Pregnancy and powerlifting

[Kayl23]

Hello everyone. So I have recently found out that I am pregnant with my first baby, currently only 4/5 weeks. I am also a powerlifter and have been for a little over two years. Generally lifting around double my body weight on deadlifts, body weight on bench and somewhere in the middle of that on squats. I have a coach, me and him have both done a lot of reading into training whilst pregnant and I have also discussed it with the staff at my gym. The general consensus is that it's absolutely fine for me to continue training as normal for now, however I am going to drop the weight down slightly and avoid any 1RMs. I am aware that people will have different opinions on lifting whilst pregnant but it's something that I want to continue for as long as possible for both my mental and physical health - I would love to hear from any other mums who have trained through their pregnancy, particularly powerlifting, and how you found it? I had my first session since I found out yesterday and it was awful because even though I do know it's safe, I spent the entire session worrying that I might cause something to go wrong with my pregnancy. I do have quite severe anxiety anyway, so I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance from people who have done it and how you ensured you felt comfortable whilst doing so?

I worried in the early months too. It's my 2nd time being pregnant while powetlifting, I also train fasted. I've been training for almost 4 years now, we have our own set up at home. I took it up to repair damage after a very large twin pregnancy and to reduce daily pain from my osteoarthritis. The 1st pregnancy I carried on at my usual weight and rep ranges as I felt fine doing it but I miscarried my baby at 9+3. When I fell pregnant again I initially took a weeks break and then went back in working at 80% of pre-pregnancy weights, once I'd had my dating scan I stopped worrying so much about training causing problems. I have had to alter my form to accommodate a rapidly growing bump and reduce things further as it has become uncomfortable. I've had spd/pgp in my past pregnancies and it started to creep in this time from 8wk (I'm 28+2wk now) so that has impacted my squats but glad I can still do just over 60% of pre-pregnancy atm. I had to stop doing valsalva once it started to cause discomfort, quite hard learning different breathing techniques. It was very hard training through the severe fatigue and nausea. I had to stop doing barbell rows once bump started to emerge but still okay with my other lifts. I'll be in for deadlifts, military press and some dumbell work for my shoulders today. Got 4 of my 5 kids on half term so I work training around them. Baby gets very active when I'm training which is lovely.

So long as you listen to your body you will be fine. If you feel any niggles scale things back or take breaks.

at this point you wont do any damage training as normal - although depending on how you are feeling you might want to scale back a bit.

I trained and raced through my first trimester - rowing but did do a fair bit of weights training. I struggled mentally because I totally lost trust in my body because so much of the pregnancy process felt very daunting - which sounds like how you are feeling.
I was eventually killed by SPD in my second and 3rd trimester which basically stopped me training but if I had felt ok I 100% would have trained all the way through.

As you get bigger definitely work with how you feel as with all the relaxin in your system your tendons can get slacker and you might be at risk of hurting yourself. Also - be very careful with your core strength and abdominal coning as your belly gets bigger -

I've found Brianna Taylors insta account and website useful - its designed for the Pregnant and PP athlete and should give you ideas for scaling down if you need to and some guidance.

I think the best advise i ever got was - "go with what feels right for you, don't try to be a hero and force yourself to be like those cross fit mums if it's not right for you"

I lifted throughout my pregnancy and it was great for me. I basically did what you’ve already said - spoke to my coach as early as possible, who set me up with plenty to read and put me in touch with another client of his who was a much more experienced lifter than me and had lifted in multiple pregnancies. I dropped the weight a lot and basically went onto maintenance training from around 5 months, no PBs or pushing myself. I also kept as safe as possible in the later stages by never training alone and being spotted for all squats in case I lost my balance.

Take each week as it comes and see how you feel - like PPs have said you need to be aware of your changing body and how to modify what you do to fit in with any aches, pains, sickness, prominent bumps, SPD, or any pregnancy complications.

I trained until 37 weeks and got used to people staring at me in the last couple of months 😅 a lot of people were interested in chatting to me too, which is something to watch out for - people have all sorts of opinions.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and remember that keeping fit and healthy is so good for you and your baby, and will hopefully lead to a good birth and recovery too.

I'm 36 weeks and still going - feeling so much better for it than when I was stuck at home in lockdown.

Ditch PBs etc, its a great time to work on technique and form because you'll need to go lighter. My coach said my Snatch technique is the best it's ever been since I became pregnant!

Also all the other pregnant ladies at my gym have gone on to recover really well post birth so there's definitely something to be said for it. Keep going as long as is comfortable for you :)

Good for you and congratulations! As PPs have said being strong will really help you. I lifted in most of my first pregnancy and cut back when it didn't feel right any more - different stages in my pregnancy felt different but I remember feeling super strong in 2nd tri and then dropping lifting for pilates and swimming as I felt unstable towards the end. There are more online resources on instagram etc than there were even 3 years ago when I was pregnant.

I'm 31 weeks with DC2 now and this time I have been far less active and am REALLY feeling the difference. I know no two pregnancies are alike but I feel more tired and have sciatica which I didn't have last time. I have rectal prolapse from my first labour so my physio advised no high impact and reduce weights, not that I was lifting anyway due to lockdown + toddler. Long story short I will be back in the gym when I'm ready to recover from DC2!

What I have noticed recently as I've hit the 3rd trimester is I'm struggling with feeling really hot. It's only 16C in our gym today but feels much hotter, will have to get the fan in here, see if I can still manage 100kg deadlifts today. It was hard dealing with the depression of numbers dropping too but you get your head around the fact it's for good reason. I'm not looking forward to not being able to train post-birth for several weeks, especially if I have to have another cesarean.

I'm 5 months preg and still training. I have adjusted my exercises tho, no training on tummy and some movements I've had to stop/lose the weight due to pressing on my growing bump!

I would scrap hip thrusts with weight if u do them straight away!

I think it's pretty good to keep it up during pregnancy, i do get abit knackered and I don't push myself too much. I'm training so I still get doms but nothing too crazy.

It will be beneficial for the birth and also after. That's what I'm hoping anyway. ☺️

@FTM91
I'm 36 weeks and still going - feeling so much better for it than when I was stuck at home in lockdown.

Totally agree with this. It's been good to be back in the gym, missed the positive feeling

I actually accidentally PRd my front squat at 5 weeks as I didn’t know I was pregnant yet!

Once I knew I was pregnant I told my coach (before most of my friends and family) and listened to him and to my body. Tiredness and pregnancy went hand in hand for me so I took more rest days. I lifted (no PRs) fairly normally until the end of the second trimester when I started to feel more uncomfortable. I found my breathing changed as I got bigger and I really had to pay a lot of attention to it.

Good luck.

Through working out and using too heavy weights too late in pregnancy I forced my waters to break and DS arrived early. This pregnancy I switched to lighter cardio towards end/ no weights and stopped exercise at 36 weeks. For me - it’s truly not worth the risk.

Thanks everyone this has been really reassuring! I've decided that I'm gonna miss training this week, not cause there's anything wrong with it but I think I need to try and get a grip of my anxiety before I carry on, otherwise all I'm gonna do is stress myself out and probably have rubbish sessions anyway! I was gonna go this afternoon but just ended up panicking about it before I'd even left the house (even though I know it's safe, but anxiety isn't particularly logical!). I only found out I'm pregnant five days ago so gonna give myself a few more days to let it all sink in! I also have an appointment tomorrow with my therapist so I'm hoping I'll feel better about it all once I've gone through it with her.

Hello ladies, not sure if you will still be watching this thread but I've come back to the gym today and it was going well until I got a sharp stitch like pain down below and up my stomach, it happened while I was getting in position and arched for bench. Did any of you get this? I only did one set then moved onto machines instead but I'm panicking a bit now

It's likely just the ligaments stretching. Your body also produces a hormone called relaxin during pregnancy. It can make it easier to pull muscles / strain something.

I loved power lifting. I decided not to do it while pregnant BUT I was going into pregnancy from an infertility journey and I had bleeds due to a haematoma. With my second pregnancy I was on pelvic rest from day one due to previous bleeds so it was not advisable for me to continue.

I switched to more cardio and yoga based exercise.

I'd love to get back into it now I'm done with babies.

@Twizbe I have heard of relaxin though I thought it was only released near the end of pregnancy, is that wrong? This is all so new and confusing to me hahaha! How did you find yoga whilst pregnant? I usually do it a few times a week but I haven't exercised at all in a week due to worrying about everything 🙄 do you think you will get back into powerlifting now then?

Relaxin comes pretty early on.

I've had the odd pain down low but just reduced it those weeks and been fine the next. I'm 29wk now and been in doing flat bench today, I no longer arch my back as it can be a bit uncomfortable and I have to sit up between sets. Muscle cramps are becoming a real pain atm, very common in the 3rd trimester. Forearm kept cramping during squats and my back during bench.
I had a sharp pain in my upper abs at 15wk when the ligaments gave out, I was just sitting up in bed at the time though not working out. They've been holding up pretty well despite this during my workouts.

Pains like this are unlikely to cause problems with baby and more uncomfortable for you. You did the right thing moving on to something else, try again next time you're in the gym and see how you get on.

[quote Kayl23]@Twizbe I have heard of relaxin though I thought it was only released near the end of pregnancy, is that wrong? This is all so new and confusing to me hahaha! How did you find yoga whilst pregnant? I usually do it a few times a week but I haven't exercised at all in a week due to worrying about everything 🙄 do you think you will get back into powerlifting now then? [/quote]
It comes in early. I'm already quite flexible and I felt the difference for sure. It made yoga easier but also more likely for me to strain something lol.

I worked with a trainer to do my yoga and I really like it. I had to stop though quite early on (27 weeks) due to my bleeds and other issues :(

I'd love to, but with 2 little ones I've not been able to get to the gym. We plan to join again in the next few weeks now that they are older and easier to leave.

I don't lift these days, (rock climbing is my workout) , but I am a gardener and use lots of heavy machines. The first 12 weeks of pregnancy is the most critical and I altered my work days a lot. Way less of the v physical, way less unloading/loading the van and much shorter days.

I'm week 12 today and I'm starting to increase my workload again now. So basically, I'd be very careful on lifting too much and heavy until you're into the second trimester

@Chelyanne Oh wow! Did you ever get cramps before you were pregnant or did it come on during the pregnancy? I didn't even realise the ligaments did that... wow, I've got a lot to learn 😂

@Twizbe That's interesting, I did actually hurt my groin slightly last week whilst squatting because I think I sank too low, maybe that was why 🤔 aww yeah I bet you're excited to get back to it then! I'm really lucky as we do have a squat rack and bench and lots of weights in our garage which my partner bought during lockdown so I'm hoping I will be able to manage quick sessions in there once baby arrives, at least until I figure out how the hell to be a parent and find the time to go back to my gym haha

@climbershell how are you finding it so far? I have dropped the weight down on my compound lifts and won't be doing any 1RMs. I don't do anything seriously heavy with accessory exercises anyway cause I'm usually too weak after doing the compounds hahaha

@Kayl23 I rarely got cramp before. It's come in over the past few week but was mostly early morning when I'd be getting a bit dehydrated. I used to eat a lot of bananas but gone off them this pregnancy so will have to force them down as they're good for preventing cramp.
I love having a home gym, I would never have been able to get in to lifting if we hadn't invested in ours. I can pop in and out to keep tabs on the kids so will do the same with baby once the docs give me the goahead to get back to it. Double joy was covid had no impact on training at all.

@Chelyanne That's interesting! I'm glad to hear you say that as I was worried I wouldn't be able to train once baby is here. How often do you usually train?