Jenni's Week
Stop and call your provider if
Bleeding. Fluid leaking. Regular contractions before 37 weeks. Chest pain. Pain or swelling in one calf. Dizziness that doesn't pass. A headache that won't go. The baby moving less than usual.
This week
You trained five days last week and rated every session a 4, with energy at 3 and about 7 hours of sleep. You reported cramps on Friday, a strained muscle between the ribs, and pressure near your tailbone after deadlifts. This week holds at three classes plus the home day, deadlifts come off the floor, and pressing stays light until the rib pain has gone.
Changed this week
- Deadlifts come off the floor: a kettlebell, or a bar on blocks, with three more good reps left at the end of every set, breathing out as you stand. Stop the set if you feel pressure near your tailbone. If it stays away for two weeks, deadlifts go back to the floor.
- Anything pressing overhead or on a bench is light dumbbells, and the set ends the moment the rib pain comes back. Skip any overhead or twisting movement that brings it on.
- Friday's cramps: if they come back in a regular pattern, come with bleeding, or don't settle when you stop and rest, call your provider before training again.
- Three classes and the home day this week, no more. Last week was five days with energy at 3.
Your classes
Tuesday Oct 27
- Strict press: two light dumbbells, and no building to a max. Do the same 3-2-2-1-1-1 reps and keep the weight where you could still do two or three more good reps. Breathe out as you press. Stop the set if the rib pain comes back.
- Echo bike sprints: ride the 15 seconds hard but steady, at a pace where you could still say a full sentence right after. Not an all-out sprint.
- Bar hang: hang with both hands, 10 to 20 seconds. Skip it if hanging pulls on the sore rib.
Thursday Oct 29
- Bench press: dumbbells, and no building to a max. Do the same reps at a weight you could still do two or three more with. No more than two minutes lying on the bench at a time, then sit up between sets. Stop the set if the rib pain comes back.
- Deadlifts: a kettlebell, or a bar on blocks. Keep the weight light enough that you could do three more reps at the end of each set. Breathe out as you stand up. Stop the set if you feel pressure near your tailbone.
- Handstand push-ups: standing press with two light dumbbells instead, same 21-15-9 reps, broken into sets of 5 to 7. Stop if the rib pain comes back.
- Pace: no clock chasing. Finish the 21-15-9 at a pace where you could say a full sentence at any point.
Saturday Oct 31
- Cleans: one or two dumbbells. Same sets and reps. Pick a weight at the start that feels easy and keep it there, or go up once by a small step. Breathe out as you stand up.
- Grace: two dumbbells from the floor to overhead, 30 reps in sets of 5 with a rest between, at a weight you could do two or three more reps with. Breathe out as you press. Stop the set if the rib pain comes back.
- Pace: this one is usually a sprint. For you it's a steady piece where you could talk the whole way, and it doesn't matter what the clock says.
Friday 20 minutes at home
- 10 minute walk.
- Then 3 rounds: slow belly breathing 10 breaths, side plank 20 seconds each side, glute bridges 12, bird dogs 8 each side, 10 pelvic floor squeezes with a full relax after each one.
- Side plank from your knees, or one side only, if the other side brings the rib pain back.
Next four weeks
Same three classes and the home day through week 19. At week 20, the end of November, burpees go to plank walk-outs or hands on a box, and if running starts to feel heavy the bike takes its place. Deadlifts come back off the floor once the tailbone pressure has stayed away for two weeks.
How hard
Every lift stops when you could still do two or three more good reps. If you'd fail the next rep, the weight's too heavy for right now. Every workout stays at a pace where you could say a full sentence out loud without gasping. If you can't, slow down or rest until you can.
No testing a max. No lifting to failure. No "as many rounds as possible" at full speed; do the rounds at the talking pace and stop when the clock does, whatever the score.
Breathing
Breathe out as you push, pull or stand up with the weight. Never hold your breath to brace a lift. If a weight makes you hold your breath to move it, it's too heavy.
Swaps, by movement
| On the board | You do |
|---|---|
| Back squat, deadlift, strict press with a barbell | Barbell is fine, at a weight you could do two or three more reps with |
| Clean, snatch, thruster, push jerk, push press | The same movement with one or two dumbbells, or a kettlebell. No barbell versions. |
| Box jumps | Step-ups onto the same box |
| Pull-ups with a swing (kipping, butterfly) | Ring rows, or pull-ups with a band and no swing |
| Toes-to-bar, knees-to-elbow, sit-ups, V-ups, GHD | Dead bugs, side plank, bird dogs, or a cable or band press-out held in front of your chest (the coach will know it as a Pallof press) |
| Burpees | Fine until week 20. After that, hands on a box, or plank walk-outs |
| Running | Fine at the talking pace. When it starts to feel heavy, bike instead |
| Rowing, bike, ski erg | Fine at the talking pace |
| Double-unders | Singles. Skip entirely if you feel any pressure or leaking |
| Anything lying on your back | Two minutes at a time, then roll to your side for a break |
| Wall balls | Lighter ball, and stop the set if the catch feels heavy on your pelvis |
Skip for the rest of the pregnancy
Rope climbs. Handstands and handstand push-ups. Pull-ups with a swing. Toes-to-bar and sit-ups. Box jumps. Any max-effort lift. Anything with a fall risk or a chance of taking a hit to the belly.
Heat and water
Water bottle in hand for the workout, aim for 500 ml (17 oz) an hour. On a hot day, do the hard part earlier in the class or shorten it. If you feel dizzy or overheated, stop and sit.
What to notice and tell Joe on Sunday's form
Pressure or heaviness low down between your legs. Any leaking. Pain in the front of the pelvis, during or the day after. A bulge down the middle of your belly when you sit up or strain. Any of those means a movement comes out of the plan the next week.
Call your provider before training again
Bleeding. Fluid leaking. Regular contractions or tightening. Chest pain. Pain or swelling in one calf. Dizziness that doesn't pass. A headache that won't go. The baby moving less than usual.
The home day
One 20-minute day a week at home: a 10-minute walk, then three rounds of slow belly breathing (10 breaths), side plank 20 seconds a side, glute bridges 12, bird dogs 8 a side, and 10 pelvic floor squeezes with a full relax after each one. This is the work that sets up the rebound after the baby. It matters more than any class.