Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
We set out to talk with physical and occupational therapists, along with other healthcare providers about the state of healthcare, hot button topics, and treatment options in different healthcare segments.
Welcome back to another episode of the Freedom Talks podcast, everybody. This is your host, Joe Ogden. And today, we're sitting down with Doctor. Anna Grasman. And the topic we're going to talk about during this podcast episode is going be something that's really interesting is we're gonna continue our conversation about women and weightlifting.
Joe:We're gonna add a little context to it that I'll let Anna share and how she's made some changes to her current lifting routine that I think is very applicable to a lot of our listeners and a lot of people that we interact with here at Freedom Physical Therapy. So should be a really good podcast episode and we're really looking forward to having another sit down with Anna. This is
Anna:close enough.
Joe:Alright, Anna. Welcome.
Anna:Hi, Joe.
Joe:How are you this morning?
Anna:Good. Pretty good.
Joe:Anna, let's talk about your condition. No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Anna, tell us about your exciting news that's going to be incorporated into this podcast.
Anna:Oh, my husband and I are expecting in January. And this is our first.
Joe:First child?
Anna:First child. Yes.
Joe:Good for you guys.
Anna:Thanks.
Joe:As we're recording this in October Mhmm. Is that the second trimester? Is my math correct?
Anna:I just hit the third, like, Sunday. So I'm newly in the trimester.
Joe:Coming down the home stretch.
Anna:I yeah.
Joe:How are you feeling?
Anna:Pretty good. I will say I like, my first trimester was rough, like many women. But my second trimester is pretty good. I'm feeling pretty good now. I don't have a ton of complaints, but I'm definitely getting more of the physical
Joe:Are you using a body pillow yet?
Anna:Stresses. Yeah. I actually transitioned to a second body pillow.
Joe:Oh, wow.
Anna:Because I didn't because my needs were shifting of what I needed, so I actually just transitioned to a second kind of body pillow.
Joe:Is your husband on the couch?
Anna:No. We've been able to share our queen-size bed despite my body pillow usage.
Joe:Where's Louis? Louis. Me.
Anna:Yes. Yeah. The dog also sleeps on the bed. It's a little tight.
Joe:It's little tight. So we're gonna talk a little more today just about kinda some changes you've made Yeah. With your physical fitness routine.
Anna:Yeah.
Joe:Yeah. And and I think it applies to a lot people. Right? A lot of women obviously get pregnant and you are a spokesperson if if I may in the, you know, heavy lifting community, which Mhmm. Is good.
Anna:Yeah.
Joe:For everybody. Let's just kinda start with, you know, some of the changes you've made and Yeah. What you can still do, and I'll let you kinda take the lead there.
Anna:Yeah. So I kind of thought about this by trimester because there are different things happening in your body through each trimester. So my first trimester, I personally wasn't feeling super hot. I was really nauseous. I was having a lot of cramping.
Joe:Eating PBJs.
Anna:Yeah. I my fatigue was actually the worst. I'm obviously not completely through the third trimester, but my fatigue was Makes
Joe:a lot of sense now. Rough stretch here.
Anna:Yeah. Yeah. It was the worst in the first trimester. So things you have to think about in the first trimester. I mean, biggest thing is just move.
Anna:Give your body some grace. Like, whatever that means. I know for me, that was, like, maybe some longer dog walks, and that's seriously all I could handle because I felt so terrible. But I also like, maybe end of the first trimester, I started to feel a little bit better, But I noticed that my, like, ability to lift weights just kind of went to the trash. Like, and I wasn't exactly sure why.
Anna:Now I hadn't really lifted a ton in, two months, so that was probably at least part of it. But you're so you have a hormone that starts like almost like immediately out of conception at high it's the highest between, like, I think weeks ten and twelve, which is relaxin, which works to relax your joints, relax your ligaments, just kind of prepare your body for, like, bearing a child. But it's the highest, actually, in the first trimester. Yeah. And then reduces, but, like, stays high in the second and third, but it's actually the highest in your first.
Anna:So what that means for weight lifting is it takes a lot more effort for you to just stabilize your joints. So I could do most of the same lifts because, like, my body hadn't changed a lot, but it was just so much harder to do, like, to lift the same amount of weight that I was lifting before. So I probably reduced at least 75% of what I was lifting in, like, before I got pregnant in my first trimester because it was just was like it was so much harder than it was before. The other thing that I realized is my cardio kind of was a lot harder too. So you actually have 50% more blood volume during pregnancy.
Anna:So it just, like, takes more oxygen to fill all those red blood cells. So, like, I'd be walking the dog, walking up and down the stairs, and I'd be, like, out of breath. So and that stays pretty consistent through the whole process, but that's another thing just to expect, even though you don't, like, look like you're pregnant or, like, necessarily have a lot of those, like, physical changes there, you're gonna feel like your cardio is a lot harder, and you're gonna feel like your ability to stabilize your joints if you are heavy lifting is a lot harder. So just give your body your body some grace, make those adjustments. That was first trimester.
Anna:For me, second trimester was, like, the sweet spot. I was able to actually increase some of my weight lifting there because I I think more when I was more consistent with weight lifting, and then I didn't have quite as much relaxant pumping through my system. I did, maybe end of second trimester, started noticing that, like, my balance was a little off. So, like, putting on my socks and my pants in the morning, I was like, wow. This this is a this is a struggle.
Anna:So I started in like, introducing a little bit more of, like, typical, like, balance kind of stuff, single leg stuff. Another thing that I kind of changed up was my positioning for certain lifts. For example, like, I'm pretty short. So when I, like, lay back on the bench and I have my feet on the ground, my back is pretty arched as a result. Now if you're a taller person, you might not have that.
Anna:But so there's a lot of, like, anything where I was laying on my back, I put my feet up so that my back was flat. Yeah. I made some adjustments to the bench so that my back was flat. There were a couple of lifts that I didn't feel like I was able to, like, stabilize quite as well. So I tried to not put as much stress on my core.
Anna:So that took a few adjustments. Also, getting into and out of certain positions for lifting, I felt like I really had to actively engage my core versus just being able to, like, get up and off. You know? Especially getting like, if you're bench pressing and then sitting up becomes very difficult.
Joe:Yep.
Anna:So you just have to be a little bit more, like, conscious of actively engaging your core when you're switching between lifts, when you're picking up your weights from the rack. That was another adjustment that I made. More so second trimester, because I started feeling that my core wasn't doing quite the same things. Yeah. But yeah, the second trimester was my sweet spot.
Anna:I felt like I was back to weightlifting. I was able to increase some things, so I was feeling pretty good about that. And then the third trimester hit. One of the biggest things in my third trimester is I stopped back squatting. I was no longer able to keep a neutral spine with back squatting, even if it was just like 100.
Anna:Yeah. So I've gone to the leg press machine, which I never really loved, but it feels much better. Really? Yeah.
Joe:I would expect that. Is it a incline or or deep, like
Anna:It's an incline, and you, like, push up.
Joe:Push it up?
Anna:Yeah. So I've been using
Joe:be more uncomfortable with your knees just coming to your
Anna:Well, you can modify, like, how like, I'm not really, like, going super low. Yeah. I tried the belt assisted machine. Sometimes that feels good. Sometimes it doesn't.
Anna:But it's it's you know, with having more of your, like, center of mass forward, it's just harder to, like, keep from arching your back. And the arching your back puts a lot of compression on your spine, and that's kind of where your posture is all day. Yeah. So you don't necessarily need more of that. I also started doing a little bit more stretching in my third trimester.
Anna:I didn't really feel like I needed it in first and second. Third, I definitely feel like I need a stretch routine, so I've started doing that actually at night, because I feel the stiffest during the day, or like in the morning. People who probably have a desk job need more of that, but thankfully, we have a very active job. So I don't need to do that quite as much throughout the day. But for sure, do it at night.
Joe:I'm going pick at you a little bit. This is actually more my curiosity just because I know your body because we've taken enough courses together.
Anna:Yeah.
Joe:So you being super hypermobile, you still feel like at night that you need more mobility. Even with, obviously, pregnancy, your mobility is already going to increase.
Anna:Yeah. Well, that was one of so my most hypermobile segment is my spine. So I think that's why I felt like I needed a pregnancy pillow earlier on.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:And why I felt like I needed to stop back squatting at a certain point because I just couldn't stabilize it myself. But yeah, so biggest things, especially for pregnant moms, are hip flexors, because all of your center of mass is forward. A lot of us anterior pelvic tilt as the baby starts to get bigger. So hip flexors, for sure, and your external rotators, because you're kind of sitting in an externally rotated position, so you kind of want to stretch into internal rotation. But it's a lot of postural, like, changes that happen, and you kind of have to adjust for the opposite.
Anna:And then you just, like, abdominal strain. Like, I've just kind of been doing some stuff to, like, get, like, stretch my obliques and things like that.
Joe:I feel like all of a sudden you've shown the external rotation, whether it's subconsciously or or consciously just to be more comfortable. Mhmm. Which I always think is interesting just having two kids myself. Yeah. Seeing it firsthand, like, how the how a woman's body naturally just progresses and prepares for delivery, if you will.
Anna:Yeah. Yeah.
Joe:Like, you notice that you stand more, like, externally rotated than you did before?
Anna:Well, I've been noticing more, like, tension in my hips.
Joe:Or any, like, work habits that you've changed even for that I
Anna:I haven't had to change too many work habits yet. I'm really grateful for that. Will, sitting in a stool, it's not as easy to cross my legs while I'm working. That's maybe the biggest thing I've noticed, or picking something off the ground just is a little harder. But I'm sure in the next couple months, I'll have to modify some things.
Anna:But it hasn't been too terribly bad so far.
Joe:Are you still taking
Anna:No. I actually didn't start taking creatine. I asked my OB GYN about it, and she said she didn't have, like, a necessarily stance on it. So I don't think it's, like, out there enough in the OB GYN community.
Joe:Yeah, don't even know.
Anna:Them to have a stance on it, I would like to start taking that postpartum. Think it's thing that there's not a lot of research on it during breastfeeding either.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:So I think Erin might have taken it during pregnancy, but not when she was breastfeeding. So I don't know. I'm just gonna kinda, like, wait on it. But it's something I would like to start afterwards.
Joe:Do you feel like you're starting to get bigger in pregnancy? Or feel, like, feel the third trimester?
Anna:Yeah. I the third trimester was, like, Sunday, and I felt it. Like, felt like I was waking up and feeling like an 80 year old man.
Joe:I just How big is baby boy Hoffman?
Anna:Maybe three pound somewhere between two and three pounds, maybe.
Joe:So what is that? A cucumber?
Anna:An eggplant this week.
Joe:Eggplant. Yes. Eggplant. Yeah. It's amazing when the moon phases match up when
Anna:it can happen. It's crazy.
Joe:And you get this condition. How do you anticipate things changing? Because obviously what are you are you guys the January?
Anna:January, yeah.
Joe:Like how do you anticipate things kind of progressing or your plan as far as your weight lifting up until pregnancy?
Anna:I mean, I'm going to kind of keep on doing what I'm doing. I think you have to be really in tune with your body and listen to what your body wants and needs and let your ego kind of go to the wayside. Yeah. I think I was really disappointed at the beginning that my weight lifting abilities took such a cut. But I think you have to think about it in terms of your body's already doing a lot.
Anna:Yeah. And then you're asking it to do more. Just at rest, your body's working really hard.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:So being able to listen to what things feel good and what things don't, and being able to switch it up is great. You know, I'm, again, thankful that I'm a physical therapist, I can do that myself. But some people need a little bit more help doing that. So
Joe:Do you think, too, it's important just to kind of be mindful of, you know, if you're consistently in the gym and you may or may not be trying to get pregnant, that if you see a dip in your strength or just your some your RPE is not matching what you're trying to do? Like, did you think trying to get pregnant before you took a positive test and, like, obviously are pregnant, like, you know, looking back, hindsight, like, oh, yep, that's when
Anna:Not really. I found out pretty early.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:But I don't think in the first, like, month month and a half, two, I felt a significant change. I think I started feeling nauseous after month two, something like that. So I felt more of the nausea cramping kind of stuff than I did notice anything changing in gym. The that's also why I wasn't going to the gym. Yeah, right, right.
Anna:It might be different for somebody else.
Joe:What does the research say on weight lifting throughout pregnancy?
Anna:I think, research wise, I'm not 100% sure. But I know there's a lot more just in the pelvic floor community of like, yes, you can continue to weight lift, you just have to modify. And like, you can continue to walk and do cardio, you just might have to modify. So I think, you know, there's still some ladies or gentlemen in the gym who are 50, who are like, oh my god, you're still here? Like, you're still doing this?
Anna:Yeah. I'm like, yeah, it's totally fine. Like my OB GYN kind of said, she's like, know what you do for work. She's like, just do what feels good. Otherwise I don't have a lot of suggestions of modifications Which for was great to hear, because, you know, she's in her, I wanna say, like, early sixties maybe.
Anna:Yeah. And she was like, yeah, there's nothing that I'm gonna tell you you can't do. Just like, you know, you know what you'll have to modify. So that's kind of like one of the points that I was trying to do this for was let people
Joe:You can still do something.
Anna:It, but you
Anna:just you really need to listen to your body, and you need to be able to modify things. Like, if you kind of go on it full steam ahead like you were pre pregnancy, you're gonna run into some issues and you might get hurt. So you really have to be willing to modify and be creative.
Joe:Yeah. Let's dive into that a little more. Can we get a little more specific just on your split during the week? Even the back squat to leg press, are you doing any other modifications with movements or weight that you have just found to kind of get in your sweet spot?
Anna:Yeah. Or just to feel more comfortable, really? Yeah. My split hasn't changed. Honestly, a lot of my pull motions are about the same.
Anna:That's probably where I haven't had to modify too much. Yeah. Push, like anything overhead, like I just noticed my shoulder stability has kind of been a little tough. Or even bench press, I had to adjust that a little bit. Then obviously, I'm changing my positioning for that.
Anna:Legs is definitely where I had to make the most adjustments. Yeah. Like, I just noticed my single leg stability was kind of trash. And then, you know, anything that was loading through the spine, I really had to modify pretty quickly.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:And try to be, like, figure out how I can keep a more neutral spine so that I'm not arching through everything. I did, like, were a couple of single leg things that no longer felt super great, just more because of, like, where my stomach was. Yeah. So like, like an internally rotated RDL didn't just
Joe:You just get stuck.
Anna:It wasn't the same. Yeah. I am going to start doing some more RDLs now, though. With my abdomen growing bigger, with baby growing bigger, my hamstrings are just not turning on like they used to. So like, I'm doing bridging with like a hamstring emphasis, and it is a lot harder than it used to be.
Anna:Yeah. Same thing, you know, you're doing an anterior pelvic tilt throughout your day. Your hamstrings are just really lengthened, and they're not turning on like they used to. So I'm gonna start doing some more RDLs and just some variations of a bridge to kinda turn on my hamstrings a bit more. One of the things, especially like end of second, starting of third trimester, you'll notice it just moving around in bed is really hard.
Anna:Bridging in bed is really hard. That's something that's really important for you to be able to do throughout, and even when you're in the hospital, when you're pre and postpartum in the hospital. They'll have you do a lot of bridging to do some bed mobility, and that's going be a lot harder than most people think.
Joe:Where are guys going? Grafton?
Anna:No. Saint Mary's downtown. Oh. Yeah.
Joe:Can you do core work? Yeah. How has that changed?
Anna:So I actually read a study recently that, like a lot of the arguments were like, you can do a lot of core work, just like don't do crunches.
Joe:I don't think any way she did crunches is beginner month.
Anna:Yeah. They're not my favorite, but then I I read a study recently that was like, you know, doing any kind of like forward flexion, like there wasn't significant difference in like diastasis or like abdominal separation. So like, that's not even a suggestion anymore. But I don't really think that would feel super comfortable. And like, what is the benefit of that if you're not getting good lengthening and contracting of that muscle because of having a pregnant belly?
Anna:So I think there's much more functional things you can do core wise than a crunch. But even now, they're kind of like, you can do that. That's fine. Yeah.
Joe:Do you are you as you get closer to your due date, do you feel like your routine will change or even your mobility will change just to prepare your body better for because I I would assume unless for some whatever reason, women go into your first delivery trying to have a natural delivery, not a c section.
Anna:Yeah. I mean
Joe:Is there anything there that, like, you plan on changing or just preparing your body better? Not necessarily. Not that you're not prepared or anything.
Anna:No, no, no. I mean, there's a lot of different reasons for C sections, not just not being able to fit the baby through your pelvis. But I will probably focus a little bit more on hip mobility as I go through. Otherwise, I mean, there's some things that you can do to prepare yourself from tearing or things But like probably maybe some hip mobility.
Joe:More so thinking if there's any listener that's getting closer before your due date that's like, oh, I'm already doing this stuff, little I mean,
Anna:I think there's going to be a point the closer that you get depending on how your body's feeling and how pregnancy is presenting for you, that certain things just aren't going to feel good anymore, and that's fine. You know, maybe it's like walking and doing some bridging, that's all you really can do. And that's great. You know, there's some arguments for perineal stretching, and some hot compress there to kind of help with that. But stretching your adductors and your external rotators are all going to be helpful if you're feeling like those are pretty stiff, and you're having a hard time getting into a deeper squatting position or laying in a butterfly stretch.
Anna:Those are all some things that you want to make sure are as mobile as possible.
Joe:Yeah. What about for some of the husbands out there? What could they do to help themselves prepare for helping in the delivery room? What's your husband's routine looking like right now?
Anna:He's still weightlifting, which is great. I think dads, specifically, if you if your wife is in a scenario where you know they're probably going to have a C section, so like sometimes there was like a previous birth complication, or the baby's breech at a certain point, you're probably going to have to be doing a little bit more of the lifting and carrying for the first few weeks. So that's something to prepare for if you are going to have if that's the path that your wife is taking. Because I think they have like a 10 pound lifting restriction.
Joe:Yeah, 10 pound lifting for six weeks, I believe. But baby carrier doesn't count.
Anna:Yep. Yep. So that's something to try to prepare for. Honestly
Joe:Are you guys going to baby classes?
Anna:We're we're doing them online.
Joe:How's Charlie swaddling?
Anna:We we haven't gotten to that yet. Oh. We're class two of three. So we haven't gotten to swaddling yet.
Joe:What was what was number one?
Anna:A lot of the physical changes as you get up to the third trimester, and then now we're in some of the early labor breathing and pain kind of stuff. Oh, Yeah. Boring So we're early. A little boring stuff. Yeah.
Joe:Do you guys have a doll to practice with? No. Do you want a live child?
Anna:That's okay. That's so kind of
Joe:you Actually, you'll have practice this weekend.
Anna:Yeah. That's perfect. That's perfect. Thank you. That's so kind of you to offer.
Joe:Charlie, big diaper for you to change here, buddy. Come here. Yeah. Come check this out. What how many days a week are you working on now?
Joe:Still three?
Anna:I'm trying to do three. Yep. And I walk the dog every morning, so get a little cardio there.
Joe:How have you noticed that as you've gotten through pregnancy too, like, talked about that dip in your lifting ability? Have you seen it climb back up now that you kind of feel I like the second trimester's kind of Yeah. Like a stabilization.
Anna:I was able to increase some of my lifting in the second trimester, but that has kind of gone back down for some things. Yes. Again, like some of the upper body stuff hasn't taken too much of a hit. But like the lower body stuff at this point, I'm really modifying.
Joe:Just going through making sure you're not losing anything, just maintaining?
Anna:Yeah. Yep.
Joe:Is there anything else tidbit wise or information wise that we haven't Well, touched
Anna:I started giving myself more time to work out because you need more time for rest breaks.
Joe:Yeah.
Anna:Your body just needs more recovery time in between. So I just started giving myself some more time. The other thing is I was not a big and this is like a terrible sin but I was not a big eater before I worked out previously, and now I have to eat before I work out. I try to get like ten grams of protein in or something that will coat my stomach before I start. You know, I try to get that in before, like, in the first hour that I wake in some fashion.
Anna:But I now really need to eat before I work out. Otherwise, it's no bueno. Food is fuel.
Anna:Yes. Yes. Fasting's not good
Anna:Yep. For gym. Will keep that in through postpartum too. So
Joe:Look at you making changes. I know. I have changed my
Anna:I have changed my ways. Yes.
Joe:Because you used to be just fast, go to the gym, feel fine. Right?
Anna:Yeah. Yeah. I I it was because I, like, I think if I, like, ate and then worked out too close together, would feel and gross. So now I'm trying to, like, eat earlier, like, when I wake up. That seems to be better for me.
Anna:So
Joe:That's good. Yeah. You're doing great.
Anna:Thanks.
Joe:Yeah. Almost there.
Anna:Oh, yeah. It's gonna come quick.
Anna:Yeah.
Joe:Anything else?
Anna:Just like a little tidbit of, like, some of the things I see early, like postpartum. One of the biggest things I see for ladies is, like, posture wise, there's a lot of caring for a little one, and a lot of, like, there's breastfeeding, so we see a lot of, like, really tight and weak lats, a lot of, like, forward head rounded shoulders posture. Sometimes I see people with, like, jaw and neck pain with tight SCMs from, like, you know, they're really used to using one side for breastfeeding and baby carrying, things like that. So just be cognizant of your posture while you're doing those. There's a lot of, like, crazy pillows and poppies out there that you can use and try to be as even on one side as the other as you can.
Anna:And then, you know, your your OB or your pelvic floor therapist can kind of help you, like, guide you on what to do pelvic floor wise when you can get back to running and exercising, things like that.
Joe:Yeah. That's good. Yeah. We're really excited for you.
Anna:Thanks.
Joe:It's going to come soon. Yeah. If anybody has any questions or anybody that's pregnant or just, you know, I think it's also important just to kind of come and get some information from a pelvic PT too. You know, as you kind of approach the due date and even postpartum, if anybody or you know of anybody that's going through this, we'd love to see you here at Freedom. We've got pelvic health therapists at obviously, our Fox Point location, Grafton, and Mukwonago.
Joe:Mhmm. Yeah. We'll see everybody in the next couple weeks. Thanks,
Anna:Anna. Yeah. Thanks, Joe.