Doing CrossFit while Pregnant

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, so don't take this as medical advice! I just wanted to share some resources I've found if you want to keep doing CrossFit during your pregnancy. You should obviously make sure to check with your doctor.

Our gym has a CrossFit certified instructor, but it is not an affiliate. It's not "real" CrossFit, but we do "constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements." Our gym's program is called "Outer Space Functional Training" or OSFX for short. We have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4:30pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30am and Saturdays at 8:30am. Mitch and I go 3 times a week. Mitch also adds in 2 other days a week because he is a rock star, and he is getting his CrossFit Level 1 certification next month! When I married him, I had no idea he'd become my personal trainer! 

I started doing OSFX 1 year ago today. I had been participating 3 times a week for about 6 months before I got pregnant, but I had been doing other workouts for years before that. I completed my second half-marathon one month before getting pregnant. High intensity workouts aren't something you should start when you become pregnant, but I was happy to learn that there are women who continue CrossFit during and after pregnancy. If you're considering continuing CrossFit while pregnant, here are some resources that I found helpful. 

I started by reading the CrossFit Journal post on the topic.

This site, crossfitmom.com, has a lot of helpful resources such as guidance for each trimester, scaled workouts, and substitute exercises. 

BirthFIT has a website, facebook, and instagram feed all with helpful info and inspiring pictures to keep you going.

I loved this article written by a mom who is a CrossFit coach and doula:

The majority of the women who have continued to do CrossFit throughout their pregnancy have had extremely short, relatively easy labors. Hands down. In all the births I've attended I've noticed CrossFit Moms having a great deal of stamina, mental focus and endurance, and with all the squats we do -- shorter pushing times. Oh and let's not forget recovery. CrossFit moms have shorter, easier recoveries. All of this can be attributed to exercise but let's not forget about diet. CrossFitters usually eat very clean, minimally processed, high quality diets. THIS MATTERS.

There is also a quote from the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) website from the article above:

Twenty years ago, very little research was done on the effects of exercise on the pregnant woman and fetus. Therefore, doctors erred on the side of caution and recommended a sedentary lifestyle for pregnant women.

Now, numerous scientific studies have shown no correlation between moderate or even vigorous exercise and miscarriage or pregnancy-related complications. In fact, ACOG says if a woman is accustomed to vigorous exercise, she can continue to do it as long as she feels okay.

I also found some inspiring videos.

This one talks about modifications you can do: 

This girl rocked out pullups during her whole pregnancy!

And one more:

I immediately noticed a huge drop in my ability to do anything cardio when I became pregnant. I went from being a middle-of-the pack runner to being the slowest, by far. At first I wore a heart rate monitor to ensure that I stopped when my heart rate was getting too high. But eventually, I figured out I can just listen to my body and I know when to stop. I modify just about everything. Double unders became single unders. Box jumps became step ups. No more max lifts, but still enough to be a challenge. Instead of burpees, I do pushups on an elevated surface. Now that I'm in my third trimester, my belly gets in the way of the barbell so I use kettlebells instead. I used to be on the crew team in college, so rowing is one of my favorite parts of CrossFit. I can still row, I just can't go as hard as I used to and my knees stick way out instead of being inside my arms where they're supposed to be. At the end of a workout, though, I'm just happy that I completed it... no matter where my name falls on the board. 

Staying active and strong while pregnant has helped keep my blood pressure in the normal range, baby's growth and heart rate are perfect, my weight is right on track, my ankle swelling (from sitting 8 hours a day) goes away after I work out, and I am able to get better sleep on days when I work out. Labor and delivery is basically the hardest "WOD" (workout of the day) that I'll ever do, so my main motivation is to prepare mentally and physically for that. 

I hope that one day, my daughter and I will be doing this together... and since her daddy is into it too, I'd say it's a given. :-)