So I have a sensitive question that’s bound to draw all sorts of opposing responses. Today I found out I’m about 6 weeks pregnant (I know that’s a bit early to be announcing and such so I’m not telling people right aaay BUT this is a question I feel I should ask now) and I’m curious just how heavy I can still lift while pregnant. I’ve always been active I run, bike, swim, hike you name it as well as I lift heavy. I don’t have a coach (my career isn’t conducive to a schedule so I don’t wanna spend money for sessions I can’t commit to) I regularly read about form for powerlifting and oly lifting etc and I try my best to make sure my program keeps me happy and interested. I also sporadically attend orange theory workouts for a change up.
I’m not looking to compete or anything but I like being strong. My max deadlift is 245 x4reps for 4 sets and squats I tend to play safe due to patella issues but I can easily do 155 x 10highbar & 10low bar for 5sets. Hip thrusts are 315 x10 for 5 sets.
I’m guessing I won’t be able to go as heavy as I have been while pregnant but I’d like to keep going heavy-ish because it makes me happy and I’m looking for advice as to what I should and should not be doing. Thanks in advance for the help!
Ok first of all, 315 lbs is awesome! You go girl! I can’t really give you advice but I did work out up until I was 7 months pregnant with both of my boys but I wasn’t lifting as heavy as you either. After 7 months I kept it to a lot of walking. Hopefully some other ladies here can add their experience.
I felt pretty unstable, changed center of balance in the last trimester, and my joints/ pelvis started to feel looser.
Look for -
Pregnancy Workouts: How to Excercise During Pregnancy. Article by John Berardi, guidelines on heart rate safety, avoiding the valsalva maneuver, not laying flat on your back as in Bench Press, and safety guidelines for rep ranges and maximums.
New Mom Fitness by Nate Green is a nice article with pics of John Berardi’s wife Amanda training when pregnant. She continued to lift, but did scale back a lot on the amount of weight she was moving.
My opinion, you can certainly exercise and lift when pregnant, but I’d err on the side of caution when it comes to anything that might put your baby at risk.
Yes, you can look on youtube and see pregnant Cross-fit women doing very strenuous workouts into the last trimester. I question the wisdom of that. If I had any doubts about something harming my pregnancy or causing premature labor, it’s not worth the risk.
You might like this series that is still going on on YouTube. She starts at 9 weeks. She answers some general questions as she goes through the series and the episodes are well done.