Supplements and Prenatal Vitamins

Bron,
I am new to power lifting, although I’ve been athletic my whole life. Last year I learned basic lifts, but only started really training about 6 weeks ago. I see that you have children, so I was just wondering if you took normal Prenatal vitamins and if you continued taking supplements and training while pregnant.

I’m not planning on getting pregnant until for about a year so that I can reach my fitness and professional goals, but my Dr recommended I start taking Prenatal vitamins now. Thanks for your help! I’ve really enjoyed following this thread.

Hi Megan!

Thanks for posting. I’m happy to hear you’re getting into powerlifting, it’s so much fun and you’re going to love it! I have been an athlete my whole life as well and I really wanted to get back into a competitive sport so powerlifting was a perfect option for me.

Funny you ask about prenatal vitamins, I took them throughout my pregnancies and I still take them now (not planning on another baby but I like my prenatal vitamins) my hair, nails and skin are so much better when I use them regularly.

I took supplements while I was pregnant as well, no stimulants for obvious reasons but I continued to use Flameout for my omegas and Metabolic Drive for a protein source. Most supplements will give you a warning on the back about pregnant or breast feeding women but you can double check with your doctor or midwife (when you are pregnant) and see what they recommend. The thing about pregnancy is EVERYONE has their own opinions about what you should and shouldn’t do… Just like training, everyone has their own theories and systems that they think are the best. I went with how my body felt and if I had any concerns my midwife was just a phone call away!

I trained while I was pregnant with both boys up until 7.5months, I reduced the weight and restricted my exercises as the pregnancy progressed… This is when you really need to listen to your body! I continued to stay active up until the day of the births, I was outside going for walks everyday and even while I was in labor I was walking most of the time because it felt more comfortable for me (I didn’t have an epidural with my 2nd so I was mobile the whole time)

I would say starting the prenatal vitamin now is a good idea, you can also start to take folic acid when you start “trying” to get pregnant. And for now… Train your ass off because if you’re anything like me you are going to miss heavy lifting during the pregnancy!!

If you’ve got any more questions at all, feel free to ask. My boys are 1 and 3(almost) so I remember it like it was yesterday :slight_smile:

Thanks! I know what you mean about everyone having their own theories. I’ve heard people say that exercising in the first few weeks dramatically increases your chance of miscarriage, but other (fit) people say continue with whatever is your normal routine. Like you said, I’m trying to train my ass off now, so when it comes time to slow down for baby, I’m already where I want to be. Last year I did Whole30, which really helped me to become aware of my body’s needs when it comes to food. I think the awareness with training will come in time.

[quote]MeganQ wrote:
Thanks! I know what you mean about everyone having their own theories. I’ve heard people say that exercising in the first few weeks dramatically increases your chance of miscarriage, but other (fit) people say continue with whatever is your normal routine. Like you said, I’m trying to train my ass off now, so when it comes time to slow down for baby, I’m already where I want to be. Last year I did Whole30, which really helped me to become aware of my body’s needs when it comes to food. I think the awareness with training will come in time.[/quote]

Absolutely, you will be able to gauge your own limits as you progress through a pregnancy. It’s an interesting theory about not training in the first few weeks of pregnancy considering most people don’t find out they are pregnant until several weeks into the pregnancy. With my boys, I think I was around 6 weeks with both of them when I found out and thinking “ohhhh shit” because I was training very heavy up until that point but everything turned out great!

You and I both train regularly, so manipulating our current programs is easy if we need to… The problem during pregnancy is when a woman who has no prior experience with training or eating correctly decided to jump into a crazy fitness program and diet to reduce the weight gain. Any kind of exercise or physical activity is great during pregnancy but needs to be assessed on a case to case basis for the individual. Sounds to me like you are on the right track and you’ll be absolutely fine!

Good luck with your training! Are you planning on a powerlifting meet anytime soon? Or just training for fun? Keep in touch and when it comes time for the baby and you want some help/support from another mom who has been there, then I’ll be here for you!!

I am planning to compete next year in the spring. I’m really just starting out so my numbers aren’t competitive yet. I’m not really sure what kind of goals I should set as far as timing, but right now it seems like since I’m kind of starting from scratch, every day is a new PR. I figure, even if my numbers still aren’t high enough to place in the spring, I want to experience a competition. Right now I’m working on correcting imbalances - R/L arm, quad dominant lower body- but also doing the main lifts. Bench 80lb, Squat 115lb, Deadlift 125lb

[quote]MeganQ wrote:
I am planning to compete next year in the spring. I’m really just starting out so my numbers aren’t competitive yet. I’m not really sure what kind of goals I should set as far as timing, but right now it seems like since I’m kind of starting from scratch, every day is a new PR. I figure, even if my numbers still aren’t high enough to place in the spring, I want to experience a competition. Right now I’m working on correcting imbalances - R/L arm, quad dominant lower body- but also doing the main lifts. Bench 80lb, Squat 115lb, Deadlift 125lb[/quote]

If you’re hitting a new PR everyday then you must be doing something right! Just keep trying to improve and you’ll surprise yourself with what the body is capable of. Working on your imbalances is a great idea, do you have a major imbalance from an injury or just a slightly weaker side?

Doing a competition for experience is a great idea… Just go and do your best and see if you like the sport. If you’re planning for the spring then you have A LOT of time to prepare and improve.

My imbalance in upper body comes from years of playing softball. My throwing side is much stronger. I think the lower body is more of a natural imbalance. Soccer and swimming were my other main sports, so earlier this summer I was swimming a lot for cardio. I prefer breaststroke, but I think it works adductors too much and I started caving in when I squat, so I am back to walking.