18.2 and 18.2a has been announced! Read on for pregnancy and postpartum considerations.
The workout is:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
DB Squats and burpees
Then
Find 1 rep max Clean
(12 min cap)
Pregnant Athletes
* 18.2 is meant for the average athlete to go hard and fast. While you are in this chapter of growing a human life you are not the average person, so please don’t go hard. You should be working at a pace that you are able to talk through, and remember to breathe through every movement. I know that’s hard to read, but keep in mind the risk vs. reward.
* DB squats: Choose a weight that you can perform comfortably and breathe through, you should never be having to hold your breath. If need be you can use a box to squat down to. Don’t worry about the depth, do the range that you have no symptoms in.
* Burpees: If you have even a little bit of a belly, please don’t do RX burpees. 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 (when you see a ridge or bulge popping out down the midline of your belly). 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. Please don’t jump over the bar, step instead because no one wants to risk a fall!
* Cleans: Please do not build to a 1RM clean. Consider the risk vs. reward here. Pregnancy is not about proving your strength. I would advise using a moderate weight, one that you are very confident with. If you have additional time, consider sticking with the same weight and doing a rep every :30 to a minute. Another thing to consider here is bar path. If you have a belly, you are going to have to get the bar around it. From personal experience, it took me a LONG time postpartum to fix bad bar path habits I developed in pregnancy. An option you can consider to using dumbbells. Choose a weight you can move comfortably and breath through the entire movement.
Postpartum Athletes
* DB Squats: Please choose a weight inward which you can breathe through the entire movement. I highly recommend the piston breathing strategy (check out Julie Wiebe if you haven’t heard of this yet! Scroll to the bottom of this page for her course on piston breathing https://gracefitnessandnutrition.com/pregnancy%2Fpostpartum). Focus on your alignment, ribs stacked over the pelvis. It helps to think to squeeze your glutes and quads at the top. Another to watch for is the infamous buttwink, when this happens there has been a loss in core stability, and puts more pressure on the pelvic floor. Squat to a depth that you can maintain a neutral spine.
* Burpees: Consider scaling these if burpees or jumping causes any symptoms (coning, incontinence, or the urge sensation). See above for some scaling options.
* Cleans: If you are newly postpartum (less than 6 months) I would not recommend finding a true 1 rep max. Consider risk vs. reward here. If you are seriously trying to get to Regionals, it may be worth it to you, but if not – try to think of long term success and healing. Keep in mind that incontinence with a heavy lift is a common symptom, BUT NOT NORMAL. Utilize piston breathing here- you should never be holding your breath!
[Please dont not work out if you do not have clearance from your Doctor, and follow any restrictions they may have in place for you]
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.
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