FYI: a “learning person” is a new word for a student.

If baby brain is real thing than ahhhh yup I’m there.

15.5 weeks in and the most relevant words to describe this week: Exhausted. Stupidity.

“Did you actually say do that Ro?!”

Having lunch with some friends and we were chatting, I was trying to find the right word for a ‘student’ and my brain was seriously not working. T’he most relevant words I could think of ended up as “learning person”- seriously! Oh my god *face palm. Serious bouts of stupidity this week.

Friday morning I had my first appointment at the hospital and I felt like I was watching the whole thing from another person. The receptionist asked me to confirm my address and yup, yet again the baby brain bug hit. “Um hmmmmm let me think…… ummmmmm…. number 6…… so sorry I’ve just moved there” LIES! Ive lived her for over a year and I couldn’t remember where I lived. God I felt like a twat. I made it past the gauntlet of questions- was given a pregnancy show bag with a lack lustre “congratulations” to match and could pass Go. I actually had to hold in my laughter, this just felt so weird and foreign to me, maybe I was in the wrong place?!

Where was I? Seriously- surrounded by the most amount of pregnant people I had ever seen in my life. I was totally not prepared for this and honestly I didn’t know I had to prepare for this first appointment. Is there a book “Pregnancy for Dummies”. I need it.

Ok ok so yup that whole denial thing, yeah pretty much me right now. I still can’t really comprehend that I’m pregnant so it all just feels a bit fake to me right now.

I walk to find a seat with multiple eyes on my belly. I had just come from training a client and my mind was running wild with all the tasks that I had to complete. I was really not ready for this melting pot of pregnant ladies I was thrust into.

This might sound harsh, or come off wrong, or maybe someone can relate to it but when I see a pregnant belly it honestly freaks me out.

Like its hard and round and and has a person in there. How? Even though its the most natural and raw experience on this planet I find it so strange, how can the body do that! I know I know, it sounds ludicrous and clearly I gotta get my head in the game real damn soon. Such an odd realisation that such drastic changes are about to happen in the near future and you can’t really connect with that life yet.

This week has been so hectic for me, meeting after meeting and so many things weighing on my mind with our new facility opening. Im a “take action now” type of person and having to rely on others gives me the absolute shits. Thats one of the reasons I run my own business, my decisions on my time. A combination of mental exhaustion and a week of more growing has left me exhausted and physically deflated.

For me, when my body feels crap my mental state will often come as a result of that. If my body has injuries, my mental state has injuries. When I feel so physically tired, my mind cant think, process and innovate. Coming into week 16 of baby making I have still maintained four training sessions a week. They are much shorter than they have been and relatively easy. I have found that having a day off between each session is needed so thats what Im doing, one day on, one day off. I do feel weak when lifting and I don’t like it.

The connection between that feeling and weakness and the reasoning behind it isn’t happening instantly for me so its something I have to remind myself of every day. You are pregnant Ro. Chill, your good.

This week my first negative comments around training and pregnancy came my way:

Be careful, baby comes first

Don’t over do it

This is the one time in your life where you don’t have to train so make the most of it

I don’t usually give two shits about what someone says about me, but this week it occupied a little space in my head. Ok I lie, a lot. I don’t know whether its some sort of crazy pregnancy hormones or being exhausted or what but shit mate….

I am pregnant, not an invalid.

For the past 6 years training has been part of my life. In the last 2.5 years, I have solely trained as a competitive powerlifter; squat, bench, deadlift, heavyish (one can always get stronger!) I like to lift and I enjoy it. At 57-59kg I can squat over 100kg for reps, bench a pretty shitty 60kg and deadlift 150kg. Lifting has been and continues to be a massive part of my life. It provides me mental clarity and stress release, helps me to maintain a lean physique and gives me massive drive in other areas of my life. Of course it was a no brainer for me to continue to train as long as my body and baby would let me.

Having trained many females successfully pre and post natal, I know my shit. The only difference now is that its my precious cargo on board.

Be careful baby comes first-NO SHIT!

Do you really think that I am that selfish or stupid that I would knowingly put my own baby in danger.

Ive got more chance of falling down my stairs at home when I wake up in the morning and believe me I think about that.

All the guidelines for training while pregnant are a clone from resource to resource-generic response:

low impact activities like walking, yoga, swimming…. blah blah blah

How does this apply to the girl that lifts? The person that walks and does yoga a few times a week has a different body to me. 70Kg deadlifts in retrospect to what I can lift is less than half of my strength. Strength is relative right-so when someone sees me deadlift 115kg for reps (pretty happy I hit that yesterday) at 15.5 weeks pregnant, before you make judgement on what I am doing your comments may be ignorant and uneducated.

I think to myself- is it more socially acceptable for me to post to my followers a picture of me at the drive through, over consuming processed foods and sitting on the couch saying f**k it Im eating for two now catch me in 5 months, laters.

Everyone is different. Some ladies want to train some people cant or don’t want to. There is no one size fits all.

Continuing my training regime with limitations is something I choose to do.

Just as training and maintaining an active life when not pregnant is important, the benefits for ladies expecting is wide spread; lower incidence of lower back pain, greater muscle strength and coordination which can help with adjusting to an increase in body weight, positive impact on gestational diabetes, minimise stress and increase feelings of wellbeing and positive self image.

On the flip side, I have experienced wide spread support for what I choose to do while being pregnant. This far outweighs the negative shit that trolls throw at me.

For every hater that has held momentary space within my head, a team of love and support has spurred me on. Seriously its a pretty sensational feeling. Thank you ladies!

If you are continuing to train throughout your pregnancy whether it be swimming, lifting, yoga or walking- holla ladies!

Keep doing what your doing

Captain Ro (still rolling with that) x