The *new* CrossFit Games season officially begins today with the announcement of 20.1 – the first workout of 5 for the CrossFit Open. I don’t know about you but it feels weird to me that we are doing this in October. Anyway…Who is this blog for? You are in the right place if you are pregnant, postpartum, have any pelvic floor considerations (leaking urine at anytime including jumping and lifting, diastasis recti, pelvic organ prolapse), or if you are a coach.
Some background on me if it’s your first time here. Hi! My name is Kerri Grace. I am a Level 2 CrossFit Coach, Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach, Certified Pre-Postnatal Coach, and Level 1 USAW Coach. I have focused my coaching on the pregnant and postpartum populations after my own experience feeling lost and confused during pregnancy and postpartum, and through diastasis recti and an umbilical hernia. If you’d like to read more about my story you can do so here and here <3
Onto the workout! 20.1 has been announced and here is what’s on the whiteboard:
10 Rounds for Time of:
8 Ground to Overhead
10 Bar Facing Burpees
15 Minute Time Cap
Notes on mindset and overall considerations. Don’t worry about racing through this to make the time cap. 15 minutes is a LONG time to spend going between only two movements, two metabolically challenging movements at that. Pace is going to be key! Start out at a very reasonable pace, you don’t want to start out too fast and burn out quickly. Try to stick to a pace that you can easily maintain for the 15 minutes.
This brings me to breathing strategy. Breathing through the movements is going to be very important. Try to exhale on the exertion or the difficult part of the movement. For this workout, that would mean exhaling on the lift up in ground to overhead, and inhaling as the weight comes back down or in between reps. For burpees, inhale on the way down and exhale as you push up until standing.
As always, if you experience any symptoms of pain, pelvic pain or discomfort, incontinence, pressure or feeling of something falling out or your vagina, or pressure/discomfort in your abdomen/midline please stop. Try one of the alternatives for that movement, or, if the symptoms do not dissipate stop the workout. Your long term health and athleticsm is much more important than this workout.
Pregnant Athletes:
Ground to Overhead: Risk vs. reward in terms of whether or not to use a barbell here. You have worked so hard for months or even years to create and maintain a good, straight bar path. Having to go around the baby bump is re-training all of that training, and you will have to train it again after baby is born. It took me months of working my bar path to get back to somewhat normal. There is no right or wrong answer, but ask yourself: Is the potential reward of using that barbell worth the risk of having to re-train your bar path?
Alternatives: Using a dumbbell in place of the barbell. In terms of weight, I would recommend choosing a weight that you can cycle through easily, while breathing through the movements. If you are using a dumbbell and doing snatches, you can choose whether to make L/R 1 rep (so in essence double the reps) or L=1 and R=2. Gauge how you feel in terms of exhaustion and ability to breathe. If this workout is taxing, I wouldn’t recommend doubling up the reps. DB Clean and Presses are also an option not shown in the video below. If going to the ground in uncomfortable, consider going from the hang position. If going overhead is bothering your back or pulling on your abdomen, stick with DB power cleans.
Bar Facing Burpees: If you have even a little bit of a baby belly showing, I would not recommend RX burpees. Even if you are trying to not slam your belly down to the ground, as you get tired that will become increasingly difficult and can come with risks right to baby.
Alternatives: You can do a modified burpee where you jump your feet back, and don’t lower yourself to the ground. If you find you can’t breathe through this movement you can step back into a plank and step back up. All of these options are only appropriate if you have no coning or doming (when you see a ridge or bulge popping out down the midline of your belly, see this post for more info). Please be aware of this, and even have someone watch for it for you if need be. If you do have coning, consider either doing your burpees on a box (again, only if you can do this without coning) or substituting a squat and an incline push up.
**I would not recommend jumping over the bar, step instead because no one wants to risk a fall or trip over the bar**
Postpartum Athletes:
*If you have not already slowly re-introduced the movements outlined, I would not recommend trying them in this workout for the first time. Risk vs. reward here.
Ground to OH: If you are less then 12 weeks postpartum and/or have not yet incorporated barbells back into your training, I would not start with this workout. Consider using dumbbells if this is the case. If you have re-introduced barbells, use a weight you are very comfortable with, can breathe through, and have good form and alignment (think ribs over hips, ribs not flaring out).
Burpees: Consider scaling these if burpees or jumping causes any symptoms (coning, incontinence, or the urge sensation). See above for some alternative options. Make sure you are breathing through this movement and not holding your breath.
Good luck everyone, I would love to hear how you do in the comments!
[Please do not participate in the work out if you do not have clearance from your Doctor, and follow any restrictions they may have in place for you]
I hope this helps! Comment your questions below or contact me directly. I will do my best to help you, but please keep in mind that an in-person assessment is the best way to give recommendations. If you are interested in meeting in person, please contact me. You can reach me on Instagram, or email me at kerri@gracefitnessandnutrition.com. I am here to do my best for you!
Want some ideas on what to substitute movements for? I have created this free resource for YOU! If you are pregnant, postpartum, or have pelvic floor considerations and want the confusion taken out of how to modify the most commonly asked about CrossFit movements, you need this.
I go through what, when, how, and also provide video demonstrations for modifications of the following movements:
– Sit-ups
– Burpees
– Pull-ups
– Toes-to-bar
– Muscle-ups
Sign up here to receive the FREE guide to your inbox!
Stay strong, stay beautiful!
Coach Kerri
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