It’s time to debunk the fact from the fiction about what REALLY are the high-intensity functional exercises you shouldn’t do during pregnancy, and WHY.

1. EXERCISES FOR TIME

This is no longer a race. Don’t be tempted to ever choose intensity over the integrity of movement. You’re now working out with different principles in mind. My feeling is as most of us haven’t got a lot of experience exercising whilst pregnant, most of us can’t be absolutely certain we aren’t straining or overdoing it.

So mama, I’d say intensity should be the first thing to go. Your goals for exercise should now be about feeling good, maintaining your fitness levels and muscle mass, maintaining good posture, developing superhero pelvic floor control, and keeping gestational diabetes at bay.

You should also steer clear of DOMs inducing volume. DOMs (delayed onset muscle soreness) means you’ve been lifting or exercising to the point of breaking and building new fibers and is largely present after a very high volume of reps or after some very heavy lifting. You aren’t building muscle mass anymore and this should really be the last thing on your mind.

2. EXERCISES THAT COMPROMISE POSTURE

You’re something like 3x more likely to have a fall when you’re pregnant. That just goes to show how ‘off’ your spatial awareness and balance is when you have a bun in the oven. Add weights or highly skilled movements into the mix and you do enter a high-risk category for injury, more high-risk than your normal gym-bunny.

Careful to all those ‘butt-winkers’ at the bottom of a squat – keep it high enough that you retain pelvic control. Turn it into a box-squat if you can’t be sure. Also, are you a bum-clencher? Diane Lee – the women’s pelvic health guru – has a lot to say about these and it’s very common in athletes.

When you’re standing still, or rising from a squat or a deadlift, do you find you overly squeeze your butt? Many athletic folks have this tendency and it leads to hyperextension at the front of the hip which puts extra strain on the low back.

Get someone to check for you. This will only get worse in pregnancy so nip that in the bud now.   Common pregnancy injury areas to be mindful of if your posture isn’t spot-on are back and neck injuries, exacerbation of pelvic girdle issues, and compromise to that sacred pelvic floor.

Common movements where it all goes wrong: deadlift, back squat (perhaps sub it out for a front squat in the third trimester or do box-squats), kipping (which can force you into a backbend and can stretch the abdominal wall unnecessarily), and Olympic lifts (your center of gravity and your bar path will change – is it worth having to completely relearn how to lift again postpartum?)

3. EXERCISES THAT CAUSE CONING

Coning is your body’s way of telling you that the linea alba – the connective tissue that connects your abdominals – is under undue pressure. It literally looks like your belly is cone-shaped, or there may be a little bulge from the middle section of your tummy. 

Don’t panic if you see it, just take that as your body’s way of telling you to stop that exercise for now. The linea alba does an awful lot of stretching whilst you’re preggers and the last thing you want is to over-do it by putting extra force through the midline. 

Coning is an indication that a) you’re not maintaining good pressure control within your abdomen and therefore could be compromising your pelvic floor, and b) exposing your linea alba to too much force. 

Common movements which add undue pressure to the midline in pregnancy are:

a) Prone loaded positions (planks, push up positions, burpee, mountain climber, etc) – scale it to incline versions or stop them altogether if need be

b) Abdominal loading exercises (sit-ups, v-ups, hollow holds, candlesticks, etc)

c) Athletes take note: Coning can also be common in overhead hanging exercises such as pull-ups, toes to bar, rope climbs, ski erg, and also with some women (like me towards the third trimester) in horizontal pulling positions like rowing.  

Everyone is different. Keep watching your belly and be mindful to stop certain movements if need be. Keep a little list of exercises you should personally avoid so you can learn about your body and how it’s responding to your pregnancy.   

4. VALSALVA BREATHING OR BREATH HOLDING

Big loud noise coming from your mouth as you rise from a squat? Breath-holding before completing a heavy lift? STOP. Now that you’re pregnant and hopefully still lifting (great!) you need to learn to breathe differently. 

Valsalva breathing is a strategy reserved for maximal or submaximal loads, so mark my words in point 1. You really don’t need to be aiming for a 1RM right now, so reduce the load a little and increase your reps. 

Introduce a tempo if you like, but don’t Valsalva breathe and don’t lift anything that demands it. It will compromise your pelvic floor.

This advice was seriously lacking when I was pregnant: Learn to breathe for your pelvic floor on all resistance work.

Breathe in and relax your pelvic floor on the eccentric part of the lift (i.e. downward part of a squat), breathe out, and squeeze your pelvic floor on the concentric part (i.e upward part of the squat). 

Use this breathing pattern for ALL resistance work. Breathe out and squeeze your pelvic floor to pull a deadlift, and in to lower the weight to the floor. Breathe in and release your pelvic floor on the downward kettlebell swing, breathe out and squeeze for the upswing.

This includes moving equipment around the gym and getting on and off the floor. In and out of bed. And on and off the sofa in week 40!

I’d also go so far as saying it’s more important to learn to release your pelvic floor than it is to squeeze, as many of us will be used to be squeezing our pelvic floors like crazy! 

Timing is key, especially with functional movements that happen quickly. Do make sure your squeeze is timed with the effort phase.   

5. HIGH IMPACT

Impact will put added pressure on that precious pelvic floor. As you start to grow bigger, swap box jumps for step-ups, running and double-unders for air-bike, and be wary of explosive movements in some lifts i.e. jerks and snatches.

Yes, some mums-to-be will be running until their waters break, but my advice is to stop it now. An athlete’s pelvic floor control may not be as iron-clad as expected. Especially if you’re very low body-fat. 

If you have ever had amenorrhoea (stalled or irregular periods) your lower estrogen levels may actually mean your pelvic floor control is weaker than average.   

6. SINGLE-LEG WORK IF YOU HAVE PELVIC GIRDLE SYMPTOMS

Ah pelvic girdle pain (PGP) can be the pits. You may find you have to reign in much of the single-leg loaded exercises like lunges, split squats, and larger step-ups if you have pubic symphysis pain or pelvic girdle pain. 

This will be on a case by case basis, change it up if it aggravates. Sometimes flare-ups can take 24hrs to show themselves so try to identify what exercises you did the day before that may have exacerbated things. 

The good news is PGP nearly always resolves after delivery, so get yourself a silly calendar and start striking off those days.  

7. WHAT ABOUT LYING ON YOUR BACK?

The jury is out these days. Research in 2015 in the US suggests it’s absolutely fine for women doing exercise to spend shorter periods on their backs.

I think the basic no-go guidelines are there for sleeping or spending a prolonged period of time there, which can potentially compromise the blood flow in the major arteries and veins that run through the abdominal cavity.

Having read around and also talked to a few medical professional friends the current opinion is if it’s for exercise alone and you don’t have any symptoms of dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, or pain then you’re fine to keep on going (e.g bridging which can be fab for the pelvic floor, low back, and core).

8.  EXERCISES THAT CAUSE CHEST PAIN, SHORTNESS OF BREATH DIZZINESS, NAUSEA, HEADACHE, SWELLING OF THE LEGS, LEAKING OF URINE, OR FLUID FROM THE VAGINA.

You’re all educated individuals so I won’t patronize you but I gotta say it from a safety perspective. Don’t take any unnecessary risks ladies. It’s never worth it.

 

Check out Hatch Athletic for more resources and training programs geared specifically for Strong Mama’s or Strong expecting Mamas.

EVENT 20.5

Elite Division

3 Rounds for Time:

30 Wallball (20/14) (10/9)

30 Hang Power Clean (95/65)

30/20 Cal Bike (Must be Assault bike)

30 Push Press (95/65lb.)

30 Box jump Over (24/20)

Rest 1 Min between rounds

 

Advanced Division

3 Rounds for Time:

30 Wall Balls (20/14)(10/9”)

30 Hang Power Cleans (75/55)

30/20 Cal Bike

30 Push Press (75/55)

30 Box Jump Over (24/20)

Rest 1 Min between rounds

 

EVENTS 20.6 & 20.7

Elite Division

On an 11 Min Clock

20.6: Minutes 0-3:00

Max Reps Deadlift (345/255lb.)

 

20.7: Minutes 4:00-11:00

25 ft. Shuttle Run 25ft. x8

9 Strict HSPU

 

*Foot must cross the line each change of direction on run. 1 rep is rewarded each 5ft. Traveled. Box for HSPU should be 18×36 and feet may not be outside of hands during the lockout of HSPU.*

 

Advanced Division

On an 11 Min Clock

20.6: Minutes 0-3:00

Max Reps Deadlift (275/155 lbs.)

 

20.7: Minutes 4:00-11:00

25 ft. Shuttle Run 25ft. x8

9 HSPU

 

*Foot must cross the line each change of direction on run. 1 rep is rewarded each 5ft. Traveled. Box for HSPU should be 18×36 and feet may not be outside of hands during the lockout of HSPU.*

EVENT 20.8

Elite Division

Every 5 Minutes for 15 Minutes (3 Rounds)

18-12-6

Thrusters (105/75 lbs.)

Toes to Bar

 

Athletes must submit 3 scores. Their slowest score is their submission for this workout.

If they cannot finish the work, the additional reps left are added to their 5:00 time cap.

 

Advanced Division

Every 5 Minutes for 15 Minutes (3 Rounds)

18-12-6

Thrusters (75/55 lbs.)

Toes to Bar

 

Athletes must submit 3 scores. Their slowest score is their submission for this workout.

If they cannot finish the work, the additional reps left are added to their 5:00 time cap.

 

I’ve always hoped to educate, inspire and entertain. This VLOG series will be a focus for that. I want to share my life and how I balance all that is going on in it. 

Being a father, husband, Co-founder of FNXfit, and coach with Brute Strength Training creates quite the adventure that I think many can relate to. 

This will also be a source of information and education of workouts, how to’s, tips and tricks, nutrition suggestions and even recipe’s I love. I’ve trained as a CrossFit athlete since 2011 and as a power athlete for most of my life prior to that.

This will be an inside look on how I combine my years as a strength and conditioning coach, CrossFit Seminar Training Staff member,  preparing for the CrossFit Games and mix it in with fun with friends.

If you’re ready to join and train alongside me, click here.

You’re a fit mama, or mama-to-be. You know your dumbbell from your kettlebell and the idea of running a 5km has never scared you, a 10km even.

Perhaps you’ve tried a triathlon, or perhaps you love thrashing it out in CrossFit and enjoy this kind of intensity regularly. The fact of the matter is – when you fell pregnant, you were athletic, fit, and strong.

Let me take a guess that you’re quite competitive and driven too. You’re used to pushing through discomfort and you’re used to juggling – to switching areas of your brain into auto-pilot whilst you train through discomfort… going into the ‘zone.’

And now you’re pregnant. The advice out there says ‘listen to your body,’ ‘keep moving as you’ve always done,’ it’s safe to do ‘moderate exercise’ in your first and second trimesters. But what is moderate exercise anyway?

This advice isn’t tailored to the highly athletic population. In fact, this advice is based on a population that has never lifted more than 20kg from the floor. That’s our warm-up weights! The fact of the matter is, there’s NO real medical advice on training strong pregnant women.

It’s time you fit and athletically capable mums-to-be had some solid, straight-talking advice on how to look after your body throughout pregnancy. I’d love to share with you a few insights, as an athlete, that I wish I knew when I found out I was pregnant.

Now, you may be past the point of just finding out you’re pregnant. That’s ok. It’s still great to reflect on the things we tell ourselves in these early weeks and months.

1. Expect Less

When I became pregnant I had been a competitive CrossFit athlete and coach for going on 5 years. I was used to having control. I was used to manipulating my environment, my body, my diet and my rest and seeing results.

I had been bossing it in the gym. In fact, I was probably the fittest I’d ever been, and now I couldn’t straddle the assault bike without wanting to gag or keel over in a corner.

What was worse is that all of the medical advice out there said I could work out as ‘normal.’ The problem was, my ‘normal’ was deadlifting double bodyweight and doing burpees to red-line… and I was seriously struggling.

My perfectionist tendencies meant I already felt inferior. Was I ‘failing’ at being able to follow even the generic advice?

I think the best thing to say here is: you’re not ‘the normal.’ CrossFit athletes, functional fitness athletes, and weightlifting women don’t really fall into a ‘normal’ category of fitness, competitive or not.

Because we tend to circulate in social and fitness groups where we’re all quite fit, it’s sometimes hard to get a frame of reference, but you only need to look at where your fitness was when you first set foot in the gym and compare it to where you’re at now to get some perspective on what ‘normal fitness’ is.

Even if you’re not a competitive athlete, if pre-pregnancy squatting under a 50, 60, 70kg barbell was your idea of ‘normal’ you’re actually very much an athlete.

Do NOT beat yourself up like I did. It’s ok if you feel like a sack of potatoes, you’re breathing out your arse, and your barbell suddenly feels a lot heavier… Your body is doing incredible things and needs your energy elsewhere right now.

Just getting to the gym is achievement enough – let it energize you, or let it help you zone out, and feel more normal. Now is not the time to be making gains.

Let me say this now – in the first trimester – it’s quite unlikely that you’ll be unable to perform physically in the way you are used to, despite the plethora of advice telling you that you can carry on with what you’ve been doing.

This is pregnancy safety advice but what it neglects is the mental battle a fit female will go through when learning she simply can’t perform at the intensity that she is used to.

Frankly, she’s knackered and can’t choose if she’d prefer to throw up or smash a bag of salty chips.

What you can, or are allowed to do safely, and what you should give yourself permission to do are two different things. Adjust your own expectations of yourself. Expect that you will achieve less in your first trimester.

2. Park the Ego

Ever heard the term, “go hard, or go home?” Yeh, that’s not really ideal terminology for a pregnant athlete to hear. ”

Hmm, what? No ego here… Said no one ever.

I’m afraid if you’re sporty, the two kind of come hand in hand to an extent. It means you’re competitive and you get a kick out of doing better each time than the time before. Even if that’s competitive with yourself and not with others.

If you’re not managing to work out at all, that’s ok too. Don’t beat yourself up and fret over all the ‘lost fitness’ – you are in SUCH good shape for pregnancy, and that’s your number 1 priority right now.

If you are one of the lucky ones who feel energetic and is working out like normal in your first trimester – that’s great, but park the ego. It’s good to practice now as the second and third trimester will come and you’ll need to make friends with scaling.

Sure, there are women out there who will clean and jerk their body weight at 30 weeks pregnant and who will compete up until their first contraction. But my feeling is unless Nike has you on a retainer, it’s time to put the competing on hold for now.

The work you put in by being humble in your approach to pregnancy exercise will hold you in good stead for life.

3. There are no ‘banned’ exercises in the first trimester…but, there are things to be mindful of.

I groan when I hear the phrase, ‘listen to your body’ because as a fit woman you are used to ignoring pain during exercise. So let’s rephrase it to ‘don’t be tempted to push beyond discomfort.’

This is quite a new skill to tune yourself into. Be that heart rate, overheating (a common problem!), an achy joint, or a twingy muscle.

Be mindful when you’re working out and start connecting with your body in a new way. Does it feel uncomfortable in your body or your mind? Reign it in a little.

We only really have safety guidelines with regards to exertion because a pregnant woman’s heart rate is naturally higher than if she weren’t pregnant.

It does not really have anything to do with depriving your bub of vital O2. Bub will get her Os way before you. A pregnant woman’s basal temperature is also a little warmer.

With regards to new aches and pains, your body now has relaxin swimming around your circulation, a hormone that relaxes the ligaments around your joints.

This makes you more susceptible to sprains, strains, and tweaks than you used to be.

4. Invest in a wearable device that has a decent heart rate monitor

Yep – the good old 1960’s advice of monitoring one’s heart rate in pregnancy is golden in my books. But not for their reasons.

 

Discomfort has become quite the norm in modern exercise and oftentimes pushing through discomfort is seen as an achievement. Pregnant modern athletic women need the monitor to objectively tell them how hard they’re pushing.

 

The modern-day generic advice suggests that fitness fans use the Talk Test or Borg Rate of Perceived Exertion.

 

However, the athletic population finds it more difficult to accurately estimate their own exertion objectively using this test because they’re used to pushing so hard it can feel quite ‘normal.’

On top of this, when you’re pregnant, you pump more blood around your body so your natural resting heart rate becomes higher.  As a fit pregnant woman then, with an already elevated resting heart-rate, you run the risk of perceiving your exertion as way less than it is in reality.

So get shopping and keep under 80-85% max heart rate. Garmin, MyZone, Polar, and now even FitBit and Apple Watch have all been clinically validated as accurate HR monitors.

Subjectivity isn’t good enough for the pregnant modern athletic female population – you need technology to help you know how hard you’re pushing.

Hope some of that has been a help for you newly pregnant fitness fiends.

Keep an eye out for another pregnancy-related post with great exercises that you can be doing in your second trimester.

If you’re looking for more resources to help you navigate your pregnancy journey while maintaining your fitness, check us out Hatch Athletic.

You’ve got this mama,

Kat x

P.S. If you’re not already following Hatch on Instagram check out our account @hatch_athletic or give our Facebook Group a Like. There’s loads more pregnancy and postpartum advice happening on there all the time!

Drop Your Barbells, Big Shot.

And by that, we mean it’s time for some monostructural work — hop on a rower, jump on a bike, go for a run. It’s not the sexy stuff. You probably won’t post it on your Instagram or Snap it to your latest Tinder match, but it’s the stuff that builds you a bigger engine. It’s the stuff that really counts.

Here’s why: high-intensity workouts are often varied. So, when you’re muscling through a workout and start feeling drained, it’s difficult to pinpoint which movements need improvement, or at which point you started slowing down.

So, whether you want to row or run or bike or swim, each of these exercises will provide you with clear, relative, and concise measurements so you can get a handle on your pacing. And then speed it up.

(Speaking of swimming, click here to read about all different benefits CrossFitters can gain from regular swim training, and how you can get started. It isn’t just for building an enormous engine or looking sexy in a speedo…your joints will thank you too.)

Sign up for our 7-day free trial on our Brute Compete program for individualized monostructural work with pacing specific to you, so that you spend less time guessing and more time building that aerobic base.

That’s it. Now go turn that little engine that could into a bigger engine that can.

14 Min AMRAP

4 CLEAN AND JERK

12 CHEST TO BAR

50’ WALKING LUNGE *NO WEIGHT

(225/145 LB.)

Want to see what a typical week looks like on Brute Compete?

Click here to try it FREE for 7 days.

Mike Davis was born at Cherry Point Naval Hospital in Havelock, North Carolina and was born into a military family with his dad being a Marine.  At around 2 years old, his family moved back to their hometown of Loranger, Louisiana where he has lived since.

Mike went to a private Christian school until about the 4th grade and was then homeschooled till high school.  Growing up a “country boy” he constantly worked on his grandfather’s dairy farm and played football throughout his whole childhood.

This type of hard working lifestyle was applied to his work ethic in football and he fell in love with the process of training through lifting weights and how it improved his football game.

In fact, his father bought him a full weight set with a rack and a Smith Machine at a very early age, and he insisted it was placed inside his room, literally taking up almost half of his room – the true meaning of growing up inside a weight room.

By the time he was in the fifth grade, he learned the word “hypertrophy” and became enamored in studying Health and Fitness magazines resulting in his love for the science behind training.

Soon after high school, he wanted to join the Marine Corps and knew he had to up his training in order to become the best Marine he can be.  Mike started adding in principles of CrossFit into his training which only furthered his love for fitness.

The Marine Corps solidified aspects in his personal life such as discipline, integrity and self sacrifice that helped him make better choices in his life moving forward.  After the Marine Corps, Mike knew what his drive in life was and pursued his Bachelor’s degree in exercise Physiology.  He has now obtained his Masters in Exercise Physiology and now pursuing a PHD in Exercise Physiology from LSU.

During college, Mike worked for several CrossFit gyms as a coach and also co-owned a CrossFit affiliate for a few years.  As Mike grew in his love and passion for CrossFit he was introduced to the Brute team in 2016 and the rest is history.

Starting off as an intern and eventually moving up within Brute to now the Head Coach for Brute Body and also Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning for all programs.

As the head coach of Brute Body, you’ll have full support from Coach Mike when you hop aboard the gain train.

If you’re looking to switch up your training and build an incredible foundation of strength and conditioning while carving an amazing physique with some good ole’ hypertrophy based programming, Mike’s your guy.

We’ll even toss you a code that will take 25% OFF your first month when you sign up for Brute Body before Sunday, August 30th.

Click here for them gainz, and use the code: 25brutebody at checkout.

Born in Nicaragua, Nick spent time growing up in Argentina as a child then moved to Miami at a pretty young age. His fitness journey started personally as an elite level climber setting numerous world records on the mountain face of “El Cap”.

Nick became frustrated with his own fitness as a climber as he was starting to come up against physical limitations. He started studying and doing personal research from the likes of Charles Poliquin and was truly intrigued about the body’s ability to adapt to stress.

Nick found CrossFit through a friend that challenged him to do Cindy ( 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats for as many rounds possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes).  As an avid climber in what he felt was “great shape”, he figured this would be a cake walk.

20 minutes and many strict pull ups later, he wound up laying on the floor questioning his life. He realized that although he was good at each of those individual movements, he was not ready for the intensity.

Nick started following CrossFit.com workouts 2-3 days/week and incorporating that into his normal training. He began to use what he learned and trained individuals and teams for military specific training, firefighting, skiing, outdoor activities, and other training professions.

He used these methodologies together to create comprehensive plans and progressions to make skilled professionals better and knew he could adapt many of these same protocols for CrossFit athletes.

Nick understood that high intensity training is good, but began questioning whether it was the most effective approach for truly building skill, strength and capacity.

He then started coaching a small group out of his garage gym and began to realize that one general program can not necessarily fit all the needs of the individuals and their goals.  That is what attached Nick to Brute Strength because we are a collaboration of expert coaches all working together to address needs of individual athletes.

2 of Nick’s biggest accomplishments is having over 30 athletes compete in the CrossFit Games including the Wasacth Brutes defeating CrossFit Mayhem for the 2017 CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup Championships.

Nick doesn’t just limit himself to coaching elite athletes though. At least half of the athletes he coaches have no desire to be a professional athlete. These are athletes with goals and aspirations.

Nick enjoys the pathway of training a person who uses fitness as a tool to become a better person and improve their lifestyle just as much as elite athletes because true coaches coach between the ears.  They develop the athlete’s mind first, and the body will follow.

He feels the most rewarding part of being a coach is being part of people’s journeys in life.

Nick considers his coaching style of that of an “observer.” He likes to sit back and ask a lot of questions, watch and listen.

The athlete/ coach relationship hinges on trust and communication in both directions. The athlete has to take accountability for what he or she is doing and what he or she is not doing and has to take accountability in the process, meaning that the coach is coming to the table with 50% of what it’s needed.

It’s up to the athlete to come to the table with the other 50%. At the heart of it all, it’s about teamwork and communication.

Whether you’re shooting for the CrossFit Games, sanctionals or just interested in training for health and longevity, Nick’s got the knowledge and experience to create the roadmap for you.

Click here to check out our vast library of “Knowledge Bombs” where Nick goes into detail on a variety of training topics including best recovery practices, elite athlete mindset, nutrition, supplementation and so much more.

If you’d like your own personal roadmap to reaching your greatest potential in health and fitness, fill out this free assessment.

I love to lift weights.

 

I love to sweat and find that ‘second wind’ in a workout, proving time and time again to

myself that I can meet and sometimes surpass my own expectations.

 

Why Do We Do It?

 

Whether you’re a competitor or not, we’ve all experienced the clarity

and confidence that comes from lifting a heavy barbell or nailing a workout in the gym.

 

“Balance” is another word thrown around a lot – this is unique to everyone depending

on what their goals are. Regardless, sometimes we need to tap out. Because stillness is

often where the answers lie.

 

It’s human nature to be hard-wired for activity ALL. THE. TIME.

 

Our ancestors constantly needed to be in a ‘fight or flight’ state, protecting their loved

ones, on the hunt for their next meal, escaping from danger and seeking safe spaces.

This is also where the human tendency for immediate gratification comes from.

 

In a new world of technology, smartphones, and Deliveroo, we have excess at our

fingertips and somehow have to refrain from it. Hence why the common “trust the

process” piece of advice is sometimes easier said than done.

 

I’ll come back to the relevance of all of this.

 

Working In.

 

My yoga journey began with a similar need to you – a way to recover my

body from training.

 

What makes yoga unique to the multitude of mobility/recovery tools on the market?

 

Well, it’s the source for one. Believed to date as far back as the 3rd century BC, yoga

uses the breath to inform the practice (rather than as a separate methodology).

 

The poses themselves are like a moving mediation and it’s the breath that allows us to

find that sense of space.

 

Think about it. When you’re stressed or scared, the first thing the body does is constrict

breath. Without releasing this physical stress, there’s not much in the way of movement

we can do to reverse it.

 

A recovery practice isn’t about contorting the body into uncomfortable postures –

it’s about using the breath to inform how far your body can achieve a stretch, and often,

“maxing out” in a stretch probably isn’t good.

 

Rhythm in our breath should correspond with a sense of symmetry or as yogis call it,

“equanimity” in the body. And now we start to see how it’s all Connected.

 

A Regular Practice

 

The word “meditation’” can sometimes be intimidating. We have visions of monks sitting

cross-legged for hours in silence.

 

All I call it is taking time out – even a few minutes – to reconnect with the breath (see

my video below for an easy 10-minute daily practice you can follow).

 

Why is this important?

 

I was actually thrown into the deep end when I was introduced to a daily breathing

practice – during my yoga teacher training, 4:30 am, silence, darkness, the sound of our

Swami (teacher) chanting in the middle of the Himalayas.

 

My point is this – create the environment, a quiet space for one. Maintain a comfortable

position – you can even lie down. And – have faith it’ll work. Trust the process.

 

Of course, sitting still even for a few minutes goes against our nature but creating the

habit definitely makes it easier.

 

What we’re trying to do is divert our attention back (because it will get sidetracked) to

our breath – which is why having a set count to focus on helps.

 

There’s no use in trying to drown out thoughts – we have millions, lots of them totally

subconscious, daily. The art is in getting accustomed to observing them without

getting attached.

 

It’s this process that starts to create headspace – we physically begin to relax and our

bodies are now optimally primed for a yoga/mobility/recovery practice.

 

Breathing for life.

 

Having a regular practice begins to have a positive impact on everyday situations.

We’re incredibly reactionary beings – again, by nature. Feel yourself getting ready to

react negatively to something someone has said?

 

Take a deep breath. I actually like to take 10 deep breaths as a practice – wherever I

am – when I have feelings of agitation or anxiety about something.

 

Try it and you’ll find that your next move will probably be very different from what it

could’ve been.

 

We’re so inundated with signals, messages, information all day long – it can be

all-consuming. A simple but effective practice such as this has, quite honestly, just made

me chill out a bit more.

 

It has had endless positive effects on my interactions and therefore my relationships –

and that’s ultimately what we want. To be better wives, husbands, fathers, friends.

 

Channeling male and female energy in equal amounts is important (in the context of this

blog, ‘training’ energy versus ‘recovery’ energy).

 

They both optimally feed into each other – a breathing practice encourages greater

mental and physical awareness, something you can optimize in training (when it comes

to effectively breathing during, as well as tuning into how physically primed or fatigued

you are).

 

Having masculine energy doesn’t mean you are ‘masculine’ – same for the other way

around.

 

It’s crucial to tap into both for our sense of ‘balance’ that we’re constantly craving.

 

Find yours.

 

With love and light,

Annika

 

Learn more about all the benefits yoga can provide you as an athlete and how you can add it to your training by checking out Annika’s page on Instagram at @yogafortheathlete.

Adrian is originally from a small town in Pennsylvania called Mill Creek.  Adrian grew up with a split family since he was three years old which means he grew up having two families. One family was in the town of Mill Creek in central Pennsylvania and the other side of his family was a military based family in the Air Force. His stepdad and mom were stationed all throughout the country.

Adrian would alternate years between both families spending the opposite summer and Christmas with the opposite family allowing him to live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, and California in his youth.

In a tragic car accident, Adrian lost his dad when he was in 10th grade and ended up spending the rest of his high school years in Phoenix, Arizona.  This experience taught him to be comfortable in his own skin and also how to truly judge one’s character because he was constantly meeting a lot of new people.

His athletic career began in the first grade with soccer and basketball. Adrian also dabbled in a little bit of karate.  He practiced with his dad a lot and soon learned that if you practice something, and then compete against someone who’s not really practicing, you’ll see a really big difference in performance levels.

This drove him to secretly knock out sets of push ups in his room in order to get the upper hand on the other neighborhood kids.

Growing up, he became a huge fan of Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson and was inspired to run the football one day, and score touchdowns like them. The physicality of football also ultimately drove him to choose football as his main sport in the 9^th grade.

After a successful high school career in football, Adrian received a scholarship to play running back at Weber State.

Being the first one to go to college in his family meant a lot to him. He wanted to take full advantage of the college experience and make the best out of himself.  He would hear his parents complain about their work, so he wanted better for himself. He wanted to set his own destiny.

Through his athletic career in college and arena football, he knew he wanted to work with athletes and pursue that path in life. He then obtained his degree in Human Performance at Weber State University.

During his second year of Arena Football in Utah, Adrian stumbled upon CrossFit through one of his mentors, Joel Hatch.  This led him to further pursue CrossFit for his personal training in football and began implementing aspects of John Welbourn’s CrossFit Football approach.

After football, in March 2011 Adrian participated in his first open at Wasatch CrossFit and placed second in his region only to be defeated by the legendary Chris Spealler which was quite remarkable considering he didn’t have access to a gym where he could drop weights or practice butterfly pull-ups.

He then competed at regionals in his first live competition but didn’t have the skills or experience and took 6^th that year.

At the end of 2011 he noticed he needed to train with the enemy to become better and started training with Mike Cazayoux and Tommy Hackenbruck which eventually led to the formation of a team called “Hack’s Pack” that went on to win the CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup in 2012 and 2013.

During his two and a half years there, he got really fit, but more importantly he got to learn what it was like to win and how to become a leader.

From there, Adrian would go on to train as an individual for the next few years and get 21^st at the CrossFit Games in 2015 as an individual and then we went back in 2017 with the Wasatch Brutes as a new team and were able to secure another CrossFit Games Affiliate Cup Title against CrossFit Mayhem.

During this time, Adrian joined Brute Strength as the Head Coach of the Games Prep, Compete and Masters programs because he felt that Brute had a pathway to truly change the sport of fitness and did so through a collaboration of the best minds in functional fitness as a team.

If you’d like to connect with Adrian, click here to schedule a free 30 min call to discuss your fitness goals, wildest dreams, and aspirations or what you had for breakfast. (Ok, maybe not that last one.)