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How Rock Climbing Helped My Pregnancy

As I’m nearing the end of my third trimester, I’m truly realizing how blessed I have been to have such a smooth pregnancy. First, I can’t continue without thanking God for this amazing miracle that we have been praying for and the blessing to have such a worry-free 9 months!

After escaping the first trimester yuckies of complete exhaustion and all-day nausea, I’ve really had a wonderful experience. I keep joking that currently my “worst” symptom is this little girl moving so much!

I’ve read a lot online about remaining active during your pregnancy. The general consensus is to continue with the physical activities you were doing on a regular basis before you became pregnant, with the exception of combative sports or anything with a risk of falling. For instance, if you went to a weekly yoga class, you should continue to do so while listening to your body and learning about what positions to avoid, such as twisting, especially as your belly grows.

Working out at 5 months pregnant. 

If you have never been indoor rock climbing, it probably seems impossible to continue this during pregnancy. However, I’ve made many adjustments to keep it safe and healthy, including:

·        Remaining low to the ground during bouldering

·        Switching from small, difficult holds to larger jug holds (similar to handles) while completing routes

·        Avoiding moves that stretch my torso

·        Not top-roping, which requires a harness (This is only safe if a pregnant climber invests in a full body harness, which distributes the weight.)

·        Focusing on traverse routes (side to side, rather than vertical)

Me climbing in Chattanooga. Around 2-3 months pregnant.  

Since Corey and I had been climbing weekly for almost a year and a half before I became pregnant, we felt comfortable for me to keep a regular climbing routine. For the past few months, I’ve been climbing about once a month and here’s how it has helped my pregnancy:

·        A challenge with pregnancy is remaining active. My center of gravity has shifted and my body’s job changed from burning calories and staying fit to, ya know, building a person! So coping with physical limitations was definitely difficult. Climbing has definitely helped me fulfill a physical need while I’m otherwise limited.

·        This may sound silly, but even before pregnancy, climbing technique has made me realize more things about my physical limits in my everyday life. Since I’m on the short side, things often seemed out of reach. But after learning climbing technique, my body knows how to distribute weight better. For instance, hiking myself onto a counter is quite graceful now! While my center of gravity is definitely getting messed with as this belly continues to grow, I believe my body is far more capable then if I wasn’t a climber.

·        Climbing requires small, specific muscles. As I was advancing into V2 and V3s (I know, I know, I’m talking climber speak. V2 and V3s are intermediate routes at my gym), I was finding that curling my toe on a hold and engaging my calf muscle helped. I found that learning to grip a hold with one finger on top of another gave me added strength on some routes. I found that my core muscles were extremely important, especially because of my height and the techniques I needed to use to complete routes. FitPregnancy suggests having a strong core will prevent back pain during pregnancy and help control contractions during labor.

Corey rocking some routes I wish I could tackle! V2/3 above V4/5 below. 

·        Finally, loving to climb has allowed me to think about getting back into shape once our little girl arrives. While a climber is training he/she might put on a weighted vest for added resistance during a climbing session. Now I jokingly say when I climb at my gym, it’s like I have 3 vests on! However, all that weight is not baby and I’ll be responsible to eat healthy and workout once I’m a new mom. Looking ahead now, climbing is definitely a motivation to get to my pre-pregnancy weight.

My recommendation for those newly pregnant ladies out there is keep doing what you are doing. Keep dancing, keep running, keep Zumba-ing. But, do your research about what restrictions you should place on yourself and talk to your doctor. One caution I have for you, is don’t start something new. If you don’t have a physical activity you enjoy, talk to your doctor first, but walking or yoga might be a perfect fit.

For more information on climbing while pregnant, check out this video of Carrie Cooper climbing at 39 weeks pregnant!