@meteorstorm I’m so sorry you experienced PPA. I was also told I scored high for PPD - gestures at hospital room well, yeah. I would definitely agree with working out doing wonders for your mental health, which is why I did whatever I could while my son was in the hospital. Here’s to coming out on the other side!
@markedbychrist Yes! Once out of the 4th trimester, it gets easier and baby gets a lot more responsive. Finally your son open his eyes and see the world. It just gets better from then although there will still be sleep regressions and such.
Our daughter is now 3 and she says the cutest things. It's also the age where they are accident prone and often find themselves in dangerous situation because they are so active. Definitely keeping fit has its benefits. I need to play catch!
@zazzi I have been lifting since late 2015 so I already have a background and know what good form is. So it was very easy for me to continue doing it. I definitely had to drop weight as I got bigger. And while it's not captured, my husband was spotting behind me while I was lifting since it's a home gym.
I would definitely check with your gynae with regards to trying a new routine especially in the first trimester when the feteus is still unstable. However if you do want to try, you can try with bodyweights or light dumbbells first. I was doing the Thinner leaner stronger programme.
@zazzi As we like to echo around this joint, check out Meg Squats! She has some free resources as well as paid pregnancy and postpartum programs. Mamaste Fit is also a super helpful resource!
They used to say “don’t start anything new during pregnancy”, but the general vibe now is that it’s totally okay, just tread very carefully (which you should do anyway!)
@markedbychrist Hey, You should look at Annie Thorisdottir. She is a Crossfit Athlete. Then she had a baby and a difficult recovery. Yet after one year after having her child she was second in the Crossfit Games. The look on her face when she nailed her nearly heaviest snatch so far was priceless. And she was the first mum athlete to be second place in the games.
@markedbychrist I didn’t weightlift but I got injuries exercising in months 3-6 postpartum because I pushed too hard (no issues exercising during pregnancy and a relatively smooth birth and recovery). Not that I thought I was pushing that hard but I think I really was still recovering even then. I’ve heard of this happening to others too. Please please go slow! I think looking back I wouldn’t push myself until I was getting at least 80% decent sleep which is impossible when they are still needing to eat at night. Good luck to you and your baby, and thanks for sharing.
@rosella Thanks for sharing! Sorry to hear you were injured trust me, I am going slow lol. I deadlifted 250 lbs a month before I got pregnant, I am just using a 30 lb empty bar right now. My workouts are maybe 20-30 minutes (it’s all my son will give me in his bouncy chair anyway haha). And you’re right about sleep! Sleep deprivation in the hospital was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My husband and I have a great sleeping system that works for us, and I actually work out on my sleep deprived days, so I get a good night’s rest to help my muscles recover.
@favouredjohn I couldn’t agree more! That’s why my expectations had to change during my pregnancy. As I mentioned in another comment, I saw other lifters doing way more than I was doing, and was forced to be humbled and keep scaling back the weights, being grateful that I used them at all. I set future loose goals for myself because I know my solid grade B baby (B+ on a good day? He’s not an angel, but he’s definitely not the worst) can have many more ups and downs that might change my goals. And I also acknowledged that my priorities could completely change—some people decide to pursue family, other hobbies, friends etc. and exercise becomes less important than it once was, and that’s totally okay too. So far I’m still hungry to compete again, but not in a rush at all.
@markedbychrist Congratulations! Good work on staying active during pregnancy. I'm 3 months PP and it's been literally 11 months since I last worked out. Pregnancy really took it out of me. I stayed active but not via gym sessions and lifting. I do agree that being fit pre-pregnancy helps with recovery as I feel my recovery has been relatively easy and quick.
@ptf2013 Absolutely! I had to remind myself that a lot of what I saw on Instagram or YouTube was from people who are elite athletes or basically work out for a living, and remind myself everyone is different! Heck, every pregnancy is different!
During the beginning of the pandemic, I didn’t really go to the gym much, with pregnancy hopefully in my near future (I just wanted to be safe). I used heavier dumbbells at home. I got pregnant our first try, but unfortunately it ended in a missed miscarriage at 12 weeks. I was absolutely heartbroken, and as soon as I recovered physically, I signed up for a powerlifting meet. That’s what I mean by YOLO meet - it was 8 weeks away and I hadn’t touched a bar in months. I still somehow pulled decent numbers which I’m proud of! We then tried the next month and I got pregnant again with my now son so I “trained” like normal and even did a meet, but my training was fairly light in comparison the months prior.
@markedbychrist Thank you SO much for sharing! I’m 4 weeks tomorrow and anxious to see how my relationship and mentality to lifting shifts as my pregnancy progresses. This was very helpful!
@andrew99911 CONGRATS! It could be exactly as you expect if you really know yourself, or it could totally turn on its head and be nothing as you expect at all. If you have any questions or just want someone to talk to, this internet stranger is here best of luck!
@markedbychrist There's a woman on Instagram that lifted quite heavy with both pregnancies. Wish you had found her when you needed it, but yanyahgotitmade is her username if anyone else needs the motivation. She's a BEAST.
@tssmith1964 She obviously works really hard, but there should be a few disclaimers on her Insta. The most time she has taken off the gym in the last few years is 2.5 weeks. Including postpartum breaks. She boasts about this.
She's also heavy into the PEDs.
You're right, she's good motivation for lifting heavy, but she's also pretty disordered.
