Friday, June 06, 2008

You're Pregnant? Shouldn't You Be Doing Yoga or Something?



Believe it or not, exercise guidelines for pregnant women are vague at best. Common sense would dictate that a expecting mom shouldn't begin a new freaky hard exercise program if she wasn't already accustomed to it. And, baby hosts should perform movements to their fullest available ranges and discard exercises or activities that don't feel good. (Burbpees suck enough already without banging your unborn athlete into the ground)

Women and coaches alike should know that there are a few symptomatic pregnancy conditions that might preclude strenuous exercise, and your doctor will make these very clear.

On the whole however, as long as the female pre-mom athlete recognizes that she is exposed to greater ligamentous laxity than normal (a condition by the way made less troublesome with good strengthening and joint stability training) and is pain free, she is pretty much free to train as hard as she likes.

Check with your Doctor of course....

Seeing my wife Juliet bust out pushups, squats, and saw presses after dinner on a Tuesday after putting our three year old to bed does remind me that we are always capable of training around injuries, old orthopedic problems, disease, colds, and "delicate" conditions.

When you are dealt the hand of the specialist, become a specialist at training. If you have a bum knee, then it's time to work on pullups. Sprained your ankle? How are your handstand pushups. You are limited in your "modified" training by the limits of your imagination. You may even need a good coach to help you see the possibilities. But by all means, keep training.

Even if you are training for two like the Jstar above.


No Excuses,

Coach K

4 comments:

beccarussell said...

I love the belly pic. Juliet, you are my hero!

Olivia de Santis said...

That's so beautiful and inspiring. Lady power!

Anonymous said...

That is so cool! Very inspiring!

Person said...

So f'in badass!