Pregnancy and Post-Partum Training for the Modern Female Athlete

Go Humble or Go Home

Newly pregnant mamas’ first-trimester training

Trying to conceive. Newly pregnant. Second trimester. About to pop. Just hatched. Hatched some time ago but still curious. Just curious.

This is a column for you if you have an interest in pregnancy and postpartum fitness. I’m a physio and CrossFit athlete (was a respectable competitor, not a professional athlete!) and also have a background in CrossFit coaching and fitness instructing. This column follows me on my pregnancy and postpartum journey.

Allow me a little introduction. My own athletic journey is built on a lifetime of sport in different fields – dance, skiing, horse riding, climbing, and triathlon – which has provided some good foundations for CrossFit: high-intensity functional fitness racing. I’ve enjoyed a run of years training and competing with a fair amount of commitment. At the height of my fitness, I was competing in fairly big events about 3-4 times each year and training 6-7 times a week. I’m attempting to set the scene not to brag, what I’m trying to get across is I feel I can safely say I’ve dipped a toe, so to speak, into the world of amateur competitive CrossFit. As for my professional background, as a physio and also an L1 CrossFit coach and fitness instructor, the sport of CrossFit and my career have partnered nicely. My passion for teaching others, helping them to use good movement patterns, and to respect their bodies has always seeped into everything I do.

And did my background as a sportswoman and physio prepare and qualify me for this crazy life-stage as a capable, knowledgeable and intuitive pregnant woman? Absolutely not!

From the moment I discovered I was pregnant, I got truly and utterly sucked into the world that glorifies fit pregnancies. Even before I became pregnant there was a voice inside of me that said, as and when the time came, I would be the one who upheld exceptional standards in the gym. That with a strong body, a solid training background, a foundation built upon the sciences and a square head on my shoulders, I could be a role model for others.

“I wanted to do it for me, but also for all women – to represent our strength, our ability to defy the odds”

And so, I tried to be the athlete I had always been. For the first trimester, the recommendations said to “listen to your body” and just go with how you feel. There wasn’t really much other advice about early pregnancy. I didn’t want to appear weak or feeble. The ego part of me wanted to be the girl who was still owning it in the gym at 35 weeks. Because a fit woman represents strength, doesn’t she?

As I tried to defy my body, I found that I couldn’t fight nausea, overpowering tiredness and inevitable creeping of the scales. My attendance at the gym slowed. I scrolled social media for pregnant athletes who were bossing it in the gym whilst I personally felt guilt and self-doubt. Wasn’t I capable? Wasn’t I fit enough?

It was time to change things. I needed mental strength, understanding, and development. I couldn’t just ‘listen to my body.’ So many of us these days have gone past that stage of stopping when it gets uncomfortable. We’re in an era where women are now able to enjoy regular high-intensity exercise more than ever before. It’s very normal for the ‘normal’ amongst us to be regulars at very painful HIIT classes, lifting serious weights and attending CrossFit gyms. As women, in addition to owning it in our careers and our family lives we’re now owning it on the fitness scene. We’re distance runners, obstacle course racers and triathletes. It’s very difficult to know when discomfort is a normal fitness thing, or if it’s our pregnant bodies saying stop. We’ve never even been pregnant before, how are we supposed to know how to respond to our bodies’ warnings? In fact, much of the damage we can do to our bodies during pregnancy doesn’t even hurt. As far as I can see the only pregnancy fitness advice out there (and there’s a lot) is based on research that considers moderate-intensity exercise only. And the clinical research simply hasn’t expanded past studying women who lift a maximum of 20kg at any one time. Frankly, it’s outdated.  For this generation of women, it takes more than just listening to understand one’s own pregnant body. I took it on myself to be a sort of human guineapig, and in addition, I spent a lot of time looking at scientific research and professional opinion in the world of women’s health and modern athleticism.

As I write this I’m now 12 weeks postpartum, so I’ve completed my pregnancy journey and am now learning and writing about recovery. I sifted through a plethora of pregnancy resources, read research papers and consulted professionals throughout my pregnancy (and I will continue to be a resource for you throughout the post-partum journey too…)

Here comes my first and most important pointers for all newly pregnant or pregnant mamas and I think sets the scene for my approach and values in general.

It’s a brain game.

As for fit mamas-to-be and over-achievers, we have been programmed to learn ‘no pain, no gain.’ We respond to the thrill of a challenge. There’s a common phrase used amongst CrossFit athletes – ‘Go hard, or go home.’ The more we push the better we become, right? Wrong. The training I’m going to encourage you to do begins in the brain.

Modern Mama Challenge No. 1: Manage your expectations of yourself – expect less

Pregnancy takes its toll on the body in so many ways. In the first trimester, and I would actually say the hardest trimester, you are battling a rush of hormones. This can lead to psychological and physical strain, way before you’ve even a) processed the fact that you’re going to be a mummy and b) have told anyone about it. And yet, there’s no denying the lethargy and a cocktail of other symptoms (breast tenderness, nausea, vomiting, heightened smell, headaches, and a desperate urge to cry for no real reason). All at the same time, pregnancy fitness advice resources will tell you to keep working out as normal and just listen to your body. In actual fact, having delved into this somewhat deeper there is not one woman I know or who I’ve read about who has been able to carry on as normal in their first trimester. To even get in the gym once or twice a week was a huge achievement for me, and when I did I was at the back, close to the loos, swigging water whilst wading through 30 mins on the air-bike.

I can’t stress how important it is to adjust your own expectations of yourself. And this is the hardest thing to do. I would go so far as saying that training your brain to expect less takes up the greatest segment of your pregnancy training. Successfully done, this goes way beyond any physical achievement whilst pregnant. A change in mindset goes way beyond the walls of the gym. It takes humility, dedication, and commitment to a new way of thinking, and constant unrelenting practice. Each day you make a decision to train, you’ll garner the energy and siphon off the time. Even if it’s a few bodyweight squats or a spin on the bike at the back, this is an achievement. Be proud of yourself. And the days that you don’t (there may be plenty by the way) are absolutely fine.

Modern Mama Challenge No. 2: Be kind to yourself

This isn’t the adrenaline pumping, ego-boosting workout you have become addicted to. This is harder. You’ve just walked through the door to a different kind of experience. One where you will see your past achievements blatantly in front of you at every corner, peers keenly observing your every move and potentially even commenting on your body.

Believe you me, it’s much easier to rely on the knee-jerk negativity that leans on self-criticism and comparison with the past or other people. Beware of the power of this way of thinking. Be very aware. I assure you, you’ll leave the gym in worse shape than when you arrived. Be kind to yourself. Be proud of yourself. And remember, the training you did today goes way beyond physical fitness.

Modern Mama Challenge No. 3: Park the ego

Whether you need to scale the intensity from the off or you don’t, let your energy levels, your mood, and your symptoms that day be the decider to begin with. There are no banned or ‘bad’ exercises in the first 12 weeks (that’s aside from crazy adrenaline sports that may lead to accident or injury). Don’t be hard on yourself if you only make it in once a week. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t make it in for the first month or two. But be careful not to fan your ego too much if you make it in every day. It comes back to managing your expectations and being kind to yourself. Because the second and the third trimester will come, and if you’re a fitness nut, self-competitive or a highly experienced athlete, you will need to make friends with scaling. Sure, there are women out there who will clean and jerk their body weight at 30 weeks. There are women out there who will continue to compete right up until they feel their first contraction. But my feeling is unless Nike has you on a retainer, you should put competing on hold for now.

This is no longer a race, it’s time to downshift. As your training takes on a new identity, and you become more confident with self-care and knowing when today is simply not a good day, you begin the journey of prioritising and respecting your body for the long term. This, mama, is your very own marathon. The work you put in by being humble in your approach to exercise will stand you in good stead for life. Diane Lee, women’s pelvic health guru says it perfectly:

“We are pregnant for moments, but post-partum for life.”

Diane Lee

Our behaviour now will impact us forever. This is so very wise.

Next instalment: I will talk about what exercises you can continue enjoying and what exercises, in my opinion, you need to seriously consider tapering off in your second trimester and beyond. 

Kat Suchet is a physiotherapist, fitness instructor, CrossFit athlete, and mum to 3-month-old Ralph. To read more, go to katsuchet.blogspot.com or find her on IG @katsuchet