NeeNooBug's Nest : My Crossfit Life: Before, During and After Pregnancy!

A little over two years ago after dreadfully dealing with infertility specialists and beginning to have small bouts of depression, God stirred me into the direction of diet and exercise... After doing tons of research about women's hormones and diets, I decided to go organic with all my meats, dairy and grains.and I gave up all processed foods. Also along the way of research I added the Blood Type Diet (I am B+) and decided to stick to "Kosher Meats" (no pork, shellfish...). I also got rid of any products (from shampoo to mascara and everything in between) that contain parabens and other toxic chemicals these companies are trying to kill us with...

So now that I changed my diet... what to do for exercise... I have been practically an active coach potato for 2 years (my lifestyle was active compared to most people but inactive to my standards). So how did we decide on Crossfit? Well we use to take our laundry to a laundry mat not too far from our home and every time we went we drove by a gym that had "Crossfit" written on it in big lettering. My husband noticed it and began to research what it was about. He kept telling me that is was the type of work outs that the guys from the movie 300 did to get into shape for the movie...yeah that is real motivating for a woman (not). So he went, came back dead three days in a row.. the first day he was comatose in a tub of ice and told me I should definitely go... I looked at him and said, nah it's okay. Well 2 weeks later I did go... the first day was a disaster, I puked while working out for the first time ever...It was a real kick in the ass, a real reality check and it felt GOOD. So we signed up and started Crossfitting at Crossfit ATP in Dania Beach, FL.

BEFORE...

Now bitten by the Crossfit bug I started to get better, faster and stronger... it is a great feeling when you conquer things you never imagined possible for you to do (like push ups, pull ups, rope climbs, wall jumps, lifting heavy weights...) , so sweet! It was also the first time I would get anxious and excited before working out ever... working out use to be boring and so repetitive with not much gain. So a little less than 6 months and I was in my first Crossfit competition (The Broward Affiliate Cup). Not knowing what to expect it was so fun because Crossfit is not only about working out it is about relationships and camaraderie...we have made so many friends by joining Crossfit, that is it like being adopted by a new family in a way.

Coach Juan Bacca doing his thing :)

Getting Ready to start!

Our Team Crossfit ATP

Jeremiah (my team mate) and I passed out after the workout!

So after completing my first competition I got even more inspired to train harder...and my husband and I did another competition (Partner Pandemonium) 6 months later.

The Girls!

Hubby and I

The Team - Crossfit ATP

Partner Burpees

65# Thrusters

Well at the turn of my one year anniversary at Crossfit I was very happy with my gains...

12 kg (each) Kettlebells

Virtual Shoveling

Swing the Kettles at the Beach WOD

Strict Pull Up like a Boss..lol

DURING...

And then I got pregnant (the details on how that happened will come in another post, in regards to the infertility...). I was not going to quit Crossfit, oh no. I planned on sticking through it until I popped. Doing Crossfit while pregnant is possible and very beneficial for your pregnancy and deliver (However if you had never done Crossfit in your life, being pregnant is NOT the time to start!). In order to do so you need to really trust as well as listen to your body and get advice from others who managed to do it. There is a great site call crossfitmom.com and you can read just about anything from modifications for certain workouts to nutrition and more. The crazy thing is I was able to keep up in most classes, even though I was out of breath quicker. I obviously had to modify a lot especially towards the end. Here are some of the modifications I had to do along the way:

- I stopped running and rowed instead. (I never liked running in the first place and I would get really bad round ligament pains from doing it if I tried while pregnant.)

- I stopped squatting past 90 degrees. (Your body releases a ligament relaxant hormone so that your body can stretch for the baby..so it is not safe to push your ligaments during pregnancy.)

- I stopped hand stand push ups, rope climbs and wall jumps. ( better safe than sorry... even though there are woman who do them through their pregnancy.)

- I stopped burpees, and switch to pregnant burpees.

- No more sit ups... I did do toes to bar pretty far along....

- Went down in weights overall.

- Step onto the box instead of actual box jumps.

- Went from double unders to singles and then stopped jump roping altogether towards the end.

4 months pregnant

still doing pull ups and chest to bar!

Post Work Out.. catching my breath!

I did not Crossfit all the way through pregnancy as I would have like to. I stopped at month 8. The reason I stopped was because I had a really bad Flu and a baby shower to plan during month 9, so I just decided it was time to stop. That was a difficult decision to make, but it had to be done. Here is video of my pull ups at 8 months pregnant.

AFTER...

So after delivering my precious baby Oliver, I was grateful to Crossfit for my body not getting to out of shape through the pregnancy. I did not have a six pack the day after or do I have one now 5 months after... but I am much better off compared to other mothers who did not. I had a great pregnancy, no vomiting or nausea and I didn't swell at all until 4 weeks before I gave birth (and I also wasn't working out either). I was surprised to see how fast my body healed and bounced back after my birth. I was blessed to have had an all natural birth at a birth center with a marvelous mid-wife (this will be another post...). I started back at crossfit 3 months after the birth (just to be on the safe side and because I was being a little lazy). IT WAS SO HARD! It felt as if I started back from scratch...but now I am getting back on track. Oliver comes to the gym with my husband and I. We do back to back classes and we switch off. Oliver loves it there and he is blessed to have so many nice people around him. I think we actually created a Future Crossfit Monster.... hahahaha