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~ Women's BJJ Blog: Interviews, Jiu- Jitsu Events and All Things Fenom

BJJ For Women

Tag Archives: bjj and pregnancy

Pregnancy and BJJ Part 2

17 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by fenomkimonos in Training, Women's BJJ

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bjj and pregnancy

In part 2 of the pregnancy article Melanie talks about the changes and challenges during the second and early third trimester. She also gives a few tips for women who are considering training while pregnant. We hope her story has been helpful to women who consider training during pregnancy as well as to their training partners, and families.


bumpWith my second trimester came the three B’s, the bump, the boobs, and the butt. Seriously, when I’m pregnant, I swear my bum grows at the same rate as my belly does. It’s all fine and dandy, except when you are trying to squeeze everything into a gi that you thought was huge before you got pregnant. Second trimester training was pretty uneventful. I tried to begin training with only partners I really trusted. Rolling with the newbie was a no-go as well as takedowns. I continued to roll but managed to be careful while doing so. Being careful does not mean you cannot give 100%. It means that you are more methodical with your actions, and reactions. I noticed that I was thirstier than ever, and really tried to keep up my water intake both before, and in class. I had to start wearing a different sports bra, and different shorts underneath my gi for optimal comfort, and agility. Anything super tight pressing across my hips was bothersome.

My pregnancy began to fly by but as I began entering the third trimester, I really found that no-gi was a lot easier to manage. With a changing body, growing by the millisecond, I was able to move more easily, and fluidly during our no-gi training days. I changed from my usual rash guard, and spats to a tight-fitting tank, and looser shorts over a slightly bigger pair of tights. As I mentioned, growing out of your gi is heartbreaking, even though you are growing an amazing life inside you, and you know that it is for the better. Trying to train in a gi that feels constricting is not fun. I had to tighten and re-tighten my gi top all the time, and that my gi pants were beginning to feel tight across the bum, and legs. You know how big gi pants are, right? Haha! I definitely should have ordered the curvy Fenom pants for pregnancy for sure. If you have multiple gis in multiple sizes, you are good to go but perhaps you won’t be like me, and you will be able to wear the same gi size your entire pregnancy.

babyonbladder

At the beginning of the third trimester, I finally told everyone in my tight-knit school at Brasil Wellness Center, Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu in Aldergove, Canada. I had been really nervous to tell them because how do you tell someone you have been rolling with for months that they have been rolling with a pregnant chick? Needless to say the guys were shocked but took it well! It is amazing what you can hide under a gi. I guess they just thought I was putting on weight. After a bit of teasing they all accepted it, and assured me that my little baby would be born trying to arm bar his umbilical cord. I feel so lucky to train with such an amazing bunch of guys! Around week 23 I began to make some changes. Avoided knee on belly, avoided take downs unless it was with a controlled partner, and took it a little easier in rolling.

Well, here I am at week 32/40, and still training. I may be a lot bigger, and wearing my coach’s gi but I’m still training! As the weeks go by, I ‘m beginning to feel slower. To be honest, it is hard to sit out of certain aspects of the training or warm up but at least I am there, and still learning every day. I try to do what I can, and improvise when I cannot, and that’s really the best any of us can do, right? It is hard when your mind is able but your body just cannot, and should not do what you want it to. I guess my midwives were right when they said to listen to your body. Our bodies are strong and capable, and we really do not give them enough credit.

A few tips for you pregnant BJJ women out there:

  • Always bring water to class. Stay hydrated both on and off the mats.
  • Invest in a few good sports bras. For 2-3 training days a week I ended up ordering 2 sports bras in a bigger size than I usually wear, and then a few months later an even larger one. Not just to reign those bad boys in, but because I was finding that the tight band was digging into my ribs and making it harder to breathe.
  • Get a few looser pairs of compression shorts for under your gi. My Under Armour type shorts that I had been wearing, began to dig into my hips and across my belly, and really started to bug me during training sessions. 
  • Borrow or buy a huge bigger gi. I tend to carry my babies really low, and by week 27/28 I had finally outgrown my beloved Fenom Kimonos gi, and had to wear my coach’s gi. Let me tell you, when you outgrow your gi, it is a sad, sad day.
  • Listen to your body, consult your doctor or midwives throughout your pregnancy, not just at the beginning. Involve your coach, and let him or her know your limitations. Ask for recommendations, and keep him or her informed. Only do what you are able to. Try not to feel guilty if you have to sit out. Do what you can, and modify what you cannot or do something else. When everyone is doing leap frogs during warm up, you do push ups!

We wish Melanie a great rest of the pregnancy and a complication free child-birth. We cannot wait to see the baby pics!

lucUpdate 10/15/2014: The beautiful baby boy, Luc Evan Thomas, was born on September 16th at 1:28am, weighing 7lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. Congratulations!

Pregnancy and BJJ Part 1

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by fenomkimonos in Training, Women's BJJ

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

bjj and pregnancy, emily kwok, megjitsu, sophia drysdale

Stretchy pants, mood swings, and insane food cravings are what most people think about when they hear the word pregnancy. Some women view pregnancy as the nine-month-eat-all-you-can vacation, some continue strenuous work-outs to the motto “no pain, no gain”. When you mention pregnancy and BJJ in the same sentence, emotions flare, and discussions get heated. Some support pregnant women in jiu-jitsu, and some are completely against it. Sophia Drysdale, and bloggers Meg and Ana have written extensively about training during, and after pregnancy. Black belt Emily Kwok also had a positive experience training, and teaching while pregnant with her first child. To train or not to train is a personal choice which should be respected.

When Melanie from Vancouver, BC, sent us a picture of her growing baby bump in the gi, we asked her to share her story. She is 31 weeks pregnant with her fourth child, and writes a two-part article about how training has been possible for her*.


pregnant

I must admit, when I first saw the double line on my pregnancy test that I had just taken in the bathroom at Starbucks, I nearly fainted. Selfishly, my first thought was, but I just got back to jiu-jitsu! Seriously, after three kids in four years, and five and a half years away from BJJ, I was just beginning to get my groove back. I thought I was going to have to quit cold turkey again, and that was going to be the end of it. No more jiu-jitsu for Mel ever, ever again. During my first pregnancy I had no idea that pregnant women could do anything other than swim, walk, and go to special mommy-to-be yoga classes.

My second thought was, FOUR KIDS! What the heck was I thinking! Hey, big families totally rock. Just think of the little jiu-jitsu clan I will have on my hands in the next few years. I just never pictured myself as a mom of so many. Not long after I met with my awesome midwives, and I was fully prepared for them to shoot me down, and tell me that I was crazy for even wanting to continue with jiu-jitsu. I tried to prepare my thoughts, how I would try to argue my thinking, my rationalizing.

However, they totally surprised me, and told me that I should just listen to my body, and continue within reason for as long as I was able to. Um. What? Mind blown. Listen to my body? They reassured me that my body was used to the intense training, the drills, and the movements. It would be entirely different if all of a sudden at four weeks pregnant I decided to start running marathons or something completely brand new. My body was used to jiu-jitsu, it was part of me. They reassured me that I was low risk since I had no previous injuries, and that the baby was fully protected inside my body. I could continue for the time being, and we could always re-evaluate as needed at my regular midwifery visits.

image (1)

Next I talked to my main coach. He laughed at me at first, but then told me he supported me 100%, and would help me continue training for as long as I could. Another score! I was so afraid that he would tell me I was a hazard to the club. You know how your mind just always jumps to the worst conclusions first. With a big sigh of relief began googling pregnant jiu-jitsu girls, and started to feel less nervous, and upset about being pregnant. I know this makes me sound completely selfish.

However, if you are like me, jiu-jitsu is your outlet. Especially after becoming a mother, and feeling like you have to re-discover who you are all over again. It is your time to re-charge, to feel human again, to be a better human again, and to de-stress.  It is your time to think about the moves, and where your body should be next. There is no drama on the mats. Jiu-jitsu doesn’t care if you have one baby or four. Turns out a lot of women train during their pregnancies, so I wasn’t so awful for wanting to continue. Here is an article about an awesome running mom, and here’s one about Alysia Montano competing at 34 weeks pregnant.

My first trimester was rocky but not awful. I actually found that I felt better when I went to class. I could go from being dead tired, and feeling nauseous to energetic, and happy within minutes of my feet touching the mats. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is magic, I tell you, magic! I found that my body was just as capable as before. Pregnancy actually has relaxed my muscles, and increased my flexibility! The only thing that I found especially challenging in the first trimester, and into the second one was the shortness of breath. When I was rolling, and my training partner’s gi was covering my face, I could not breathe, and I felt panicky. I had to tap or just stop.

Breathing during pregnancy is affected due to the increase of progesterone, which may make it feel as if you are working harder than usual to get air. In my case, I found this to be the case times 1000. It is important to remember that even though your baby bump may not be showing yet, your uterus is becoming bigger. It takes up more space, and creates pressure against your diaphragm. I tried to keep calm, wear looser fitting tanks, and sports bras under the gi, and breathe deeply.

Part II of the article can be found here.


*Training jiu-jitsu while pregnant is not for everyone, please contact your doctor to discuss your work-out plan.

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