CrossFit Open 25.2
Onto week 2! Unfortunately this workout is not super friendly to the pregnant & postpartum demographic. I’ve seen some complaints on social media regarding the movements for the Rx and scaled divisions - I just want to add my two cents in. The CrossFit Open’s purpose is to find the fittest to move onto the next level of competition. That means testing advanced movements like chest to bar pull-ups, muscle ups, heavy thrusters, etc. Not every workout is “community friendly”, nor do I think it should be, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to pull out the fittest individuals to move on.
Side bar: For anyone who is reading this blog post, whether you’re injured, pregnant or postpartum, what’s your intention with the Open? Are you trying to get in a good workout? Are you trying to test the waters postpartum to see where you’re at? Are you trying to get the best Rx score at all costs no matter whether you’re injured, pregnant or postpartum?
Intention.
That’s my question for myself when it comes to scaling/modifying a workout, whether it’s for me or a patient/client. I like to focus on quality of movement and getting in a good workout (i.e. staying moving, minimal breaks, etc) in this chapter. My gym time isn’t super consistent with having 3 kids + 1 on the way and owning two businesses, so I feel the need to scale to keep the workout appropriate for where my body is at. That’s different from before having kids & also from when I have been able to train consistently in postpartum. If I get hurt working out, that affects my ability to care for my kids, be there for my family & work, so I choose to modify my workouts more.
That being said, I think focusing on staying moving with quality movement is more important in the later pregnancy & early postpartum chapters. Focusing on quality movement, laying a good foundation will all pay off as we’re returning to fitness postpartum. As my friend Lisa Ryan likes to say, “slow is fast”.
I’m going to bold this next part because it’s very important. IT IS NOT NORMAL TO PEE OR LEAK DURING JUMP ACTIVITIES OR ANY ACTIVITY FOR THAT MATTER! IT IS COMMON, BUT THIS MEANS THERE IS DYSFUNCTION OF THE PELVIC FLOOR!!!!! Ok, please read that again. If you do experience leaking with any activity, please go see a pelvic floor physical therapist- it doesn’t have to be that way!!!
Symptoms for injured athletes: Pain, numbness, tingling, etc.
Symptoms for pregnant and postpartum athletes: Coning, leaking, pain, pelvic discomfort, pressure (in stomach/belly, pelvis or “down there”).
These are my recommendations as a physical therapist specializing in CrossFitters and pelvic floor, as well as a CrossFit Level 2 trainer. Interested in doing a consultation with me during these unique chapters of pregnancy & postpartum? I provide in-person sessions as well as virtual. You can book with me here.
Injured Athletes
As a physical therapist, my professional recommendation is if something hurts, don’t do it. Pain is our body’s way of asking us for change.
Shoulder/Arm Injury:
Pull-Ups/Chest to Bar Pull-ups:
Be mindful that the bigger kip may cause more shoulder pain.
Consider scaling to traditional pull-ups, banded pull-ups, leg/toe assisted pull-ups, banded pull-down, etc.
Make sure your upper back is warmed up & primed.
Crossover Symmetry is one of my favorite ways to get the upper back primed & keep shoulders healthy. Order through my link & you’ll get $20 off!
Muscle Ups: If kipping/hanging from a bar bothers you, I would highly recommend modifying this movement to either a lower level gymnastic movement, adding a band or isolating into a pull & press.
Double Unders: Hopefully not much of an issue, remember to keep your shoulders relaxed! If painful, modify to another monostructural movement for 45/35/30 seconds.
Thrusters: Definitely make sure you’re lifting with good technique. Consider the following if the thruster is painful:
Scale the weight.
Consider using DBs, this can help with overhead pressing pain.
Scale to a front squat.
Modify to a front squat & landmine press.
Engage your core! A strong core can take stress off of your extremities. Think of pulling your belly button up & in towards the back of your rib cage & try to maintain that tension with the movement.
Leg/Hip/Knee/Ankle Injury:
Pull-Ups/Chest to Bar Pull-ups: Probably the hardest thing is getting on/off the bar- use a box & be careful!
Muscle Ups: If you have the strength, just be careful with jumping up/down from the bar.
Double Unders: If you can do some before the pain starts, work in small sets of what you can do, chipping away at the total number of DU.
Scale to singles if able.
Jump on just one leg - what’s your coordination like? :)
Use another monostructural movement such as the bike or the rower, for 45/35/30 seconds.
Thrusters: Definitely make sure you’re lifting with good technique. Consider the following if the thruster is painful:
Scale the weight.
Use a box or similar target to decrease the range.
If you’re unable to squat, consider substituting the bike and/or presses.
Lungester? Lunge & then come up into a press.
Back Injury:
Pull-Ups/Chest to Bar Pull-ups: Probably the hardest thing is getting on/off the bar- use a box & be careful!
Muscle Ups: If you have the strength, just be careful with jumping up/down from the bar.
Double Unders: Keep a nice position here - think of pulling your ribs down and staying on the balls of your feet to minimize impact.
Scale to singles if able.
Jump on just one leg - what’s your coordination like? :)
Use another monostructural movement such as the bike or the rower, for 45/35/30 seconds.
Thrusters: Definitely make sure you’re lifting with good technique. Consider the following if the thruster is painful:
Scale the weight.
Use a box or similar target to decrease the range.
If you’re unable to squat, consider substituting the bike and/or presses.
Pregnant Athletes
25.2 is going to be more of a mentally challenging workout in thinking about your goals beyond training in pregnancy & risk versus reward. Don’t get hung up on the movements, scale it appropriately (mid-WOD if needed) and just move! Remember, this is just one chapter of your pregnancy journey!
Let’s take a minute and talk about diastasis rectus & coning. Diastasis is 100% normal in all full-term pregnancies - it’s our bodies way of accommodating growing baby. Coning shows us that there is an increase in pressure within our abdomen & our core is having a hard time managing it. Increased pressure = increased stress on a system that is already under increased stress & pressure with growing a baby. Choosing exercises that further cause an increase in pressure that our core can’t manage will put more stress on a system, which could manifest now or in the future as pelvic floor dysfunction, pain or injury.
Pull-Ups/Chest to Bar Pull-Ups: I recommend stopping kipping around the beginning/middle of the 2nd trimester, due to the stretch and stress it puts on the abdominals.
Some scaling options:
Strict pull-ups with a band (be careful getting in & out of the band).
Leg/toe assisted pull-ups
Banded pull downs with or without a PVC
If you see coning occurring - can you change it and make it go away? If yes, great, continue! If it’s hard to control the coning it’s a good idea to modify.
Inhale on the pull, exhale down.
Consider scaling the reps as needed.
Muscle Ups: I would not recommend any pregnant athlete to do muscle-ups past the middle of the 2nd trimester. The associated risks are not worth it IMO.
Modifications: You could pair one of the “pulling” movements with a “pressing” movement to mimic more of the MU. Your choice.
Leg/toe assisted pull-ups
Seated MU transitions: Rings on bands- hang rings from rig with bands, athlete sits on ground and goes through the “pull”, “transition” & “dip”. Could also do this with a PVC pipe & band.
Seated or standing straight arm pull-downs (lat). With band alone or band & PVC.
Box dips
Seated or standing tricep extension with band.
I don’t think the position that many MU transitions put the body in are a “reward” at this point.
Focus on exhaling throughout the movement.
Double Unders: This is very much an “it depends” movement for individuals. If you’re feeling like you’re going to leak, are leaking or experiencing pelvic pressure & pain, I would definitely recommend scaling how you’re jumping.
Progressions: DU > Singles > Singles alternating legs (side to side shuffle) > Plate hops > Quick feet onto plate > other cardio movement
Know & respect your threshold here. Would you rather do all the reps but break them up into smaller sets so you don’t experience PF symptoms? Or would you prefer to work on jump rope for a certain amount of time & then move on to keep the intensity up?
Optional movements would be other monostructural movements (bike, row, etc.).
Perform the movement for an amount of time that is consistent with how long it would take to perform the DU - 45/35/30 seconds.
Thrusters: Focusing on breath is important here, exhale with coming out of the bottom of the squat, inhale back down.
Squat to a depth that is comfortable to you. Use a bench or box if necessary.
Use a weight that is not super heavy - the goal is to keep moving! Consider staying at the same weight for the duration of the workout if that’s what is best for you.
Watch your alignment with going overhead. Have a coach or friend take a look at you- are you coning? How does it feel going overhead- sometimes going overhead also pulls on the belly.
If going overhead is not comfortable, scale to front squats. If you have access to a landmine, you could do landmine thrusters as well.
Consider scaling the reps as needed.
Postpartum Athletes
25.2 is not an early postpartum friendly workout - generally most individuals I work with feel back to their pre-pregnancy fitness levels around 9-12 months for reference. The advanced gymnastics movements are definitely going to tax & test your core, as well as those thrusters as they get heavy. I would recommend reflecting on what you’ve done so far postpartum & how you’ve felt - have you worked with a pelvic floor PT and/or done specific core & pelvic floor rehab? Have you been doing rig work? How about DU? When re-introducing movements, I always like to pick one thing to progress/reintroduce, rather than overload the system. Lots to think about here!
Don’t get hung up on the movements, scale it appropriately (mid-WOD if needed) and just move! Remember, this is just one chapter of your postpartum journey!
Coning: If you see coning occurring - can you change it and make it go away? If yes, great, continue! If it’s hard to control the coning it’s a good idea to modify. Coning isn’t necessarily bad.
Pelvic Floor: If you haven’t been to see a pelvic floor physical therapist yet, I highly recommend it. Even if you have no symptoms, they can be valuable on guiding you on your return to fitness!
Pull-Ups/Chest to Bar Pull-Ups: I do not recommend chest to bar pull-ups until chin over bar pull-ups are solid. I’m also personally a big fan of strict before kipping.
Some scaling options:
Chin over bar pull-ups- if you can do them without coning. Try to pull yourself as high as possible around the bar.
Jumping chest to bar pull-ups.
Strict pull-ups with a band- could also make these chest to bar.
Banded kipping pull-ups - chin over bar or chest to bar.
Leg/toe assisted pull-ups.
Banded pull downs with or without a PVC
If you see coning occurring - can you change it and make it go away? If yes, great, continue! If it’s hard to control the coning it’s a good idea to modify in the early postpartum period. Coning isn’t necessarily bad.
Inhale on the pull, exhale down.
Consider scaling the reps as needed.
Focus on staying in hollow position during pull-ups.
Muscle Ups: Postpartum athletes, I would not recommend attempting a MU until pull-ups & CTB pull-ups are solid, with no symptoms.
Modifications: You could pair one of the “pulling” movements with a “pressing” movement to mimic more of the MU. Your choice.
Whatever pull-up movement you can perform with no symptoms (ring rows, chin over bar, chest to bar, etc).
Seated MU transitions: Rings on bands- hang rings from rig with bands, athlete sits on ground and goes through the “pull”, “transition” & “dip”. Could also do this with a PVC pipe & band.
Seated or standing straight arm pull-downs (lat). With band alone or band & PVC.
Box dips
Seated or standing tricep extension with band.
Traditional MU transitions - as long as there are no symptoms.
Focus on exhaling throughout the movement.
Double Unders: I do not recommend that early postpartum athletes jump rope, because the pelvic floor is still recovering & likely weak. I recommend getting cleared by a pelvic floor physical therapist first, then begin with plate hops/line hops, single singles, and slowly build from there.
Remember, no symptoms!
Know & respect your threshold here. Would you rather do all the reps but break them up into smaller sets so you don’t experience PF symptoms? Or would you prefer to work on jump rope for a certain amount of time & then move on to keep the intensity up?
Rather than go for reps, I would recommend the athlete who is just returning to or recently returning to jump rope perform the movement for a certain period of time, in this workout I would say 45/35/30 seconds.
If jumping rope causes any leaking or symptoms, I would recommend modifying to other monostructural movements (bike, row, etc.) for 45/35/30 seconds.
You could also do a mix, if you’re starting to introduce the jump rope, do that for 10-15 seconds, then the remainder of the time on the bike/rower, etc.
Thrusters: Focusing on breath is important here, exhale with coming out of the bottom of the squat, inhale back down.
Squat to a depth that is comfortable to you. Use a bench or box if necessary.
Use a weight that is not super heavy- I’d coach my clients to stay at a moderate weight for the workout, considering either staying the same weight or very small increases in weight.
Watch your alignment with going overhead. Have a coach or friend take a look at you- are you coning? How does it feel going overhead- sometimes going overhead also pulls on the belly.
If going overhead is not comfortable, scale to front squats or landmine thrusters.
Consider scaling the reps as needed.
Good luck!
Coaches:
When considering scaling an athlete, try to keep in the mind what functional movement is being performed. Is it a variation of the squat, hinge, pull, push, etc.? Try to maintain the integrity of the functional movement, while modifying it a level that is appropriate for your individual athletes. If you would like to learn more about coaching pregnant and postpartum athletes, please look into Brianna Battles' coaching courses here. For questions regarding scaling/modifications for the injured athlete, please feel free to contact me and/or work directly with the athlete's healthcare provider.
***All pregnant and postpartum women should have their physician's approval to workout. If you don't, please do not workout. If you have any physician restrictions, to ignore them is placing you and your baby's health in jeopardy.
***I recommend all postpartum women get assessed by a pelvic floor physical therapist. Find one by you here. I also highly recommend finding a Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism coach by you to go over strategy with specific exercises, programming and recommendations. Find one here.
***See coning with any movement or experiencing "leaking", sensation of something "falling out" and/or anything that doesn't feel right? - Can you make it go away with changing the movement in some way? If yes, continue. If not, that indicates a modification is needed. Take more breaks as needed, if it's due to fatigue. Focus on your breathing and movement strategy. If you haven't consulted with a healthcare provider and/or postpartum fitness specialist regarding your symptoms, I highly recommend doing so.
If you have specific questions regarding this post, please comment below or contact via social media or email. I'm happy to help- but remember my advice is not accompanied with a hands-on assessment, which is the best way to make recommendations. If you are interested in meeting with me, please contact me. If you're interested in finding an appropriate healthcare provider/coach, please contact me and I will do my best to help you find one.