The High-Performance Pregnancy Flashcards
CrossFitMoms website,
CrossFitMoms website, they are calmer, happier babies who sleep through the night sooner. Studies show that babies born to mothers who exercised during pregnancy tend to be healthy and strong, with better mental and motor development than their peers. They also tend to be born leaner, and seem to stay that way throughout their childhood. In five years or so, I’ll check in with all the babies born this year to see if I can confirm that.
A ten-fold increase in the body’s production of the hormone
relaxin—designed to relax the joints in the pelvis to give the baby room to pass through the birth canal—causes a softening of the ligaments, which may make them more vulnerable during strenuous movements.
Another key change
increase in blood volume and cardiac output, and corresponding rise in heart rate.
How should you adjust your workouts to deal with these changes?How hard and long you do your CrossFit workouts depends on
How hard and long you do your CrossFit workouts depends on if and how hard and long you were doing CrossFit before you become pregnant. If you are just starting CrossFit, and are, or are soon to be pregnant, you should proceed with extreme caution. You should use light weights and low reps. And this is not the time to ramp up the intensity.
Type-A women,
Type-A women, but they can still get all the workout they need—and what they need is to maintain strength, stamina and flexibility, gain only the necessary weight, and prepare themselves for childbirth. Remember that you are doing weighted workouts the whole time! As you progress in your pregnancy and things become uncomfortable, stop doing them or find substitute exercises.
You will be able to do most workouts for 4-6 months into the pregnancy, depending on the individual. There are a few things to consider, but again, go by what your body tells you. If it feels weird, painful or uncomfortable, don’t do it.
Dial down the intensity with the “talk test”
True or False?
• Don’t lie on your back after the first trimester.
• Don’t do anything inverted.
• Don’t let your heart rate go above 140 bpm.
The first one is true. After four months or so, the baby has grown enough that lying on your back will put pressure on the vena cava (major veins that return blood to the heart). This can reduce blood flow and oxygen to the baby, and can make you very dizzy and lightheaded. This happens to most, but not all moms.
The second one is half-true. I have not found any research to show that the act of being inverted is actually harmful, but because of the increase in blood volume, you could become dizzy and fall.
The third one—avoiding a 140-plus heart rate—is false. Until 1994, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology did recommend keeping the heart rate at or below 140 bpm during exercise, in order to maintain a safe core temperature. They revised this guideline when they discovered no evidence of correlation between the two. It turns out that the heart rate doesn’t have anything to do with core temperature, as originally thought.:Sure, go over 140 bpm if you can breathe easily, but don’t work yourself into a hypoxic state doing Fran. Hypoxia indicates that there is insufficient oxygen in your blood, from which babies get their oxygen—the lack of which can cause brain damage.
Therefore, the rule on perceived exertion is simple: You should be able to carry on a conversation while you are working out. Use common sense; If you’re breathing hard enough to fail this “talk test,” back off.
I also warn newbie CrossFitters
I also warn newbie CrossFitters to be extra cautious about pushing it because pregnancy would be a really bad time to induce Rhabdo, which has the potential to affect any beginner.
ommon-sense ground rules: Limit potential falls, slow down, and down-scale
Stay hydrated. Even if it isn’t hot, you need to drink a lot of fluids.
• Do not allow your core temperature to get too high (above 102). It can increase the risk of central nervous system abnormalities in your baby.
• Because the relaxin hormone causes the joints to be softer, beware of ballistic and quick lateral movements, and squatting below parallel.
• Cross certain exercises off the list until the baby is born.
The no-go list includes the following:
The no-go list includes the following:
Rope climbs and handstand push-ups; they are just not necessary. You can substitute beginner rope climbs or rope pull-ups instead. It is not worth the risk of falling
Heavy or max effort lifts. Too many things can go wrong.
Back or hip extensions will be ok for a few months, but stay away from GHD sit ups!
Box jumps, which pose a much higher risk of loss of balance and falling given your new weight distribution, are among the first exercises that will weed themselves out of your workouts.
general strategy, I empha
• Take “for time” out of your workouts for now. Rushing can lead to tripping.
• Do not work to exhaustion. Remember, that’ll limit the baby’s oxygen supply.
• Run and row until you can’t any more.
• Down-scale the things that you want to do. If squats start to become difficult, stand in front of a jump box, sit down, and then stand up. If pull ups become impossible, do ring rows. Do knees-to-elbows instead of sit ups. Elevate your push ups on a tire, box or against the wall. When your belly gets too big, substitute dumbbells for barbells.
Facts About Maternity Workouts:Women who exercise during pregnancy:
Have reduced weight gain and fat deposition during pregnancy
Have fewer pregnancy discomforts
Report a more rapid physical and emotional recovery from delivery
Tend to have easier, shorter and less complicated labors
Have less need for pain relief during labor
Have more stamina during labor
Increase their aerobic capacity
Decrease their susceptibility to illness
Increase their energy level
Babies of exercising moms:
Have significantly lower heart rates than babies of non-exercising moms
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
Are better able to self-calm
Score higher on tests of general intelligence and oral language skills
Have decreased risks of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases later in life
Have better attention spans often in their second year of life (if the mom ingested Omega-3 during pregnancy)
