Elite CrossFit Moms Talk with MCU Writer Emily Beers About What Pregnancy is Really Like?

Never have I found social media more difficult to relate to than when I became pregnant in December. Tia-Clair Toomey isn’t helping. No, not because of what she has been doing physically throughout her pregnancy. Good for her for having so much fitness that her pregnancy efforts are still beyond the scope of most normal people’s everyday efforts. What I’m having a hard time relating to is that she genuinely seems to be enjoying, embracing all of the changes she’s going through, including her big belly. Maybe I’m just jealous that her baby is probably already twice as fit as mine, but I’m struggling to share her enthusiasm with all that’s happening to my 21-week pregnant body. Tia recently put the question out there on social media: “To all the mums and dads out there, what was your favorite thing about your pregnancy?” I read it and couldn’t help but roll my eyes. This content is available exclusively to Members Become an member and start enjoying full access to all our community and sports content, and an ad-free experience. PROMO Exclusive content Ad-Free web/app experience Comments on articles Exclusive 15% WIT discount $1 per month for the first 4 months, $8 each month after Get Started for $1 Exclusive content Ad-Free web/app experience Comments on articles Exclusive private Facebook Group Regular coffee breaks hang outs Exclusive 15% WIT discount Get Started $5/month billed annually Already a member? Log In. Um. Definitely not the nightly constipation or bloating. Or the fact that I have recently had to eliminate my favorite movement from my training because it felt like my abs were ripping apart. R.I.P handstand push-ups. And it definitely isn’t the fact that when I look in the mirror I no longer see the body I worked hard for for basically my entire life. And it most certainly wasn’t the moment last week when I deliberately wore a hoodie and puffy vest to hide my bump when I put a prospective client through a consult, because I thought he might be turned off by the idea of training with a coach who might be either a bit chubby or possibly pregnant and sure to abandon him in four months. This isn’t how I’m supposed to feel, right? I’m supposed to be bursting with excitement, they say. Sharing pictures of my growing baby bump each week, they say. And of course, I should have put up a post a while ago announcing to the world, “We are pregnant. Coming this fall. We can’t wait to meet him.” But instead of relating to other pregnant CrossFit women currently posting about their pregnancies—Tia, Sammy Moniz, Kristin Holte to name a few—I feel isolated and think, “We are not pregnant. I am pregnant. Ryan (my partner) is not even a little bit pregnant and is currently drinking a beer, and I haven’t even thought about meeting my little one yet.” Truthfully, the journey for me has felt like being the only non-Catholic at Sunday mass: The odd man out. But then I got to thinking, surely I’m not the only one who feels like this. Surely not all CrossFit women feel like they’re glowing the moment they see the evidence on the pee stick. Surely other women committed to their fitness struggle. So, I decided to reach out. To reach out to other CrossFit moms to see if they all feel like Tia, or if they, too, have had struggles along the way. Struggles we’re maybe not going to post on social media because it falls out of line with the narrative that says: “We are bursting with joy.” Here’s what I found: Kara Saunders: Yes, the 10-time Games athlete who is alway smiling and positive, said her current pregnancy hasn’t been all peaches and cream. In fact, she experienced complications that caused her to rest for almost three months. “In the midst of feeling tired and sick, I wasn’t able to fall back on my fitness to feel good, like I normally would,” Saunders said. Further, compared to her first pregnancy, Saunders said she has found her body has “really softened and my fat percentage seemed to increase quite rapidly.” “I noticed feelings of being quite unfamiliar and uncomfortable with what was happening to my body…I felt as though I just looked unhealthy and chubby for a while, which is quite confronting for someone who normally gets comments about looking so fit,” she added. Mekenzie Riley: For four-time CrossFit Games athlete Mekenzie Riley, a mother of two young kids, it wasn’t the big belly that got to her, it was the big boobs. “I freaking hate the big boobs. They make me feel so unfit,” she said. “And because I’m nursing, I know that won’t go away quickly as some of the body fat I put on the belly. Also, nursing is going to keep body fat on me longer, and that’s just something you have to accept as part of that decision,” she said. Arielle Loewen: Loewen is a mother who popped out a kid and a couple years later went on to qualify to her first CrossFit Games in 2021, a feat she repeated in 2022. Needless to say, hearing her say she gets how I’m feeling was huge for me. “It was definitely hard to grow a belly and get a little bit overweight being that I was so used to working out all the time and being fit…I definitely gained cellulite in the back of my legs which I had never had before,” Loewen explained, adding that after her first child was born it took her three months to “feel happy” about her body again, and nine months to fully “feel like myself again.” Katelin van Zyl: Finally, Australian team CrossFit Games athlete Katelin van Zyl, who was recently the top athlete in Oceania in Quarterfinals, also admitted becoming pregnant was “a shock to the system.” Though she was excited, “It was definitely a struggle to start with,” she said. For van Zyl, though, it wasn’t about the belly like it is for me, or the boobs like it was for Riley. It was about losing her fitness. “That was probably the hardest part for me. Not feeling good training anymore, that’s when everything really hit,” she said. Helping me Come to Terms The CrossFit moms I spoke with not only helped me feel less of an odd man out, but also their advice has legitimately helped me at least start to accept what’s happening. Loewen said it helps to try to give yourself “grace” during the process and remind myself that it’s temporary. Saunders, too, said it helps to take comfort in knowing that everything that’s happening now will become “distant memory” once the baby is born. Similarly, Riley, who is currently going through the postpartum journey for the second time, explained that she is less anxious this time wondering if her body will ever be the same again because she knows she can get her fitness back. (In fact, after her first pregnancy, she went on to qualify to the CrossFIt Games in 2021). 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(But) not all hope is lost and you (don’t) have to subscribe to just giving up and accepting the mom bod. It doesn’t mean you can’t still be fit. You just might not be the exact same type of fit,” Riley said. She added: “I fully and completely plan on being that super fit mom that all my kids’ friends are going to know is really strong and all the moms probably trash talk about because I wear my spandex to school pick up.” Van Zyl added: “My body definitely isn’t the same as it used to be but I’m definitely not ashamed of that! I’m damn proud.” Is it Worth It? This morning I woke up, and as I sat up out of bed I realized just how weak my abs are already getting. Then when I looked in the mirror I noticed my first little stretch mark. “Mother fucker,” I couldn’t help but mutter to myself. But then I took a deep breath and remembered what Loewen said. “The belly was absolutely worth it…I realized there’s such a greater joy and purpose out there that comes with being a parent,” she offered. Riley added: “No one’s ever ready to have kids, or have their body completely changed. But you can certainly be ready for something more in life, and to find true love and happiness. And when you get to experience motherhood, you’ll learn that it is so incredibly worth it.” When Riley said that, I realized she was right. I’m still struggling with the belly, but I am ready. I’m ready for motherhood. I think. That being said, you’re still not going to catch me taking a picture, let alone posting it publicly, of a big-bellied Emily looking into Ryan’s eyes as he lovingly cradles by bump. Not a chance. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

Elite CrossFit Moms Talk with MCU Writer Emily Beers About What Pregnancy is Really Like?

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