Tuesday 22.11.11-HF group class

Focus: ring dips 40:20 x 8 sets Ouch

Workout

21-15-9

Kb swing 16kg

Kipping pull ups (did in sets of 3 or 4)

400m run

Time: 15:00min

Happy with the time as looked back on training diary and had done this workout about 10 months ago in 13min. It felt pretty easy, way easier than I remember it being last time. I still remember it. It hurt. Will aim for sub 10min post baby J so happy I can still do kips. Took me so long to be able to do them.  I’m determined to keep a couple throughout this pregnancy.

Did Turkish get ups for core 12kg kettle bell. Felt ok. 

Wednesday 23.11.11- HF group class

30:30

Jack knife

KB 1 leg deads 20kg

1 arm pull rotate

DB 1 arm bent over row 16kg 

Thursday 24.11.11- HF group class

Speed and power 20:40

Box step ups (subbed for box jumps)

Ring push ups

Mb slams

Burpees (did jump back ones)

Double unders (slow but felt ok)

Score: 317 

Really didn’t get much speed up, kept it pretty tame but still worked up a sweat. I’ve only recently stopped jumping onto boxes not so much because it’s a ballistic movement but because I feel clumsy now. Other ballistic movements like double unders and even running are still feeling good even though all the books tell you not to do them. Once again I’m listening to my body and if it doesn’t feel good I won’t do it. Simple. My other option to sub running is to use the rower *Shudder* I’m not a fan and would imagine as I get bigger my belly would get in the way. We’ll see. 

Friday 25.11.11- Pt session

40:20 x 4 rounds

Multi directional lunge 16kg kb

DB 10kg clean & press

Bent over row 12kg

Back to standing rope climb

Dumbbell wood chop 10kg

A few workouts...

Week 21

Friday 14.10.11-HF group class
I'll start at this point to record my training and note anything I experience, such as movements I have to start modifying etc.

Run 800m

15 hang squat snatch 30kg

Run 400m

15 squat snatch from mid thigh 30kg

Run 200m

15 squat snatch 30kg

Can’t recall time but workout felt good. Aahh it will be a sad day when I have to stop runs. They always feel good in a workout. Felt good to be under an Olympic bar. Love olympic lifting, it doesn’t get any better Jcant wait till I can get back into it properly. I so miss the feeling of a heavy load.

Ever tried to do a 1 legged deadlift on a cruise ship? 6 months preggers?

Haha believe me it doesn’t work that well. Between the rocky boat and my shifted centre of gravity it was a tall ask. So I guess my hamstring workout will have to wait...I did the following instead. 

Week 22

Sunday-own workout

40:20 x 5 rounds

Tricep dips off bench feet on swiss ball

Lat pulldown

Swiss ball pike

Ground to overhead with db 10kg 

Week 23

Thursday –own workout

40:20 x 6 rounds

Walking lunge with db

Lat pulldown

Push ups on toes

Row 200m

Saturday- own workout

40:20 x 6 rounds

Squats with db bicep curl

Chest press on swiss ball

Narrow grip lat pulldown

Row 200m 

Week 24

No workouts this week. Struggled to fit them in and was pretty exhausted from all the sightseeing I was doing. I managed to see 5 countries in 6 days. Feel tired just thinking about it. I tried not to stress too much about the lack of exercise.

Week 25

First week back from 3 week overseas holiday. Feeling jet lagged to the max. Trained only three times this week. Sworn to myself that I’ll get back into it next week.

Wednesday 9.11.11-HF group class

Amrap-20 mins

10 ladder sprints

5 rope climbs back to standing

10 knees to elbows (did toes to rings instead as I don’t have to get such an aggressive kip going and is a little safer for my lumbar)

Did 5 rounds even and felt good. It sure got the cobwebs out. 

Thursday 10.11.11- HF group class

Cuplet of 10 rounds of 30:30 work: rest clean & jerk both at 30kg. Changed to hang power clean which felt more comfortable about half way through. Belly in the way. Feeling good.

Friday 11.11.11- own workout

10 reps x 10 sets of barbell front squats 30kg, static lunges 20kg kettle bell (10 each leg)

Legs were smashed from this workout. I m starting to feel that my recovery time getting is longer recently. I don’t think it’s in my head. Hmmmm

Heavy back squats I miss you!

Before I knew I was pregnant I had already started sucking at the gym. The first signal was a lack of oxygen but put it down to being a bit out of sorts having just come back from a 2 week overseas trip that didn’t involve a lot of training.  I started to take twice as long as the fastest person to finish a workout that should have been easy for me. It was frustrating but I just wasn’t feeling right and looking back I'm glad I had the good sense to pull out of the crossfit regionals. I was only 5 weeks when I was supposed to compete having qualified as the 47^th fittest woman in Australia.  I was still lifting heavy in my training and feeling ok just out of breath. I remember doing a 100kg back squat and I’m still here. Obviously I’m not doing that now. Heavy back squats I miss you!

I found out at about 6 weeks and obviously started to scale back.  It was hard. Really hard. I was madly trying to find out info on what I could and couldn’t do, quizzed my doctor all through my first appointment, like a woman obsessed.  I had no morning sickness just felt a constant lack of energy. I didn’t look pregnant yet except for a thickening around the middle. I was losing my waistline. Bugger. My ego was taking a bashing in the gym and it seemed everything I had worked so hard to achieve were diminishing. My waistline, my lungs, my body fat, the loads I could lift, the speed I could run etc even the food I usually loved had no appeal. I couldn’t cope with the smell or taste of meat, my usual dietary staple. Cravings were leaning towards starchy carbs. Oh no! What is this about? Usually when you have cravings the mind can override the body but it felt different this time. I think I was craving sugar and bread to get some energy back, although mentally I knew this is not the case and it doesn’t work like this.  So my diet during the 1^st trimester took a bit of a bashing. Not ideal I know and I became frustrated in myself giving myself a hard time over it. I’m not perfect and stressing over the fact isn’t going to help anything. So I kept up the movement and did my best. My training routine stayed the same just with less intensity.

I took a 2 week holiday at about 10 weeks to the US to see my friend compete in the Crossfit games. Still got my training in but I admit to eating way too many Hershey Kisses whilst there J A group of us winded up doing a workout at Muscle Beach which was awesome fun and visited a few gyms to get some workouts in. All felt good.

I did an Olympic lifting course at 18 weeks preggers which had a large practical component. I just kept my lifts light and stayed hydrated. I hope to still keep working on my technique so that lifting doesn’t feel too foreign when I finally get back into full swing.

Here's a few pics of me at 12 weeks preggers...and I thought I had a gut then! 

First myth Debunked!

This leads me to my First myth debunked!  Don’t let your heart rate get above 140 beats per minute! Again I remind you, do your own research. Do not take my word for it. This makes sense to me, but it might not to you.

Anyhow I found this article ...interesting reading

I actualy managed to find a legit professinal opinion-from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG), no less- that rebukes it. Even better , the opinion came from one of the doctors originally involved in the development of the said guideline. Interesting...

First little bit of history about how it came to be believed that pregnant women should not allow their heart rate to exceed 140 beats per minute during exercise:

Back in the early 80's, when target heart rates were the gold standard for measuring exertion during exercise, Dr. Raul Artal and a group of his colleagues from the ACOG developed a vidoe on exercise during pregnancy. "We had to come up with a guideline in a short period of time," said Dr. Artal. "Nobody had any data on pregnancy so we guesstimated. There is no science to support this." In 1994, The ACOG quietly removed this recommenbdtaion from their updated guidelines for pregnancy exercise, and in 2002 they publicily rescinded it. So there you have it folks. Sadly, the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiologists and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada is still proliferating recommendations based on a mere "guesstimate" that is now nmore than 7 years out of date. In their 2003 Joint Practice Guideline, Exercise in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period, thy suggest a target heart rate varying between 120-155 beats per minute, depending on maternal age. Their rationale? "There is a n increase of 10 to 15 beats per minute in resting heart rate in pregnancy. However, at maximal exercise levels, there is a blunted heart rate response as compared to the non-pregnant state."

Of course, an increased heart rate during exercise is an essential and desirable physiological response that allows the body to deliver greater quantities of oxygen-rich blood to its tissues. I extrapolate then, that the real concern about a blunted heart rate response is in fact a concern about a potential shortage of oxygen to the developing fetus. But notice that this blunted heart rate response occurs at maximal exercise levels, which the average woman never approaches.

So, how is a woman to gauge a sfae level of intensity for exercise during pregnancy? Newer guidelines suggest using the Rate of Percieved Exertion (RPE) scal, and aiming for "moderate to hard" exertion (4-6 on the 10 point scale, and 12-14 on the 20 point Borg scale).

An even easier way to think of it is that you should be working at least hard enough that you arent able to sing, but not so hard that your too winded to speak a few words.

So here a few suggestions for how to still get in a decent workout that I’ve been trying to use.

• Maintain a pace where you can still speak a few words at a time. Try to keep in mind that if you're struggling for air chances are so is your precious cargo.
• Stop the clock. Don't aim to do a workout in a set time. Don't go for Pb's. Just do the workout in whatever time it takes. No stress. Be happy that your doing something. Your in the miniority of the pregnant population.
• Rest when ever you need to. If need be force yourself to take frequent sips between rounds. Thats i what i do to keep reminding myself. Really important as it gets warmer.
• Listen to your body. Everyday is different. One day you'll feel unstoppable the next you'll have trouble tearing yourself off the couch. Don't beat yourself up and don't try to do what you think you should be able to. Been there and its no fun and really no use.
• Leave the heart rate monitor at home

So long abs!

My pregnancy wasn’t public knowledge in the gym up until 20 weeks. I wasn’t really showing and was still holding my own in the workouts so I thought, what the heck let’s play this game for a little while longer. I suppose I was feeling quite smug walking around with my secret and it sure kept my abs tight. Abs were doing such a good job up until 20 weeks. It was like a constant war between my abs and the baby.      

20 weeks and abs holding strong...

20 weeks

At week 26 the baby won out over the abs

At about this point I began to switch from time- priority workouts to work- priority workouts with set amounts of work to be done in whatever amount of time it takes, with as many breaks as necessary. It’s all about maintaining my strength from here on in. I must admit to loving the feeling of doing a workout for time so on a few occasions I’ve reduced the load and gone a bit faster. Nothing too intense though, just enough to almost replicate that feeling.  Aahhh that feeling of collapsing at the end of a workout in a pool of sweat, it’s like a drug.  Sigh

So why exercise?

So, let’s start with some fairly conventional facts. No surprises here really, just lots of reasons to stay fit and healthy through pregnancy.

Benefits to you of exercising during pregnancy;

·         More energy

·         Fewer problems with backache, bloating and constipation

·         Reduced risk of gestational diabetes

·         Better sleep

·         Easier labour and childbirth

·         Quicker recovery

·         Boosts your mood

·         Reduced birth weight for baby, which may reduce his or her risk of obesity later in life

·         Tend to have easier and less complicated labours

·         Have less need for pain relief during labour (hmmm we’ll see about that)

·         Increase their aerobic capacity

·         Have more stamina during labour

·         Report a more rapid physical and emotional recovery from delivery

Benefits to the baby of exercising mums;

·         Have significantly lower heart rates than babies of non exercising mums

·         Are better able to cope with the stress of birth

·         Have a greater ability to adapt to life outside the uterus

·         Are more healthy at birth

·         Are leaner at birth and tend to stay lean as they grow

·         Sleep through the night sooner (yes please!)

·         Are better able to self calm

·         Score higher on tests of general intelligence and oral language skills

·         Have decreased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases later in life

Why wouldn’t you keep up the training!

So I’ll try to do a bit of back tracking and highlight any key issues I experienced throughout the different trimesters. Forgive me if I jump all over the place with this blog. There's a bit of catching up to do.

1st trimester 1-13 weeks

Ok so back to my research on the internet… I was curious to see what the experts said I could and couldn’t do during my pregnancy — and I really didn’t like what I found! Here are some examples of conventional pregnancy diet and fitness recommendations:

- Increase your carbohydrate intake
- Don’t bench press more than 20kgs
- Don’t squat below parallel
- Don’t let your heart rate get beyond 140 beats per minute
- Don’t lie on your back after the first trimester
- Eat lots of grains
- Eat constantly throughout the day to make sure the baby is always supplied with nutrients

Now to anyone that hasn’t experienced the full benefits of primal nutrition along with optimal training this might all sound very logical. Over the next few months I will talk about some of the common pregnancy guidelines I have encountered and why I have chosen an alternate path. I’m not suggesting that my pregnancy will be a perfect one, far from it I’m sure, but I want to be able to make educated decisions not just follow the masses especially when something doesn’t ‘seem right’ to me.

      

Welcome

My name is Tysha and I’m a personal trainer and fitness enthusiast living in Sydney, Australia. My husband and I are expecting our first child come 18^th February and on starting this blog am 29 weeks pregnant. Over the past few years I’ve been doing some fairly intense physical training, including Olympic lifting, Crossfit, endurance events, I’ve even done some ultra marathons just for fun. I’ve also been following a primal diet for about 18 months or so, to various degrees...sometimes strictly, sometimes modified. I had been monitoring my body fat percentage and had recently achieved 20% body fat through diet and exercise and experimenting with the combination.

Since falling pregnant I immediately scoured the internet for information about diet, exercise and pregnancy. I was hoping to find recommendations in alignment to my lifestyle that has worked well for me and kept me strong, fit, happy and healthy. I didn’t find that by just skimming the surface of resources offered on the internet at first look. So instead I decided to dig a little deeper, and in doing so, I found that many conventional pregnancy guidelines are based on myth, not fact. It would seem , from my research that most women with low risk pregnancy’s can and should safely continue to be very physically active for as long as they are comfortable. I had so many questions that I bombarded my doctor with only to leave her surgery feeling even more confused. So off I went again and researched...The best advice I can offer at this point is to listen to your body, don’t be afraid to challenge conventional methods, and always be asking questions.

So, I’ve decided to start this blog to share my pregnancy journey with you all. I feel so lucky to have many amazing people around me during this journey. Firstly a HUGE thank you to Shane for everything. I don’t know what I’d do without you. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be seeking a better way. Your enquiring mind must be rubbing off on me J I've had awesome support from everyone at my gym Holistic Foundations. Thank you. It means a lot to me.
My hope is that this blog might inspire other women to follow their instincts not just in pregnancy but in everything. Our bodies are amazing! They tell us so much more than we tend to listen to. This blog will hopefully highlight my successes, challenges, and frustrations and might even provide some entertainment. Please feel free to post any comment or questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. I don’t pretend to be an expert in this field and endorse that you also do your own research and always consult a doctor before starting any exercise program, pregnant or not. I’m merely sharing my journey with you...take from it what you will. So here goes...