Happy Labor Day Weekend! I have mixed feelings about the coming end of summer. I generally love warm weather but I'm glad to be entering into a period of cooler, more favorable workout weather. So today I'm super sore, sore traps, legs, back...ugh. Even my abs (which have slowly disappeared) are really sore, I'm guessing from doing Fran yesterday...but I'll get to that.

I did 3 workouts in a row, cause that's all my schedule would allow, which is also why I'm so sore:

5 rounds 10 squat cleans 65#, 10 push-ups, still doing regular push-ups but now my belly touches before my chest so that's as deep as I get (but my core is staying strong!). The squat cleans where hard not going below parallel as well.

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 reps of sumo deadlift high-pulls and push-jerks. Prescribed weight was 55# but I did 60# only because I was going at a slower pace and push-jerks that light don't really challenge me that much. It was a total suckfest though, I used to like sumos, not sure I like them at 23 weeks pregnant.

"Fran", need I say more?? 21-15-9 reps of 65# thrusters and pull-ups. My husband guided and timed me for support, not that I was doing it for time but I kinda wanted to know how I was doing. I was SLOW, that's all I'll say (about as fast as the first time I did it rx'd over 18 mos ago). I COMPLETELY recovered after every 7 reps the 1st round of 21, then every 5 reps thereafter. I haven't even done thrusters since I've been pregnant, and they were totally inefficient since my squat was limited to parallel. I'll not do Fran again until after this baby comes :).

Flexibility

Since I've been pregnant I've been reflecting on my own fitness deficits and goals for the future. I identified flexibility as a definite area of improvement in myself and I'm sure many other people neglect this important area of fitness. Having adequate flexibility ensures that good range of motion can occur in the joints, thereby enhancing optimal performance. Pregnant women really need to be careful with stretching exercises due to the increased laxity of the ligaments and tendons associated with the hormone relaxin.

Static stretching is best suited for pregnancy since the risk for injury is low and requires minimal if no assistance. Static stretching involves slowly stretching a muscle to the end of the range of motion, to the point of mild discomfort. The stretch should be held in that position for at least 15-30 seconds. Only 2-4 stretches need to be done for any given muscle group a minimum of 2-3 days/weeks. If stretching prior to working out, it should be done after an active warm-up. I recommend stretching following the cool-down phase, research has shown that stretching prior to a workout has no benefit in enhancing performance.

Dynamic stretching, where repetitive bouncing movements produce the muscle stretch should never be done in pregnancy since the risk for injury is so high, even in the general population.

Stretches to avoid during pregnancy include standing toe touch, Barre stretch, Hurdler's stretch, neck circles, knee hyperflexion, and the Yoga plow.

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!!

So I did a team workout yesterday with my husband (he promised not to push me) of 400 M run while partner goes for max reps of push-press, sumo-deadlift high pulls, and kettlebell swings 35# (total of 3 400m runs). I scaled down to 300m and did push jerks instead of PP @ 65lbs (both PJ & SDHP). My husband runs crazy fast, so I felt like I didn't get a lot of rest time during my max rep efforts. I have found that push press seems to exert a lot of pressure on my extreme lower abdomen, so I've been doing a lot more push jerks as a sub (more efficient, less core). Not sure about anymore team workouts for me....

Today I practiced banded muscle -ups for my skill, then did 10 Turkish get-ups (10# :( ), 20 hang power cleans 75#, 35 slam balls (20#), 35 step-ups, 30 toes to bar. Turkish get-ups were really difficult with a compromised core, prescribed weight was 25#, so I did 10#. I was super fatigued after banded muscle-ups so I also scaled the HPC weight from 95# down to 75#. Just felt really weak today, woke up at 0530 and was just plain tired. Hopefully I'll perk up next go round!

WARM-UPS

One of my biggest pet peeves in fitness training is seeing people not do a proper warm-up. It drives me insane to see people come in cold-cocked and start an intense workout. A 400m run does not make for a sufficient warm-up either. A proper warm-up brings your body from a rest state to one which is ready for exercise. Postural muscles are stretched, blood flow to the working muscles is enhanced, oxygen distribution begins, joints become lubricated, and body temperature & hear rate elevate. Warm-ups can prevent injury by increasing joint range of motion, aiding in connective tissue flexibility, and enhance performance of muscles. Some studies have shown that a warm-up performed at 60% of max effort can result in a 6% improvement in aerobic performance and a 7% improvement in anaerobic performance (for the Crossfitters, since most of Crossfit is anaerobic).

So what should one do for a warm-up? First off, you should spend a minimum of 5 minutes in the warm-up phase. Usually begin with some type of light, progressive activity to elevate the heart rate. I'll row 500m or run 400m. Then do some movements to prepare your nervous system for the movements you plan to do in your work-out. I mainly do the same thing every workout, but it can change depending on the specific movements. I do very light dumbell shoulder presses, but with high reps (up to 30). Then I will do some movement to engage the posterior chain muscles (hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, traps, and deltoids), like kettlebell swings at a lighter weight, but again with high reps. I'll then get into legs with air squats or lunges. When doing any deadlifts I ALWAYS prepare with either good-mornings or lighter deadlifts, just to get the lower back and glutes adequately prepared for what is usually a heavy load.

A warm-up should get you sweating lightly, never fatigue yourself during a warm-up to the point that it will take away from your performance. Also don't do the exact same movements during your warm-up that you'll be doing for the workout. Like doing a bunch of pull-ups before a heavy pull-up workout. You can certainly do a few just to prepare the neuromuscular system, especially for highly technical movements (snatches, squat snatches).

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