SS 167 – Training During Pregnancy

Grant and Heavey are joined by Mrs. Brandon Heavey, otherwise known as Coach Nicole, as they discuss a controversial topic around training during pregnancy. Is it safe to train when you’re pregnant? If yes, what kinds of exercise can you do? What safety precautions do you need to take?

 

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[03:15] More and More Pregnant Women Are Using Marijuana

 

Grant shares an article about a recent study that came out just at the turn of 2018, suggesting that more and more pregnant women are using marijuana. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention says that across United States, it’s 1 in 25 women. In California, 22% of pregnant women under 18 years old are using it. Across the board in California, the number doubled from 2009 to 2016 at over 7%.

 

So what happens to the fetus if the mom smokes weed?

 

What the researchers found is that when mothers smoke marijuana, there is transference of the THC through the blood system into the system of the fetus that leads to babies born with lower weight and emotional problems later on in life.

 

Grant says this is a reminder that despite the legalization of marijuana, it doesn’t mean that it’s always safe. Alcohol is legal but not always safe. Heavey adds that the party line for smokers is that marijuana is so benign especially relative to alcohol. It’s true in many cases, but it’s not totally benign.

 

[06:40] Being Legal Doesn’t Mean It’s Safe

 

In California, recreational sales of marijuana took place on January 1, 2018. By January 2nd, Grant had a bunch of employees smelling like weed after lunch break. Their thought was that since it was legal, they could do it at lunch. The company had to reiterate the policy on substance abuse through company postings and memos, reminding them that just because it’s legal, you can’t do it.

 

[07:45] Getting Back to the Basics

 

Pregnant women deal with a lot of stress in their lives and some of them don’t even stop working. Some have trouble sleeping and they can’t drink to take the edge off. They may feel like they need to do something and marijuana is not as bad, right? Grant recommends going back to basics. Find time to meditate. Turn off your TV before bed. Make a relaxing area in the bedroom.

 

Heavey says that although there are a lot of health benefits attached to weed, it’s good to hear the whole story because there are some negative consequences. Aside from the research mentioned above, there are some hormonal effects from it as well.

 

[09:15] Don’t Kill the Baby!

 

A lot of pregnant women choose to still train during pregnancy but there are some notable precautions that should be taken. Nicole got to work with a handful of pregnant clients.

 

When you see a video showing pregnant women training and look at the comments, you’d see people fall in one of two camps. Either these women are praised for being go-getters or that they’re putting the baby at unnecessary risk.

 

From time to time, drama occurs in any Crossfit gym around this topic and people feel strongly both ways. However, as Grant clearly points out, it’s different between feelings and studies.

 

So should you train or go on bedrest?

 

[12:40] To Train or Not to Train

 

Nicole says whether to train or not when you’re pregnant really depends on each situation because every person is different. Every pregnancy is different. There are people who need to go on bedrest because of medical issues and complications. However, the vast majority of women who are pregnant and who have been training regularly before pregnancy, for the most part, may continue their usual training. They may have to modify certain movements but they would be able to continue working out throughout their pregnancy, leading them to feel better mentally and physically.

 

Nicole thinks that you should train during pregnancy if you’ve already been training prior to it (provided there are no health issues or complications). If you’re someone who enjoys training and fitness is a huge part of your life, and all of a sudden are now pregnant with the thought that working out may do the baby harm. Thinking you can no longer train will affect you mentally more than anything else and probably make you unhappy.

 

[13:55] The Difference With and Without Training

 

For instance, Heavey’s sister-in-law has gone through two pregnancies. During her first pregnancy, she didn’t do any form of exercise, while the second time around, she caught the lifting bug and trained all the way through pregnancy.

 

During her first pregnancy, she gained a lot of weight, was tired all the time, and  was eating like sh*t. She wasn’t working out and was just “eating for two.” She really didn’t focus on herself at all.

 

The second time around, before she became pregnant, she came to Nicole and asked to teach her how to lift. She got into lifting three to four months before she got pregnant and continued on the lifting protocol that Nicole made for her. It was simple and easy to do with just training three days a week throughout her pregnancy. She felt really good and put on only 35 pounds, instead of 60 pounds like from her first pregnancy. Overall, mentally and physically, she felt so much better, training, and doing something physical everyday.

 

[15:50] Where’s the Rest of the Weight Coming From?

 

Grant raises this valid question, considering that the baby weighs about 7 pounds, where is the rest of the weight? Nicole explains a lot of it is fluid volume, your blood volume. On average, for a healthy pregnancy, you want to gain around 30-35 pounds or so. Gaining a more than that is unnecessary weight gain.

 

[16:36] Is Pregnancy an Excuse Not to Work Out? (And Eat for Two?)

 

Grant thinks that if you’re pregnant, it’s the greatest excuse not to work out and you shouldn’t feel guilty about what you’re eating. Nicole quickly disagrees saying you could develop gestational diabetes and regular diabetes after that.

 

Heavey adds there’s an emotional rollercoaster that goes along with being pregnant and some of that is tied into the hormonal changes that happen. For fit women, it’s tied into body image issues because they’re accustomed to looking trim and fit. Even though they’re building a baby, it’s hard for them to reconcile the fact that their body is growing as a result. With that said, having that place where you can continue to exercise and eat well will make you feel good.

 

[18:08] Exercises During Your First Trimester

 

If you’re exercising, you can mostly do what you’ve been doing for exercise before, meaning – if you’re a runner, keep running; if you’re a lifter, keep lifting. But it’s a different story postpartum, Nicole says.

 

People think they can jump back into their old program as soon as the baby pops out, but that’s simply not the case.

 

For the first trimester, you don’t need to make any changes to your training. However, a lot of women experience a lot of fatigue. You may not be able to do the same training volume. Obviously, you would want to reduce the risk of dangerous activities where you could fall. Don’t go for legless rope climbs and fall off the rope. Nevertheless, you’re not going to feel any different during the trimester so just train like normal and don’t do risky things that you wouldn’t normally do.

 

[20:40] The She-Hulk Mom

 

There’s also this notion of “postpartum strong mom” where hormonally or whatnot, it just causes you to feel like the Hulk after you deliver. True enough, Nicole says they would joke around the gym that all the women with young children as stronger than those that don’t have kids.

 

[21:45] What If You’re Not Into Fitness?

 

Nicole doesn’t advise increasing the amount of exercise during your pregnancy if you’re someone who’s not really into fitness. Instead, continue what you’re doing. If you’re not walking, get into a regular walking routine.

 

Glute training is something you could add into your repertoire because that will help as your belly grows. It can help support your back. You can train this muscle part through body weight or mini bands without using heavy weight.

 

[22:35] Exercises During Your Second Trimester

 

At this pregnancy phase, a lot of women tend to notice an increase in energy after getting over their first trimester. They start feeling really good and they have a lot more energy to train. At this point, the morning sickness starts to dissipate for a lot of women.

 

As this progresses, you may have increased range of motion in your joints because of some hormonal changes. Nicole would not advise doing movements that are super quick and dynamic. Instead, focus on more controlled movements and moving your body correctly.

 

At least for the first part of the second trimester, Nicole doesn’t change things up too much. The core work starts to change as you progress through the second trimester and into the third. The belly is growing so you don’t want to put extra pressure on the abdomen.

 

After about 20 weeks a majority of pregnant women may feel extra pressure on their abdomen when they do a plank. If that’s the case, Nicole wouldn’t recommend planks. Additionally, she doesn’t recommend any sort of crunching movements in the second trimester and on. Side plank is probably okay. Other core movements that Nicole would have her clients do include farmer’s carry, suitcase carry, waiter walks, single arm front rack kettlebell walks. These are going to help their posture as well as keeping things nice and stable.

 

[25:10] Third Trimester Workout

 

Again, everybody’s pregnancy is different. Some people are going to have a big belly early on while other people may not even notice it. Nicole even had one client who barely felt pregnant until about eight months in.

 

During the third trimester, fatigue may start to set in again. You’re a lot bigger so your balance may be off. Single leg movements may get tough so you might want to hold on to a wall when you’re doing pistols to a bench for instance. Or, just cut out the single leg routines if it’s too difficult.

 

No sit ups and planks. As the belly grows, you want to avoid too much pressure on the abdomen; otherwise it could lead to diastasis recti, a condition characterized by abdominal separation. Your abs separate because there’s a baby inside. Your body has to make room for it. This can become an issue over time and the separation can be worse if you keep doing things like dynamic ab work, crunches. This usually occurs either above or right below your belly button. If you lay on the ground and push your fingers into the middle of your belly, you’ll find a hole there. It’s a separation by two to three fingers.

 

[27:34] Why Pregnant Women Should Exercise

 

Nicole says that if you’re going to become pregnant, get your core really strong, meaning lower back, glutes, abs, and obliques – because most women experience a lot of back pain while they’re pregnant. If you have a really strong core, that’s only going to help you with your posture and make you feel better.

 

Although glutes are not typically considered part of the core, it is still important since the whole posterior chain helps with your lower back, which is the reason Nicole includes this when talking about core. She includes this in a lot of her training programs at least once a week for her pregnant clients.

 

In terms of balancing that part between where you need to listen to your body and whether you should exercise,  Nicole learned from a fellow trainer who trains pregnant clients that for any pregnant woman, their number one goal is to keep their baby safe. The baby is always going to take priority.

 

[29:55] Pregnancy, Heart Rate, and Age

 

For the first trimester, heart rate issue is not that big of a deal. There’s no need to go for broke at this time.

 

Additionally, people should also be aware of their age and their ability to conceive which decreases with time. Not everybody recognizes that. So just be aware.

 

A recent statistics also suggests that after the age of 40, women have a five percent chance of getting pregnant each month.

 

[32:54] Exercise for High Risk Pregnancies

 

Some women can be put on bed rest due to their state of pregnancy.  Some doctors can be overly conservative about pregnant women working out. Nevertheless, if your doctor tells you to do something, you need to listen to their advice.

 

Grant mentions her sister was put on bed rest her entire pregnancy due to some health issues. She was in the hospital for two straight months. Grant wants to make it clear that none of what they’re saying supersedes what your doctor says.

 

[37:25] Final Thoughts from Nicole

 

Nicole’s advice to pregnant women is to talk to knowledgeable coaches who have experience working with pregnant clients. Be weary of someone doing a lot of plank and sit up work, especially late into the second and third trimester. Some people are totally fine with it but a lot of people may develop issues.

 

As to how soon you can workout postpartum, it depends if you have a vaginal delivery or a C-section. For a C-section, it might be 6-8 weeks afterwards until you get the okay from the doctor. You certainly don’t want to rush back and get a hernia from your incision. For vaginal delivery, you can start working out within 4-6 weeks, but that doesn’t mean jumping right into a CrossFit class right away.

 

Instead, when working your way back into the gym start with focusing on your breathing and doing slow squats with diaphragmatic breathing and coordinating your pelvic floor with your squats and doing heel lifts just to get some movement going with your whole system.

 

[39:00] Stretching, Breathing, and Pelvic Floor Exercises

 

Nicole doesn’t give any stretching routines to her clients since they already have joint laxity from the hormone changes going on. They are more flexible. Being hypermobile would be a negative. So stay away from all that. Instead, do slow, controlled movements and not getting out of your normal range of motion.

 

Usually, Nicole helps clients get into the ease of training by teaching them how to breathe using their diaphragm and focusing on their pelvic floor when they breathe. Put your hand on your belly and when you breathe in, your hand should go out. When you do this, your pelvic floor relaxes. Then as you exhale, your belly goes back in, pelvic floor goes back up.

 

For pelvic floor exercises, Nicole says the breathing takes care of this. There’s a PT who specializes in pelvic floor named Julie Wiebe and she has this technique called Piston Breathing that works really well for clients.

 

[43:33] Final Thoughts!

 

Lastly, Heavey stresses that you need to do your own homework. If not, work with somebody that has the experience and knowledge to help you through that pregnancy.

 

And to all the men out there, Grant would like to remind you that that there are two halves to making this baby. So it’s your role to support your other half. Understand what she’s going through and help her make some of these smart decisions because you’re going to be a family now. (Well said, Grant!)

Links:

Coach Nicole at Evidence Based Athlete

www.healthIQ.scotch

Piston Breathing with Julie Weibe