10/8 Myth Busting Monday

Ashley enjoying a deadlift PR while pregnant. She's producing human growth hormone while growing her baby and that extra HGH makes her very strong. 
Can you guess what myth I'm going to bust today? Yep, the myth that pregnant women should not workout, lift weights or exercise. 
Pregnancy is not a disability! I have trained many pregnant women over my 7 years as a Coach, and I can tell you that while we have to scale, modify, alter and substitute many movements, most women feel better when they move their bodies throughout their pregnancy. There is plenty of scientific research that corroborates my observations. 
In our "modern" times, there are plenty of armchair CrossFit "coaches" who make crazy claims and well-meaning comments on social media posts of pregnant CrossFitters. Don't squat, don't jump, don't run, don't lift, don't carry, don't walk, don't breath - it will hurt the baby. Yep, tell that to the millions of pregnant women who move their bodies daily for work. 
The key to safely doing CrossFit while pregnant is to stop doing things that make you uncomfortable. I once trained a pregnant woman who felt no discomfort doing box jump! However, I WAS uncomfortable with that risk and we agreed to box step-ups instead. 
There are several excellent resources available to a CrossFitting mom. CrossFit journal published Pregnancy: A Practical Guide for Scaling to help moms and coaches develop safe and effective modifications for CrossFit. There is a CrossFit Moms Facebook Group. 
Of course, it's ok to stop CrossFitting during your pregnancy. Coach Amanda did not feel good CrossFitting while pregnant and she took a break. For those of you that know her, look how well she has regained her fitness! She is one of the strongest and fittest women in the gym and that's after 3 babies. In fact, she and Noah (mom of 2) are easily the strongest and fittest athletes in our gym irrespective of gender. Again, pregnancy (and motherhood) is not a disability. 
The most important thing we can do to support pregnant women is to validate their choice and not shame them for it. You want to continue to do CrossFit? Great! We will work together on a safe and effective training program. You want to stop doing CrossFit? Great! We will work together on a safe and effective training program that includes exercises the feel good. 

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