Forging an Elite Fetus: 6th month

Blog I wrote for www.crossfitktown.com on April 5, 2011...

Ah, the sweet challenge of a new human being entering your CrossFit lifestyle.  As everyone knows, I’m pregnant and due to have a sweet little miss on or around May 15 [yes, that is 6+ weeks away!].  Many of you have asked questions, guys and girls alike, about how exactly this whole CrossFit thing works while you’re pregnant.  Well, I’m here to hopefully shed some light on being a preggo CrossFitter.  Remember to keep in mind, this is my experience only and every woman has a different experience during their pregnancy.

Weeks 23-27 make up month six of pregnancy bliss.  About two-thirds of the way through this ten-month process, this is when things got very real for me.  The non-stop kicking to the ribs were becoming a part of my every-hour routine, heartburn and I had a hate-hate relationship every evening, and I officially said adios to a good amount of my clothes and hola to my permanently growing baby bump.

Despite all of this, this was the one month that not a whole lot changed for me at CrossFit.  During my sixth month, the only major struggle I had was being totally and completely out of breath – all of the time!  It’s bad enough when I feel like I’ve just done Murphy when I merely am walking up a few flights of stairs, so imagine doing the Filthy Fifty.  Helloooo tons ‘o breaks!  I also realized, while doing “Death by Clean & Jerk” in January that my form was also really being affected by my new-found figure.  Because we were concerned I would injure myself since I wasn’t able to keep perfect form with my little love belly in the way, I came down from 95 to 85 lbs. for the workout and made it to eight rounds.

Despite the numerous breaks I was now taking because I needed to, not just because I knew I should, I was still getting some serious work done thanks to energy that re-emerged after several months hiatus.  Gosh, I can’t tell you how much of a difference it makes when energy is lacking at the gym.

For those of you crazy college kiddos who get by on four hours of sleep – stop!  Make a concerted effort to get seven hours of sleep [minimum] this week and then report back and let us know the difference in your performance at the gym.  I promise you that eating good and getting those zzz’s make all the difference in the world whether you’re young, old, pregnant, or Taylor Layman.

If only things could stay this easy for the remainder of the pregnancy… stay tuned for the 7th month blog soon!

Blue Bell coffee ice cream?  Yes, please.
Coach E$ Mama