Week 3 and 4 Workouts and Thoughts

I spent the better part of the past week with an infant attached to my boobs, which made it nearly impossible to do ANYTHING, nevermind update my blog.  Ahhh, the joys of breastfeeding a growing baby....

So, last week, I did manage to get in 3 workouts PLUS 2 soccer games/practices.  I was pretty exhausted by Friday evening, after my 2nd "workout" of the day, which consisted of kicking a soccer ball and practicing my dribbling skills with the soccer ball, so I rested over the weekend.

This week, I also got in 3 workouts, but only 1 soccer game.

WOD100614 (postpartum day 16)
5 Rounds for time of:
5 Thrusters 55#
10 Burpees

7:22

Thrusters felt heavy!  Wow!  I am OUT OF SHAPE!  No problems in this workout, but I had quite the Fran cough later.  Since this was my first workout (besides the 5k), I was afraid that I had gone too hard, but I experienced no ill-effects.

WOD100617 (postpartum day 19)
Deadlift 5-5-3-3-1-1-1
85-125-145-155-165-175-185f

 

My back felt like the limiting factor here.  Well, that and my grip.  I feel good with this 1RM.  It's more than my first-ever 1RM deadlift, which is a good thing :)  I had no idea what to expect going into this workout, but I am okay with the results.

WOD100618 (postpartum day 20)

Front Squat 5-5-3-3-3-1-1
65-85-95-105-115-125-135

Then, 21-15-9 reps for time of:
Overhead Squat 45#
Push-ups

6:46

Very happy with the front squat.  I was feeling the deadlifts from yesterday in the left side of my back.  I could have maybe even done more, but my knees were starting to roll in, and I promised myself I would not push the weights to those that caused my knees to roll in.  I have tight IT bands and weak adductors, and I want to make sure I build up that strength along with the rest of my legs.

WOD100622 (postpartum day 24)

Deadlift 3-3-3
135-145-155

Press 3-3-3-1-1
45-55-65-70-75

I didn't increase the weight in the deadlift from last week, but they felt easier.  I am pretty happy with the press today, as well.  Again, more than I could do when I first started CrossFit, though a good 15 pounds off of my PR.

WOD100623 (postpartum day 25)

Back Squat 5-5-5-5-5
85-105-115-125-135

Then, "Death by Pull-ups"
With a continuously running clock, complete 1 pull-up the first minute, 2 pull-ups the 2nd minute....continue until you cannot complete the required number of reps.

Result:  8!

WOD100625 (postpartum day 27)
"Isabel"
135# Snatch, 30 reps for time.

3:34 with 65#

I have ALWAYS wanted to do Isabel.  Well, as soon as I thought I could do it prescribed (with 95#), anyway.  I'll have to work up to doing it as prescribed, again, and do it in a few months!

THOUGHTS
I've been focusing more on weightlifting and strength work than metcons, lately, which you have probably noticed.  The reason for this is two-fold.  First, because I am playing soccer twice a week (weather depending), and I play midfield, I will be getting some extra metabolic conditioning outside of the gym.  That, and I plan to go mountain biking this summer, at least a few times.  Second, cardio-respiratory endurance comes back the most quickly out of any of the 10 general physical skills, especially for somebody like me, who has a natural strength of cardio-respiratory endurance.

I opted against making a plan for the next couple of months.  As in, I am not going to program for myself ahead of time.  Right now, it's just so hit-or-miss as to whether or not I am going to get a workout in on any given day.  So, I play it by ear.  I know that in a couple of months it will be easier to get a regular workout schedule going.

Nutrition.  I have been mostly paleo.  I did have a couple of early cheats, like I mentioned, which were accidental (food given to me by family - didn't want to be rude!).  I have been eating peanut butter still.  Ben and I had pizza once, and last week I feel prey to the oatmeal cookies.  I have also been eating oatmeal the last couple of mornings because we are all out of fruit!  Need to go to the store....

Anyway, I had an off-week, but I am ready to get back on the paleo.  I feel good about my diet because it has been about 90% good.  Even though I have fallen off the bandwagon, I did not go off the deep end.

At some point, but not yet, I am going to look into zoning my protein, but nothing else.  For you non-crossfitters out there, that means that I will weigh and measure the protein I eat (meat, eggs, fish) each day, but I will not weigh or measure my carbohydrate or fat intake.  We'll see.

Peeing your pants can be funny

It's only funny because I'm 2 weeks postpartum (Hello Box Jumps!).  If I were 6 months postpartum, it would be less funny.  If I were 2 years postpartum, it wouldn't be funny at all. 

Luckily, I came across this great article by a woman named Kara whose blog, Mama Sweat, chronicles her adventure as a Mom of 4 (four!) who finds time for fitness.  If you pee your pants EVER, you HAVE to read this article.  I've really enjoyed Kara's blog, and I hope you do too.  Her blog isn't about getting the perfect post-baby body, but more about being a role model for her four children.

Which reminds me.....

I named this blog Mama Gets Her Six Pack Back because, well, it's catchy.  I wanted to name it "Mama Gets Her Fran Time Back" but that really alienates those of you who don't do CrossFit.  (Are you wondering who in the heck is Fran?  See, I told you, it's alienating!  This is "Fran" ) 

However, upon giving birth to Morgan, and sitting in the tub taking a bath that very same day, staring down at my saggy stomach, I had a thought.  IT DOESN'T MATTER.  It doesn't matter that I might never get my pre-pregnancy body back.  I might never fit into my size 4 Lululemons (though I hate to waste the money!), or my size 2 Levis (which were never really that comfortable anyway), and I might never have the six pack I once had.  Do I care?  No.  I don't.  I have the most wonderful son in the entire world, and that's what really matters.

I DO still care about my Fran time, and my Deadlift, and all that stuff.  However, I am confident that sometime in the future, I will get that 3-minute Fran I am after, and maybe even that 300# Deadlift (pushing a kid out is supposed to make you stronger, so I'm told!)  I'm not in a hurry, either.  When I first started CrossFit, I was really not in good shape, and it took me a while to get into shape for the Games.  That was a long road, and although I might be in a little better shape now than when I first started CrossFit, I fully expect that it will take me as long as it did the first time to reach the kind of shape that I used to be in.

I have worked out twice this week at Bridger CrossFit.  I will post on those workouts next time.  But, being in the gym is very humbling and reminds me that I used to be in really good shape.

This photo is a test.  Ben said he would stop taking pictures of himself upside down with the camera (he does that every time he picks up a camera) once I post one of those shots on my blog.  Here it is!

Birth Slideshow

We had Kelly Kuntz of Kelly Kuntz Photography at the birth, and she created a beautiful slideshow of the birth.  Check it out:

The Birth of Morgan

Pull-ups and Running!

I got a workout in!  Woot woot!

But, first, on Friday, I was hanging out at the gym while Ben worked out.  I just couldn't resist the pull-up bar, so I went over to do a pullup or two, and much to my surprise, I did 2 chest to bar pull-ups!  Unfortunately, they still felt pretty hard.  After that, I tried a deadhang pull-up, and I just barely got it.  Wow!  I used to be able to do 25 pound weighted deadhang pull-ups!  I am a little shocked at how much strength I appear to have lost.  But, I guess I didn't do CrossFit for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy, and then of course not for the last 2 weeks, so I shouldn't be too shocked.  I am sure it will come back quickly, but I was hoping that when I lost 30 pounds, I would be good at pull-ups again :)

 ANYWAY.  Saturday, June 12, was the preliminary round of the 5k Challenge that we are holding at Bridger CrossFit.  I didn't run the 5k with everyone else, but I decided to do the 5k in the evening by myself.  Actually, I ran with my friend Maggie who was also doing the 5k Challenge.  Oh, by "with", I mean "way behind".  :)  I didn't want to run with the group because I am too darn competitive and I knew I would push myself too hard if I had some competition.  I was able to let Maggie go and not try to keep up, because I know how fast she is and that there is absolutely no way I would be able to keep up.

So, I started on the 5k course, which is basically 4 laps around the Gallatin Valley Regional Park, located on West Oak in Bozeman.  The last lap takes a slight detour up and across the hill, runs the loop backwards (clockwise), and finishes across the bridge where the trails merge.  If you've never been to this park, I apologize, because you have no idea what I'm talking about.  But, for those of us who have been there, it's a pretty obvious route.

I felt good........for about 100 yards.  Then, I felt tired.  Really tired.  Not tired enough to stop.  I was listening to my body and aware that I might have to stop at any time.  But, my LUNGS.  Oh my god, they just.....burned.  I felt like I was doing "Helen", or "Fran".  The only difference is that I was going really slooooooooooooow.  All of a sudden my (unarticulated) goal of getting sub-30 turned into a goal of just NOT WALKING.

It took me 33:13, which is approximately 12:18 slower than my all-time PR in the 5k (which was set 10 years ago!  I haven't done a 5k in several years....) and probably 6 minutes slower, at least, than any 5k I have previously raced by myself.  Yikes.  I was disappointed, to say the least.  BUT, I did manage to complete the 5k without walking.

Afterwards, I decided it was probably not the best idea in the world that I had run the 5k.  However, I have recovered just fine with no detrimental side effects to speak of.  I am slightly sore today, but really just slightly.  I took it easy enough in the run that I don't think I overdid it.  Also, because my lungs were the limiting factor, my muscles weren't pushed enough to get super sore or anything. 

I'm looking forward to the start of working out more "full-time" again.  I know that I have a lot of work to do, but I am just so stoked to be able to be active again, that I'm excited for the journey.

My postpartum journey so far

Okay, I guess I promised all of the embarassing, immediately post-partum belly shots.  We'll start with a photo of me taken on Friday, May 28, just over 12 hours before Morgan was born.  Weight:  Not exactly known, but 165-170 pounds, -ish.  I kind of stopped weighing because it was getting a little depressing :(

Here I am, on Saturday, May 29.  Not sure of the time of day, i.e. how many hours it had been since delivery, but probably less than 12.  Weight:  Unknown, because I FORGOT to get on the scale!  Grr, I was so interested in how much baby+placenta+amniotic fluid really weighed.  I can't believe that I forgot...

Isn't that.....weird?!?!?!?  The amazing thing is that I felt soooo small when this photo was being taken.  Looking at the photos now, of course, I'm thinking " I look huge!!!".  I look 7 months pregnant...only saggier!

I did get on the scale on Sunday afternoon, when I finally remembered and had the time, and much to my dismay, I weighed about 155!  However, I was not discouraged, because I read somewhere that after delivery, your weight will actually go UP on the 2nd day, or so, and then it will start to go down.  I decided to not get on the scale again for a few days so that I wouldn't obsess about weight.  Though, I was trying to collect some data for this blog.

Throughout the week, my swelling continued to decrease, and each morning I woke up feeling smaller and tighter throughout the midsection.  I had planned to use a Belly Bandit, which is a belly binder designed to help tighten your midsection and get you back to your pre-pregnancy size sooner.  I had ordered an XS which, based on the sizing chart and my measurements in the 8th month, should have fit just fine.  And, I was able to squeeze it on on day 3, but it wasn't comfortable at all and I didn't foresee myself wearing it.  Not only that, but I felt that my abdominal strength was returning rather quickly.  I decided to return my Belly Bandit.

Saturday, I decided it was time to get on the scale, since it had been 1 week.  That's a good "benchmark" that I should make sure to measure.  Weight:  142!

These photos were taken this morning, so, Day 8.  I weighed 141 this morning.

My pre-pregnancy weight was between 128-132, weight taken in the morning.  So, that gives me about 10 or so pounds to lose to get back to pre-pregnancy weight.  I figure that my boobs weigh 5 pounds each with all this milk!  So, I think I'm doing pretty well :)

I am not dieting by any means, except I am sticking to the paleo diet, plus peanut butter, for now.  That's because the store is out of almond butter and I just don't love apples without anything on them for breakfast.  I am finding that I am really hungry and eating a lot.  I decided to stick paleo for 2 reasons - number one, I am hoping, of course, to shed the fat I gained while pregnant and get back to my prior shape.  Secondly, I want to give Morgan the best possible start to life, and wheat, dairy, and soy (not that I eat soy, anyway) are common allergens that are passed on through the breast milk.


I have heard that breastfeeding is a sure-fire way to shed the pounds and is likely to actually get you way below your pre-pregnancy weight.  We'll see how that goes.  I'm just stoked to actually have a lot of room in my belly for all this delicious food AND all the horrible food aversions have completely disappeared.  Yay, I'm back to normal!  Well, almost...


Overall, I'm feeling pretty good.  Still trying to take it easy because I know the recovery will be better in the long run.  My midwife says that if I take it super easy the first week or so, I can probably do some light exercise starting around 2 weeks.  Yay! 

And here's a cute photo of Morgan: