Good morning! This post is brought to you by Belly Dance Maternity who recently reached out to me and kindly offered to let me try out some of their maternity activewear. All opinions are my own! P.S. Their clothes (obviously) are not just for bellydancing!! Their goal is to help women not have to sacrifice fashion when they’re expecting, and they feature great designers at affordable prices.
Ever since announcing that I was expecting, people have been asking me how long I intend to continue CrossFitting and working out. Of course, the answer is as long as my midwives allow, and it remains safe and (relatively) comfortable. For now the word from my midwives is this: “Please be as active as possible. You are preparing for an endurance event.” That said, your mind and body are going through some changes during pregnancy, and I’m going to share some of what has helped me helped me continue to stay happy and fit during this season of life.
- Find workout clothes that will flatter and support you during each trimester… like my Blanqi Support Tank from Belly Dance Maternity. The tank top I chose to review was the Blanqi Support Tank which is (as of today!) is 50% as part of their holiday sale!! I’m almost 33 weeks pregnant, and this tank top is definitely the most comfortable thing I own. I could wear it every day. First of all, it’s extremely long. It should go without saying why that’s important when you’re super pregnant! Secondly, this tank top provides support. Carrying a sweet little boy around all day is exhausting, and this tank top helps me manage. Although compression might not sound like a good word for maternity wear, it really helps keep everything in place and comfortable. The best thing about this tank top is that you can feel confident that it will keep you comfortable and covered during any workout!!!
Will it ride up at all?
If you have it pulled down all the way, it will most likely ride up a little bit (see pic above) if you are doing something like squats, but it has never slipped above the waistband of my leggings.
The only other small negative is that you’re not supposed to throw it in the dryer… it’s just hard to keep up with air drying when I want to wear it daily. :) By the way, I’ve probably washed it at least 10 times, and it’s not showing any signs of shrinkage/stretching/wear. I also look forward to wearing this after the baby to keep things smooth.
Trust me, I am an online shopping pro, and quality maternity activewear is extremely difficult to find. Most lines offer one lonely, lame pair of yoga pants that are better suited for lounging on the couch than an actual workout, so I’d highly recommend checking out this tank top for both maternity and postpartum as well. Of course, this tank top is not ONLY for working out, you can see a pic of me shopping for a Christmas tree in it here.
As for pants, I’ve successfully continued wearing all of regular workout pants and leggings, just riding a little on the low side. :)
First workout after finding out I was pregnant at around 6-7 weeks + birthday cake (see leftover party decor).
- Choose an activity or two that you enjoy and be as consistent as possible. I cannot emphasize the importance of consistency enough. Clearly, I’ve always enjoyed CrossFit (well, after three months or so…), and I’ve kept up with that throughout. If at any point I decided to take a week or two off, I’d be toast!!!! Hey, be nice to yourself! Take a rest day! Skip the day where it’s all the burpees and rope climbs. But drag yourself back in there the next day, and keep working. You WILL feel better afterwards. Exercise has been the #1 thing to help with my rampant sleepiness and irritability. Of course, if you have to take time off for health reasons, that’s a different story, but otherwise just keep going!
- Hydrate like it’s your job. This is my least favorite thing. And it’s extra irritating when you’re pregnant. But if I don’t do it, I feel terrible during my workouts or even walks! I personally can’t just chug water all day long so I supplement with Coco Hydro and sometimes amino drinks. Bring a water bottle everywhere you go. Do not leave the house without it. I try to drink an entire bottle of water immediately after a workout. Bonus: staying super hydrated is good for the baby and helps you not get stretch marks.
(Proof – haha)
- Find something fun you can keep working on. If you’re into CrossFit or running or pretty much any competitive workout, you’re used to tracking your benchmarks or splits or max weight lifts. This can be discouraging when you’re pregnant because you feel like you are going downhill every day. But there’s likely something you can keep making progress on. For me, I love that jump rope. I don’t think I can do my usual 100+ unbroken double unders right now, but I feel like I’m getting some great training with the added weight, plus I’ve been using a weighted jump rope. It’s fun!!! I’ve also made decent progress on things like strict press and push jerks because my upper body has had to up its game a little bit to support my lower body weight. :) Bonus: consider investing in a few pieces of workout equipment to have at home for days when you can’t get out or the wod at your gym just totally sucks for pregnant ladies.
- Don’t be too cool to modify. If you’re an intermediate/advanced/mildly obsessed CrossFitter, it sucks to temporarily give up skills you love. But hey, it’s TEMPORARY. So far I’ve taken it on a day-by-day basis. I just try it out, maybe have a coach or a husband or a bff watch me, and go from there. CrossFit Mom has a great list of substitute exercises, but you still have to figure out on your own depending on what you were good at before pregnancy. For me, I’m still hanging on to the jump rope and most barbell movements although I said goodbye to regular power cleans this week. I’ll post some of my recent wods on here soon so you can see exactly what how I’ve been making it work.
What do I miss the most? Three things: REAL burpees, strict pull-ups (I hate them, but I worked so hard for them), and just the feeling of going to my absolute limit in a workout. I can’t believe I haven’t done that for almost 8 months. It feels so weird to go at 70-90% when that’s totally not my personality. But hey, it’s totally worth it for the baby!!! <3 <3 <3
If you’re expecting (or have a loved one who is) be sure to check out Belly Dance Maternity, especially right now during this amazing sale!! They also have beautiful dresses if you are looking for something to wear during the holidays and nursing clothing for after the baby comes! I don’t think I’ll be able to resist picking something else out since they are having such a great sale, and I would never accept a free item or sponsorship from a company I wouldn’t buy from with my own money!!
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