Scaling

18 weeks

18 weeks along, and the scaling has begun.  I don't have much of a belly yet, but I've gained about 10 lbs and learned my body was definitely not meant to weigh 135#.  Bodyweight movements basically feel like I'm doing them with a 10# vest ... and I did not need ring dips to get any harder than they already were!  Obviously, this is only the beginning, so I'm just hoping this makes me a bodyweight ninja after this baby comes out. 

I'm still doing workouts rx'd when I can.  And other than opting out of max lifting days the last couple weeks, I've still been doing rx'd weight for barbell movements in wods (except for 95# hang power snatches yesterday, but that was due to ability not pregnancy).  Some movements I've started to scale: 

• GHD sit-ups.  The last time I did these was during the Chicago Life as Rx'd competition when I was 6 weeks.  I did ab-mat sit-ups for awhile, and I maybe still could (you're not supposed to lay on your back once your belly gets big), but I've been subbing toes-to-bar.  I foresee being VERY sore after my first post-pregnancy GHD sit-up wod!
• 1.5 pood Kettlebell Swings.  One of the first wods I scaled was Eva on 12/5/2011.  I did 35# KB swings rather than 53# (and got 47:51, more than 5 1/2 minutes slower than my rx'd time in February.)  I would probably still be ok with doing heavy kettlebell swings, but 150 of them seemed like it would be excessive strain on my back. 
• Muscle Ups.  I can still get one or two, but struggling through 10 minutes of failed attempts when wods with MUs came up the last couple weeks, I realized this needs to be a scaled movement in wods for me now (3 dips + 3 pull ups = 1 MU).  But, I'm still alive in my week-by-week pregnant muscle up captured on video :) 
• Box Jumps.  Well, I haven't exactly scaled these, but I can't do tap-and-go box jumps anymore.  So I've been doing Games style box jumps.  That way I can still tap-and-go off the bottom, but I get an extra second of rest each rep on the top.  I'm sure I'll be scaling to step-ups soon. 
• Burpees.  I still do burpees, but it's a much more controlled movement than when I used to just flop to the ground. 

Intensity is still the main thing that I've scaled back, especially on longer workouts.  I still push myself, but not to the point of collapsing to the floor after the workout.  During pregnancy, the entire circulatory system expands:  blood pressure decreases, but blood volume increases by up to 40%, the heart pumps more blood per beat, and heartrate increases.  (My heart pounding is very noticable, and annoying, especially when I'm laying down.)  Between this an all my organs getting smooshed together (by 18 weeks, the uterus has grown from the size of a fist to the size of a melon), I get out of breath super fast!

I'm still hopeful I'll be able to participate in the Open, which starts February 22 and runs for 5 weeks.  Let's go CrossFit 515!!!

150 days to go :)