The Diary of a Pregnant Crossfitter: Part Fourteen - Sticking With It

I can tell my energy levels are starting to shift.  I'm beginning to feel more and more tired as we draw nearer to Elliot's arrival.  Not bad, and I'm not in any pain, so I'm in no hurry for this pregnancy to end, but I'm noticing changes.  And it especially doesn't help when my 3-year-old likes to get up before I'm really ready to.

Like yesterday morning.  He was in bed with me all night during the storm (we've co-slept since he was an infant anyway so we've been gradually weening him into his big boy bed, but last night was an exception, and usually I cave when Justin's on night shift and I let him in with me then too) and that morning he bolted up, got in my face and shouted, "IT'S GOOD MORNING TIME!!! GET UP MOM!!!"  It's a good thing he's cute.  He was raring to go.  Forced me out of bed, wanted to dive right into playtime.  I knew I wanted to work out that morning but, ugh, I needed just a LITTLE more sleep so I had the energy for a workout.  I dragged myself into my closet, grunted into some workout clothes, made an almond butter/chocolate/banana protein smoothie (and one for him because, well, they're delicious and he wants in on that), filled up my water, and groggily followed him to the basement and out to the patio where he jumped right into digging in the fresh mud and I sat on the picnic table and stared blankly at my weight bench.

I wanted to get a workout in.  But I SO did not want to work out.  I started finding excuses, then.  "I might put myself into labor, I'm not ready to do that yet."  Then I remember, oh yeah, my mom exercised regularly up to 43 weeks, obviously the baby will simply come when he's ready to come, my exercising isn't going to influence it.  "It's too hot and humid," was another one.  Pff, I've worked out in heat and humidity while pregnant plenty already, just drink extra water, obviously everything has been fine or we would have seen a problem at one of my prenatal checkups by now.  "I'm going to kettlebell tonight, why do I need to get two workouts in?"  That one almost convinced me to ditch my morning workout.  Then I thought about how close I am to the due date.  And how technically this pregnancy is full-term and really he could come anytime.  And this is my last one.  What if today is my last chance to work out while pregnant, ever, for the rest of my life, and I blew it by coming up with a stupid excuse because I'm tired?

I texted Rachael my dilemma, whining about being tired but wanting to work out but struggling to find the motivation to start the damn timer on my phone and just DO it.  I knew she'd be a good one to text - it's easy to get so wrapped up in how amazing you feel after a workout that you just want to shout it from the rooftops, and forget that that's actually kind of annoying to the general public, so I'm careful who I shout it from the rooftops to - Rachael, being a fellow Crossfit addict, is more than likely not annoyed with me.  So turning to her for motivation worked well, as she got right back to me and advised some stretching and deep breathing, and sure enough that built up enough energy for me to start my timer, and I completed:


5 rounds
10 push presses (65lbs)
10 front squats (65lbs)
10 barbell rows (40lbs)
10 overhead squats (65lbs)

And, just as I knew I would, I felt AMAZING afterwards and wanted to shout it from the rooftops!  Justin got home from his night shift just after I finished the WOD and I told him to take pictures of me as I loaded the bar for more overhead squats.  He was a bit hesitant... so I said, "What harm is it at this point?  I know the move so I'm not going to hurt myself, and if it's too much strain that it breaks my water, well, I AM full-term anyway..."   So he took the camera from me and snapped a few.  I want to get pictures of all my workouts from now on because I have no idea when the last one will be.  And I also want to see how I do with extra weight too.  Before getting pregnant I really enjoyed finding out what my limits were and seeing what I could handle, and I've really missed being able to safely "max out" on weights and set personal records.  I'd say a 95lb overhead squat isn't bad, though, for being 9 months pregnant!

pushing the bar up into the overhead position

95 pounds!

I am so grateful I pushed myself to finish the workout.  Once I got into the second round I felt revived and energized, and by the 5th round I was drenched in sweat, completely awake, a bit worn out but feeling strong and proud that I finished!  And just 15 minutes earlier I was trying to talk myself into not doing it at all... I probably would have felt defeated the rest of the day and disappointed in myself.  But instead I felt accomplished and energized, plus really excited that I squatted 95lbs overhead at this stage in pregnancy!  The human body is amazing, and finding out what my own is capable of these past nine months has been an awesome experience.  Not only did we create life, and my body is growing it inside, but on the outside it continues to work hard and put forth so much strength and energy when before I just accepted it as "normal" that pregnancy is supposed to be exhausting and filled with aches and pains.

Not anymore!

Recapping since I last wrote, I'll share the last few WODs I've done.  Before I do that, though, here's a shot of me practicing "crow pose" (a little awkwardly, with the big ol' belly) in the hallway after yoga last week:

The next day I had two friends over to the house to work out, one who had never done it before, so we chose to do some tabata.  We did four different series, each four minutes long, and it worked out well because the kiddos were there this time, so if they needed us at one point it's easier to break away from the exercise and then jump back in.  It also gave us control over how long we took breaks in between each set, which is nice if you're pregnant or just starting out!

We did:

(20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, each series repeated twice to total four minutes each)

Push ups
Push press
Air squats
Back squats

Jumping jacks
Jump squats
Bicep curls
Dead lifts

Shoulder press
Step ups
Dumbell swings
Plank

Hang cleans
Lunges
Barbell rows
Air squats

It was a great workout!  And my friend did an awesome job for being new at it!  I was really happy with how that morning went, I've been hoping to have friends over or maybe create groups that come over to enjoy a non-judgmental, intimidation-free zone and get some good, effective exercise in.  The kids can play so babysitting wouldn't be an issue, and we'd just have to check our insecurities at the door because, well, we all have them and it really does no good for everyone to worry about them when we all could be doing something to change it instead.  I'm going to work on this idea more after Elliot is born and I get more into the swing of things with having two kids, and then go from there.  If anyone is interested, though, shoot me a message :).  But for now, the experimental workouts with friends have gone really well!

That evening I went to kettlebell.  For getting in two workouts in one day at 8.5 months pregnant, I felt pretty good!

Speaking of friends joining me, Rachael came over the next day and we kind of got carried away chatting through the whole thing... so we didn't work up much of a sweat... but we did:

10 min AMRAP (as many rounds as possible)
10 back squats
10 push ups
10 front squats
10 tricep dips

And we only got 3 rounds done... which we felt wasn't enough so we did one more round after the timer went off to make ourselves feel better.

The next day was a rest day - no workout.  The day after I got up in the morning to do:

5 rounds
10 back squats (65lbs)
10 OH walking lunges with 25lbs
20 step ups
15 push ups

OH walking lunge

Then another rest day, followed by today's WOD, which I already wrote about.

And here I am, pretty much 9 months pregnant, still going strong!  I don't plan on stopping, either.  I honestly didn't think I'd be working out like this all the way to my due date - when I first got pregnant I knew I'd work out for as long as I could but I remembered how horrible I felt towards the end of my pregnancy with Harlee and figured I'd probably have to call it quits at 8 months or sooner because of pains or lack of energy.  Yet here I am, essentially pain-free, still full of energy, still Crossfitting away!

I'm so grateful for everything that led me to this point, too.  Grateful I started Flex over a year ago and learned about Crossfit, grateful for that client that happened to be selling a full weight bench and set of weights for her son who could no longer store it, and now it's on my patio, grateful for the space I have to use that weight set while I haven't been going to Flex anymore, grateful for all the therapies I've done to keep myself healthy and pain-free throughout this pregnancy, grateful that I've kept a fairly healthy/clean/Paleo-ish diet throughout this whole pregnancy, and grateful for the people in my life who've supported and encouraged me throughout this.  There are a lot of pregnant women out there who Crossfit, it's definitely gained in popularity, but none in my immediate area.  Having people in your life to encourage you and support you while you're embarking on a unique adventure is super helpful.

I'm also grateful that this has been a lot easier to achieve than I ever thought it would be.  I think anybody can do it.  Anybody can have an experience like this if they take proper care of their bodies and don't give up.

I suppose I'll sign off for now, until next time, but who knows what next time will be!  I'm hoping this kiddo decides to come late, so I can have just a few more weeks of pregnant crossfitting, but ya never know how things can play out.  Guess we'll see!