Another interesting workout today, 3 rounds of 15 weighted pull-ups (15#) and 9 front squats (75#), I wore a weighted vest the whole time so the front squat weight was close (90#) to the prescribed weight of 95#. The gym workout was actually 5 rounds which I thought was a bit much in the heat, so another pregnant member and I scaled it down. I've been wanting to see how weighted pull-ups felt since at some point I'll have a lot more weight on me. I was pleasantly surprised that it felt the same as before as I'm accustomed to doing weighted pull-ups during workouts. I would never recommend doing weighted pull-ups if you haven't done them pre-pregnancy, now is not the time to be a hero!

Eliminated Movements

Some of the movements that should be eliminated during pregnancy:

• box jumps-too high impact, too much of a ballistic movement, stick to step-ups
• handstand push-ups- just not safe, who knows what inversion does to uterine blood-flow, just not worth the risk, practice your strict press, do regular push-ups
• double-unders-high impact and your heart rate can get way too high
• squats below 90 degrees- I mentioned this yesterday and today realized I could no longer squat clean according to this rule. You can certainly keep squatting as long as you feel comfortable and your thighs don't pass parallel to the floor. Not being able to squat below 90 takes a lot of efficiency out of Crossfit movements, you lose the hamstring/glute action on wall-balls, thrusters, front squats, etc. So keep that in mind and scale accordingly.
• rope climbs-no pregnant woman should climb a rope, seriously.
• burpees-slamming your abdomen on the ground repeatedly is not a good idea. I have modified them to be done on a tire (push-up on the tire, instead of flat on the ground).
• 1 rep max days-since you tend to Valsalva (bear down) during a 1 RM day, just save it for post-pregnancy, still focus on your strength on these days, just don't go all-out.
• AMRAPS, team work-outs-this is simply a matter of personal preference. It will be hard not to push yourself during either one so that's why I bring them up. You can certainly do an AMRAP if you feel you'll get enough out of the time limit pacing yourself. It all depends on the time limit, exercises and reps. It may work to pick x-amount of rounds and do it that way. Team WODs are fine as long as you have a partner that doesn't push you and doesn't mind going slow themselves, which may be hard to find in Crossfit:)

If there's anything anyone notices that I forgot please let me know!

JB