Another busy, stressful week, but managed to squeeze in a few workouts.

I focused on strength last weekend, did push-jerks/split-jerks @95#x5, 105x5, 115x5 and made up a weighted pull-up workout starting out with 10 lbs, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 60. Each was one kipping pull-up with the added weight including the 9 lbs of pregnancy weight I've finally gained at just about 22 weeks pregnant.

21-15-9 step-ups, push-ups, and overhead squats @ 65#

4 rounds 10 pull-ups, 10 deadlifts 125#, 10 overhead walking lunges with 25# plate

3 rounds 300m run, 10 push-jerks 75#, 10 kettlebell swings 35#

Overall I'm feeling really good still. Have definitely noticed some mechanical changes as my abdomen has grown and my center of gravity has shifted. My deadlift stance has widened and I compensated by dropping the weight by 10lbs just to make sure I did it safely. I lost my push-press a long time ago! I feel a lot of strain in my extreme lower abdominals on the push-press so I mainly do push-jerks now. It really feels different when you lose the extra hip force. Step-ups on the 20" box are interesting as well, I can't lift my leg straight in front of me so I have to be careful to watch the lower back while externally rotating my hip outward to step onto the box.

Maintaining Core Strength During Pregnancy

Probably the most weakness you'll notice while pregnant and post-partum will be in the abdomen and core. The reasons are obvious, a growing uterus causing the abdominal muscles to expand and thus weaken. Some women will even experience a diastasis, or separation in the vertical rectus abdominis muscles. Continuing weight training will still keep your core fairly strong, especially doing Crossfit. Some exercises that I have continued with and recommend are as follows:

Planks- Planks are great for maintaining core strength, even if you can't do them on your toes. Make sure to always maintain even breathing, since it can be tempting to want to hold your breath during the hold which is a big no-no while pregnant. If you can do side planks, do them as well. You don't need to overachieve and go for an all-out 60 sec hold, though certainly do it if you can. 15-30 sec is fine and just build up from there, do 2-3 sets.

Reverse crunches- You'll start out on all fours (on knees and hands) facing downward with head, neck & spine in alignment, next round your back (like a cat arching it's back) while tucking your chin and pelvis (almost like bringing them in to meet each other) focusing on exhaling through the movement. Repeat the movement slowly in multiple reps of 10-12 in sets of 2-3.

Opposite arm/leg lifts- starts in the same position as reverse crunches, reaching out with left arm/right leg simultaneously and holding for about 2-3 sec, repeating with opposite side, maintaing even alignment of the leg/spine/neck/arm. Again do about 10-12 reps in 2-3 sets.

Again, just keep working out, keep doing strict push-ups, push-ups with you toes elevated on a box, knee push-ups, good-mornings, kettlebell swings, olympic lifting (with scaled weight if necessary), deadlifts, toes-to-bar, knees to elbows. All are good for keeping core strength.

Just keep exercising ladies!! The human body was made to move, even while pregnant! Your body will thank you for it!

Wow it's Thursday and I've gotten in 3 workouts already, it's like a miracle! So far I've done:

-3 rounds: 400m run, 50 squats

-"Nate"- a Crossfit Hero Workout which as prescribed is as many rounds as possible in 20 min of 2 muscle -ups, 4 hand-stand push ups, 8 kettlebell swings @ 55lbs. My scaling was 3 rounds of banded muscle ups, then 2 rounds of 4 pull-ups and 4 banded dips, push-ups I did with my toes elevated on our small box (body NOT inverted) and I used a 35# KB. I ended up with a pretty uncomfortable pec strain so today I omitted any upper body work.

-5 rounds 300m run, 10 back squats @ 95#

I am feeling great still, was super excited to have done banded muscle-ups in a workout again, especially given my weaker core these days.

Post-Workout Nutrition

Since I recently discussed pre-workout nutrition, thought it was logical to go into the post-workout phase. I'll mainly stick to the first 30 minutes following exercise, after that it's up to you whatever diet you want to follow, whether it's Zone, Paleo (my preference), or what works best for your training needs.

The 30 minute window is key to replace muscle glycogen lost during exercise. What you eat now can be key in how well you perform during your next workout. A liquid meal replacement is best during the immediate workout stage, since it's more easily digested by the body. The liquid should be a mix of carbohydrate (CHO), protein, and some electrolytes. The CHO component should be about 1G CHO per kilogram of body weight (1kg=2.2lbs). Muscle repair is better facilitated when protein is consumed in the immediate post-workout window, which is why you need to have protein in the mix as well (whey protein being of the best quality). The CHO to protein ratio should be about 4:1, for every 4 G CHO/1 G protein. There should be some electrolyte added, but this is also dependent upon length of workout, intensity, and temperature. A good guide is if you're sweating heavily,working out for a long period of time, or in extreme heat, you would need to replace lost electrolytes.

What type of drink is again up to you. Commercially prepared drinks like Gatorade are certainly fine. I believe Gatorade makes a new series which includes a post-workout beverage containing protein, which they didn't previously have. I just buy plain old Wal-Mart single sport drink powder packs containing plain old sugar and electrolytes, drink immediately after, then focus more on my protein intake when I get home. You could also make up your own drink using the ratios listed above, using fruit puree or juice and protein powder, adding a little salt if you need the electrolyte replacement.

I managed to squeeze in a couple of good workout so far this week. I'm feeling good, almost 20 weeks pregnant! I can't believe I'm at the half-way mark already!

One workout consisted of max laps running around our building (approx 300m/lap) while carrying a 20 lb med ball with 5 slam balls on the minute for 15 minutes. It was pretty hard running and carrying a 20# ball on your shoulder. I guess I more waddled than ran :)

Yesterday I did 4 rounds of 10 overhead squats(65#), 10 pull-ups, 10 good mornings 30#. I felt really strong with unbroken reps on the overheads and good mornings throughout and my first round of pull-ups unbroken, which leads me to today's blog subject.

Growth Hormone, Pregnancy, & Strength

I've commented to my husband many times through this pregnancy that I've felt incredibly strong (aside from the normal pregnancy fatigue/tiredness, which has made my aerobic capacity suffer). Not that I've been able to measure this theory by any means, as you simply can't just go all out on a lift while pregnant. But we speculated on the role of Growth Hormone (GH) and it's effects during pregnancy.

GH supplementing has been used for decades as a strength and performance enhancer by anyone from the casual body-builder to elite professional athletes. It's use has been banned in professional sports since it can obviously put the user at an unfair advantage in competition. GH causes increased lean body mass with increased muscle size, increased insulin uptake with higher protein synthesis, possibly resulting in increased strength. It also can cause connective tissues to recover from injury faster.

With all that being said, how does it impact pregnancy? GH is routinely used in fertility treatments to induce ovulation in women with pituitary dysfunction. The placenta usually produces GH starting at 8 weeks gestation, and levels continue to rise through pregnancy and peak between 35-36 weeks. GH production continues into the postpartum period but I couldn't find a reliable answer as to how long.

So could pregnant women (who were previously pretty fit) be able to notice strength gains? Anecdotaly, yes. But we would not be able to measure it reliably or safely. I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out in my postpartum period, when I can safely attempt 1 rep-max lifts again. If I miraculously increase my 1 rep max #'s after not having attempted them in 10 or 11 months I guess we'll know why! I'll keep you posted.....come January.

I'm off to a sports medicine course for the entire weekend and I'm excited to bring back more information and knowledge to help all my mommies (and non-mommies) in thier fitness endeavors!

So I know it's been a while, crazy week is all I can say. A couple of my workouts from last week:

3 rounds: 300m run, 5 power cleans 95#, 5 push jerks 95# (prescribed weight was 105#)

"Dirty 30" (sub for filthy 50) 30 reps of each: Step-ups, jumping pull-ups, kettlebell swings 35#, walking lunges, toes-to-bar (sub for knees to elbows), push-press 45#, good-mornings 30# (sub for back extensions), wall balls 14#, push-ups (sub for burpees), 90 jump rope singles (sub for double unders).

I didn't feel so hot after the Dirty 30, it was around 90F or so with high humidity. As always I was super hydrated (drank about 5 liters of water before, during, and after), and took it pretty slow. I think it had a lot to do with being on my feet at work all day combined with working out in the heat. From this point forward I'll limit my workouts to days I am off work.

Pre-workout Nutrition

I find this subject to be a knowledge deficit among the casual work-out crowd. Do you drive your car on an empty gas tank? Well you shouldn't exercise without putting gas in your "tank" either (epspecillay when exercising for two). One could seriously write a book (and many have) on exercise nutrition in general. I will keep it as simple and straight forward as possible.

Performance is greatly enhanced when you have proper pre-exercise nutrient intake. The ACSM states the pre-workout meal should have sufficient fluid, be low in fat and fiber, be relatively high carb, and have moderate protein. You should eat NO LESS than 2 hours prior to working out.

The glycemic index (GI) of the meal needs to be fairly low. Why? Because higher GI foods contain carbohydrates which realease sugar into the blood quickly, causing a rapid release of insulin into the blood, thereby leading to a blood sugar crash, you feeling hungry and generally like crap. Low GI foods are more slowly digested and lead to more stable blood glucose levels throughout your workout. You'll also see that all of the meal suggestions have added protein. This lowers the GI of the carbohydrate it is taken with, also stablizing glucose levels (along with stimulating post-workout protein synthesis)

Some meal examples:
-A fruit with eggs-make sure the fruit is low fiber like bananas, peaches, nectarines, and melons like cantaloupe or watermelon. Avoid apples, raisins, grapes, pineapple, pears or mango (high fiber).

-applesauce or baby food mixed with protein powder

-liquid meal-make a smoothie out of the fruits listed above mixed with protein powder, you could add yogurt but that's up to you. Personally I have found no problems with the addition of dairy prior to working out.

-sports/protein bar-I do this quite frequently since they can be so appealing to those on the go. But always drink a lot of water with them.

Again HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!!