For today's workout I did 12 deadlifts (135#), 10 wall balls (14#), 9 DL's, 10 WB's, 6 DL's, 10 WB's, 3 DL's, 10 WB's. This was a modified version of the gyms WOD which had a total of 100 wall balls. Another pregnant gym member and I did it together, and it wasn't too bad, sub 10 minutes. I usually try to shoot for a 15-20 minute workout not including a good warm-up.

Early in pregnancy I found myself questioning the safety of deadlifts. I was very comfortable with the prescribed weights of 155# & 185# for women prior to pregnancy, but 155# can get a little heavy with high reps and you tend to start "bearing down" to pull the weight. So I tried 135# in a workout and it felt great so I hope to stay at this weight throughout using more of a sumo-like stance as my abdomen gets bigger. The wall balls were interesting today as well. Since you're not supposed to go below a 90 degree squat in the second trimester, it made it way less efficient. I placed a small box with an abmat under my bottom as a guide.

Safety

I wanted to go over some safety considerations in pregnancy. Heart rate control: a lot of conflicting information is out there. Most literature will recommend keeping your heart rate below 140 to avoid diverting blood flow from the uterus. You can certainly wear a heart rate monitor to accomplish this, but I find perceived exertion (PE) or the talk-test to be a good indication. You should be able to talk through any part of your workout, the run, the lifts, etc. If you can't talk, REST and SLOW DOWN!! Also avoid lying flat on your back after the second trimester as the uterus becomes large enough to block the great vessels in the abdomen and diminish blood flow to the uterus. Avoid ballistic/high impact movements. Your body starts producing the hormone relaxin sometime in the second trimester to help the pelvic joints to soften and allow for childbirth. Relaxin can affect all joints so the potential for injury is greater during exercise. Don't do any exercise that involves a lot of balancing as your center of gravity changes as your belly grows. Again, avoid lifting weight that is so heavy it causes you to bear down, it not only decreases blood flow to the baby but can also cause you to pass-out, not good for you or baby. Avoid squatting with the thighs below parallel, it puts too much pressure on the pelvic floor muscles.