I’m not going to try to scare you, or suggest you should never go to CrossFit after pregnancy so don’t fear!

Returning to or beginning CrossFit, or any form of more intense exercise with heavier weight lifting and higher impact exercise, needs a plan postpartum and preferably not a thrown together workout that looks like same for someone at 6-weeks postpartum as it does for someone who has been training for 2 years.

With that in mind, here are my 6 Tips For Returning to CrossFit Post-Pregnancy: 

“When is it safe to start adding in specific ‘CrossFit’ style exercises such as burpees, kipping pull-ups, or ball slams?” 

I get asked this question A LOT! As always, the answer is “it depends and I need more information on the body” 🙂

My general advice on when start including more metabolic challenging exercises in your programming is to wait 3-6* months postpartum.

This isn’t just to protect the core and pelvic floor, although that’s obviously a huge part of it, but it’s also to respect the body’s healing and health.

So much healing is occurring during the 4th trimester (the first 3 months postpartum). Your programming at this time should support that in the form of core and pelvic floor restoration, light to moderate strength training, and light cardiovascular activities, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.

I am not a fan of adding much intensity on a body that is sleep deprived, in a newborn fog, healing from birth and pregnancy, or breastfeeding around the clock.

This conversation isn’t so much about the specific exercise itself, but how that exercise fits in the mix for THAT body, in THAT life, in THAT workout.

*This applies for mamas that don’t have to get back to super intense exercise on a timeline (aka. it’s quite literally NOT their job).

I hope that helps!

Jess