I've been excited to write this post for YEARS! Mild exaggeration, but it's a topic that is near to my heart and dear to my being fibers. I am what you would call a fitness nerd. I read about it for fun, I find it exhilarating to test my limits and I practice it four times a week, rain or shine. When that pee stick of yesteryear confirmed my suspicions of a tiny tenant the first time around I was conflicted (and excited, and full of joy and fear and every other emotion known to man but not previously known to me). I had been led to believe by conventional wisdom that I now had to kick back and let my body do its thing for the next 9 months, then struggle endlessly to regain my level of fitness from the mushy mash that pregnancy would surely turn it into. Thankfully, an already avid gym goer and powerlifting competitor hopeful, I didn't accept this and did some research. What I generally came across was that I was now confined to the pink rubber weights of smiling fitness models in lady supplement slinging ads. I read that I couldn't squat because it could detach my placenta, I read that squatting was the best thing I could do to prime myself for pushing. I got the feeling that not many people knew what the hell they were talking about. Luckily for myself and my unborn bundle of fuzzy headed love I had fortune enough to come into contact with a very progressive OB on my first prenatal appointment. She was jacked and by the sounds of her accent eastern European in origin. Her smile was warm and her advice was invaluable. She told me to keep doing what I'm doing, within reason. When you feel discomfort or pain, that is your body's way of telling you to scale it back. I was delighted and thought about this extensively. The more I pondered, the more sense it made. Why would I let my level of fitness slide in preparation for what I've been told is a grueling process on the body and mind? What possible benefit could having reduced cardiovascular ability and muscular strength have on the marathon that can be birth? It made no sense at all, and I put my money on my instinct. Over the next nine months I continued to resistance train, squat, deadlift, do various forms of core strength building activities and upper body exercises. I did not get everything right, and I plan to do a few things differently during my current pregnancy, but I did receive a host of benefits from my efforts. I had relatively few nagging pregnancy ailments, gained a healthy amount of weight at 25+ from my original body weight, had an easy labor without interventions, tearing or significant physical trauma to my body, delivered a healthy baby girl who scored highly on the apgar scale at a chunky 7lbs 14oz, and was able to recover quickly thereafter. Holy shit. My post-pregnancy body wasn't what I expected it to be either, in that it was not that foreign. With the help of a belly band my belly went down within two weeks. Within 6 weeks I was back at the gym and doing home workouts with resistance bands. Within 3 months I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight and clothing. The journey of pregnancy turned out to not be what I had expected at all. I took my health into my own hands and owned it, and I have no regrets. It is with the spreading of this information that I hope to change the "conventional wisdom" that pregnancy is a delicate condition. Your body is strong! You're making a fucking person in there! The benefits you both stand to gain from not being an overeating couch lump for most of a year are too good not to take advantage of. There will be hard days, but it will be worth it. If you're pregnant and looking to start, it's not too late to gently ease yourself in the direction of the light. Your baby may not thank you, but your body will.
My pre-postpartum progression
37 weeks pregnant with Freyja
Experienced some diastasis of the abdominals,
feeling good otherwise!
One month postpartum
Hard to see the tummy through the baby leg,
but feeling mostly back to normal and regaining strength.
2 weeks into rehab for the ab separation
Three months postpartum
Back at the gym, starting to slowly up my weights again
Six months postpartum
Most notable change, loss of body fat (and boobs! sigh).
Gaining strength and feeling confident under a bar again
Nine months postpartum
Personal training, back at peak strength and preparing for a powerlifting competition
(this never came to fruition due to baby #2's early arrival, but you best believe it will!)
Please note: I am not a doctor, physical therapist, wizard or magician. Everyone's body is different and requires an individual approach. I may address the shit out of the topic of fitness but please use your own discretion and listen to your body. Some people's journey may need to start in the office of a physical therapist or otherwise and it's still amazingly badass of you for taking that first step.
