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weight lifting and pregnancy


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I am 41 years old and just found out I am pregnant with my 5th child! My youngest is 9 so it has been awhile and was a little unexpected but we are very happy! In the last year i have moved to a Paleo diet with two whole 30's under my belt. I have also in the last year been lifting pretty heavy with the 5x5 Stronglifts program. I have loved my results and I want to continue but I am not sure where to go now since the pregnancy news. Any insite?

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I'm 5 months pregnant with my second child, and I've been doing Wendler's 5-3-1 and really liking it! Different doctors have a lot of different perspectives on heavy lifting - but mine is very supportive (note - I have no complication and am not high risk).

Personally - I'd say go for it - but just listen to your body. There are some modifications I've made as I've gotten a little bigger. I've started to substitute rack pulls for deadlifts (doesn't feel comfortable to pull from the floor). I've started to prefer back squats to front squats (there's enough weight on the front already!). Also, per the standard recommendation to not lay on your back, I do an incline bench press rather than flat bench press. I've gotten better about having a spotter when I lift really heavy (1 rep maxes). I also allow myself plenty of rest between sets.

I would say, stick with your program, but listen to your body, and make modifications as exercises stop "feeling right".

And as a note - I felt horrible for a couple months during my first trimester, and got in almost no lifting. Don't beat yourself up if you need to take a little time off!

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Thank you so much for your response!

I looked at the wendel's program and it looks alot like stronglifts. Same exercises. Squats,deadlifts,overhead press,deadlifts and chess press. On the stronglifts program you go up in weight 5lbs everyday. Is it still ok to keep adding weight or should I just maintain? Alos,when did you start doing incline bench?

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I'm not famliar with the stronglifts program - but I generally aim to increase the weight I can lift each time I lift. For me, that's not always possible - but I always try. I would say - feel free to keep adding weight as long as your can. Just listen to your body, and pull back if you're not really feeling it on some days. On squats, keep in mind that as you gain weight during the pregnancy, you are also squatting more weight! Also, keep in mind that you start to lose your core strength a bit, as your abdominal muscles get stretched out - so late in your pregnancy - make sure you're aware of any balance issues you may have. Those may impact which exercises you chose - but again - not for quite some time.

The general guideline is that you should start doing incline bench when you are supposed to avoid laying on your back - so second trimester. Until then, during your first trimester, flat bench away.

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I continued doing Crossfit until my due date when I was pregnant. I just listened to my body the whole time. If something felt heavy, I'd lighten the weights or if it was uncomfortable, etc. I'd modify. I found that I could still add weight in the first trimested, but then I started to weaken and had to drop weight. Your body will tell you what you are capable of, listen to it and don't overdo things and you'll be fine!

Congrats on your news!

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While I love the idea of sharing fitness ideas during pregnancy, let's keep the forum specific to nutrition and Whole30-related topics. Our moderators have experience with fitness, but this is really a place designed to talk about food-related subjects. There are other forums related to fitness during pregnancy - perhaps CrossFit Mom would be a better place to get support and advice on this area?

Melissa

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