Professional Athletes and Pregnancy

There have been some awesome articles lately about pregnancy and elite athletes. Serena Williams is pregnant with her first, and won a Grand-Slam title while 8 weeks pregnant. Track athlete Alysia Montanio was just in the news as she competed in the 800-meters at 5 months pregnant. There are also countless numbers of female athletes who have competed in their athletic career at the highest levels while pregnant.

Coming from a place where our society often dubs pregnancy and women as fragile, meek, and burdened, this narrative turns these adjectives on their head. We are finally showing that women can sustain all that comes with pregnancy, and still do amazing things with their bodies. There has been so much more research done on pregnancy and remaining active. Throughout history, pregnant women would often be treated as if they had an illness; being prescribed unnecessary bed rest and diet pills to control weight gain. Hard pass on those.

Today, we can see the focus turn towards well rounded health for expecting mothers, as well as higher expectations of what a woman can do while pregnant. Along with more opportunities to be high level athletes and career women, we are getting our voices heard that pregnancy and starting a family doesn't mean we have to limit our choices. 

It is the age-old question for women who have chosen career over family –– when do I need to stop and start a family? And for athletes: do I compete another 4-year cycle and prioritize my goals, or do I prioritize family? Can I have both? We need to continue to have strong female voices saying, "yes, you have a choice!" 

The Olympic Channel has just come out with a video on fellow wrestler Isabelle Sambou about her decision between continuing on to compete at the Tokyo 2020 games, or make the decision to have a family. She has the choice, but it will be a tough decision to make. Watch below as she advocates for both being a strong athlete and woman during this time in her life. 

Isabelle Sambou's tough dilemma

Senegal’s wrestling⭐Isabelle Sambou is trying to decide between Tokyo 2020 and a family...

Posted by Olympic Channel on Monday, July 3, 2017

At the same time, these strong voices need to advocate and appreciate every woman's path and how it best fits them. No condemning women for deciding to end their careers and stay at home, or having a baby and traveling the world to compete against the best. To each their own and to the freedom of choice for women! 

And choice may be the most important thing afforded. It doesn't make it easy or convenient, as committing to family and to sport/career are equally time-driven. I have been extremely fortunate in my path with pregnancy thus far. I have been able to stay involved with wrestling through the nonprofit Wrestle Like a Girl, coaching youths, being an advocate, and working on LuchaFIT. I have had professionals who take my training and my rehab seriously, and the support around me to pursue my goals. 

However, that still doesn't make the transition easy. Having the identity of athlete as my career of choice has conditioned me to think in athlete mode, constantly. From the way I interact with people in my day to day life, to the way I eat and sleep. It is difficult to turn off the "faster, higher, stronger" mode. 

I have been intrigued and surprised at the phases I have gone through. First trimester proved difficult to even think about doing a workout as morning sickness, fatigue, and emotions were the name of the game. I desperately wanted to continue to eat my healthy regimen I had conditioned myself to, as so much written on pregnancy stresses the importance of a healthy diet. However, I had to focus during first trimester on whatever I could get down, as strange as it would be. Saltine crackers, ice cream, and Pho were more often on the menu than vegetables and proteins, which were hard to digest and increased how sick I felt. Talking with my sports psychologist, we worked on how I could apply the techniques of mindfulness towards this part of my life. We worked on letting go of the stresses to do things perfect. That it was okay to give myself a break to do whatever it was that I needed, even if it felt counter intuitive to my athlete mind. 

It can be tempting to want to show a happy, glowing, perfect image of what pregnancy "should be," and it was difficult to only want to portray myself as a tough athlete. I certainly didn't feel like one at the time, and didn't anticipate the intense emotions that would be present. It was tough to figure out the best way to represent myself to others. How can they see me as an athlete and pregnant? Wouldn't I be written off as done and moved on if those within my community saw me pregnant? I had a lot of fears and hesitations towards telling others. It felt as if the pregnancy did the talking for me, and that others wouldn't listen to what I could want for my life. 

Adobe Spark (33).jpg

I have since worked on embracing this phase of life for exactly what it is: messy, complicated, and absolutely beautiful. To devote your life to sport where you are constantly learning about your body, it is a whole new experience to trust my body in a new way. Just like the ups and downs in sport, I am adjusting and learning about my body during the ups and downs of pregnancy. And I am absolutely enthralled with the process of watching my body change and adjust with every new chapter. 

Creating normalcy around struggles and empowerment for pregnant women helps give an image that it doesn't even need to look one way. My second trimester has proven much more comfortable for me to remain active, as I have taken more opportunities to coach, teach wrestling, and resume a more normal lifting schedule.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of feeling less than when you see Serena Williams winning a grand slam at 8 weeks pregnant, when I know I was mostly sick on the couch at 8 weeks. This doesn’t mean that these women aren't dealing with many of the same symptoms that most women deal with. As athletes, we are used to creating a space where training, eating, and napping are regular routine. I believe none of these athletes are an exception to the consistent fatigue from growing a new human. Being used to a certain level of training and fatigue certainly helps with your conditioning for pregnancy.

I am proud to show other women around me that you can be an amazing intense athlete, and still embrace the beauty of pregnancy. You certainly don't have to look a certain way to be strong and pregnant, and you don't have to compete with what everyone else is doing. 

Check out the article from Team USA on pregnant athletes here 

Check out the article on Alysia Montano and her recent competition while 5 months pregnant here 

What You Need to Know About Getting NASM CPT Certified

I am officially as Certified Personal Trainer! Starting with registering back in November, I've been navigating my way through human sciences, nutrition, and program design. If feels great to say I've accomplished this milestone! Are you also thinking of taking a route towards personal training? Here are some tips to help you know where to begin and how to prepare for the test properly:

 

What Do I Need to Begin?

You need a passion for sport sciences and a passion to apply your knowledge to help others. Mine came from years of being trained by others as a professional athlete. I learned so much through being trained, but realized when I wanted to explain what I learned to others, I didn't always have the answers. I personally don't plan on working at a gym, but this could aways change. My motivation was to provide more material for my awesome readers and subscribers of LuchaFIT, and to work one on one with people trying to reach their goals. Your end goal doesn't have to be working in a gym, your motivation for personal training can lead you to many opportunities. 

 

How Much Background in Sports Science is Needed?

The more you have, the better! My background boasts solely of what I have learned being a professional athlete, because my undergraduate degree is in business. Just realize that you may need to focus on science concepts a little longer while you are studying for your certification. It is not a deal breaker in any way if you lack any formal studying or training in human and sports science.

 

Which Package Should I Buy?

ALWAYS look for their 20% off packages. NASM is consistently running deals. Take advantage of paying in installments, they are interest free and helpful on your wallet. 

Asses where you are in your life and how much time you will be able to devote to studying. They currently offer 4 different packages, all with varying prices based on the materials you will be provided. I went with the most basic package, but I also knew I would have the time available to spend studying. Knowing that there is a lot of material to retain and knowing how well you study entirely on your own (this was my first "online" class), it can be beneficial to take advantage of a package with more resources. While you are in the thick of studying, you will never regret having more resources. It can be a long an arduous studying process, so if you think you will need it, spend the extra money. 

 

What Outside Resources Helped You?

Besides going through every video, activity, quiz, study guide, and test provided by NASM through their online portal, I spend time on as many free quiz websites and resources as I could find. Here's two that were my favorite:

FitnessMentors.com is a great website with a lot of options available to you. They have a free quiz, a free study guide, and some tough NASM test questions and answers that could be a part of your test. They also have tests you can pay for if you went with the most basic NASM package and find yourself needing more study materials.

The other favorite online resource was Quizlet.com. They have online flashcards of many of the chapter terms made by others, and you can make your own flashcards to study from. My favorite was the flashcards of over and under-active muscles. This was a harder area to memorize and I really benefited from finding it on Quizlet.

Besides the resources mentioned, there is a large thread of people discussing their NASM CPT testing experiences on bodybuilding.com, as well as others who have made study guides or areas to study. I had found a lot of these discussions when I first began researching, which were helpful, but later became overwhelming. There are so many opinions and thoughts about the test; whether its the hardest test they've ever taken, the easiest test they've ever taken, or about the million different areas you have to focus on. Reality is, if you have committed to taking this test, arm yourself with resources and dive in. You know what you are capable of, and only you can actually put in the work to retain the information. 

https://www.fitnessmentors.com/free-nasm-practice-test/

https://quizlet.com/30949092/overactive-and-under-active-muscles-flash-cards/

 

What Would You Change if You Had to do it Again?

One simple study tactic I would have done to save myself time would have been to begin writing out my flashcards while I read through the book. Flashcards are so important, don't neglect doing them! You need to know the terms throughout the book. 

Print out the study guide from NASM as soon as you are done reading. I did not get this resource until my last 2 months of studying, but I would have used it right away to help guide my study practices. 

Get through the NASM online chapter resources right away, there is no reason to have to cram that in at the end. They are helpful and get you step by step towards the mid-term and practice tests provided. I didn't realize the 50-100 question tests were hidden amongst the resources. I spent too long thinking the activities and quizzes were silly and time consuming until I realized how nicely it built into the tests. 

 

Just a Few of the Important Focus Areas to Spend Time On:

Terms, terms, terms! 

Over and under-active muscles, the recommended exercises and stretches that focus on these areas

Know the reps, sets, rest, tempo, 1 Rep Max %, and types of stretching recommended for all the levels of the OPT model: i.e acute variables

Know and understand the nervous, muscular, skeletal, endocrine, cardiorespiratory, and digestive systems

Know the calories in 1 gram of carbs, protein, and fat, as well as the daily caloric recommendations

Have your planes of motion down (sagittal, frontal, transverse) , and how they are applied to exercises

aerobic and anaerobic metabolism (ATP-PC, Glycolysis, Oxidative)

Understanding exercises and which level of the OPT model they belong to 

Subjective vs. objective information for assessments

Heart rate zones, when to use them, and the 

How to progress and regress exercises 

Hydration and dehydration concepts

Know your muscles, I used this book: https://www.amazon.com/Human-Body-Coloring-Book/dp/0756682347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498584222&sr=1-1&keywords=the+human+body+coloring+book

Retake the quizzes, midterm, and tests from NASM. You will never regret it because its easy to think you understand a question after you see what the right answer is. Make sure you know this information! 

So many have said this and I will say the same thing, it's not about memorization, its about retaining and understanding how to apply what you are learning. If you don't understand a concept, make sure you do the research so you do. Having done the work to have a well rounded understanding of concepts helped me on the test when it asked something I felt I didn't know the exact answer. 

 

Best of luck!

 

 

Dear Dad, Dear Coach

My dad, Lee Allen, was a remarkable human being. Quiet and reserved, he was a two-time Olympic wrestler, arguably the most grueling sport in the world. A self-made man in every sense of the word, he grew up with nothing but the support of his family, working for everything he had.

My father was born in Kansas and due to the Dust Bowl, his family moved to Oregon when he was a baby. In Oregon, his family became strawberry farmers.  The days were filled with hard labor that somehow brought families closer together. The youngest of four siblings, my dad quickly learned to be tough. Their form of fun was to climb a tree, have a sibling chop it down, and ride it all the way to the ground. This rough toughness created a strong will in my dad. He worked his way through college to pay for his tuition, simultaneously wrestling at college practices and the club practices at the Multnomah Wrestling Club. In 1956, he made his first Olympic team in Freestyle wrestling at the age of 21. His second Olympic team was made four years later in Greco-Roman. At the time, he had broken his femur and could not practice take downs, so he became proficient at throws and thus a top Olympic contender in Greco-Roman.

Dad was a feminist before it was cool– he believed that women were just as capable as men in wrestling. My sister and I started wrestling because our dad knew the benefits of sport. He knew the physical and mental challenges demanded by wrestling are the benefits that create resilience in human characteristics. Knowing women did not always have the opportunities for these lessons, he used the sport to provide these opportunities. Our dad slowly introduced us to the sport and nurtured our talent over the years. He helped create an environment that allowed us to wrestle when we wanted, and quit if it really didn't suit us. He was Dad first, Coach second.

His coaching style led my sister and I to dedicate the majority of our lives to wrestling and led us to both become two-time US Olympic Trial place winners, while also winning many world age group and international medals. Some would say it would be hard to have your father with you through each step of career; as a child, in high school, collegiately, and as a senior-level athlete. However, our relationship and his coaching style helped us reach a new level as a partnership, and not as a father hoping to live through his daughters.

He created an environment fostering guidance from my own ambitions, on and off the mat and was the best at knowing when he needed to be my coach versus when to be my father. In an instant, he was able to teach me technique, and switch to guiding me through life's struggles. If I was feeling overwhelmed with wrestling, his answer wasn’t to force me through a practice. His answer was, “Okay, then take a break.” He knew that the only way to help foster the deep kind of love it takes to keep wrestling until you’re nearly 30, had to be entirely the athlete’s desire. Pushing me into practices and competitions when I was in an unhappy state of mind, would be a detriment to my potential career, and Dad knew that. This is not say that it was always a perfect situation. He and my mother were so passionate about developing women's wrestling in the United States, it often invaded family time. Fortunately for them, my sister and I have become just as politically-involved and continue to push for the education of wrestling among younger female athletes, serving on various boards and committees.

Just as I moved to Colorado Springs to live at the Olympic Training Center, my father's health began to decline. It was difficult for him to travel and this meant he could not always physically be coaching in my corner. This certainly posed some challenges. I questioned whether I was doing the right thing by staying in Colorado. I felt guilty I wasn’t at home with him. Was it worth the training benefits to be away from Dad in such a delicate state? I still don’t know.  However, he did enjoy the challenge of coaching and advising from afar and never argued whether I needed to stay in Colorado to train. Throughout my wrestling career, he always encouraged me to learn from other coaches and take opportunities when presented. He did not have a controlling philosophy, which the parent-child coaching dynamic often creates. By encouraging my independence, he taught me to be in control of my personal growth. I wasn't ever dependent on one voice to help me through a match. My father knew these lessons would transfer into real-life skills.

Dad passed two months after the 2012 Olympic Trials. I struggled immensely with the decision to continue wrestling. Wrestling and family, were the same definition to me. They simultaneously existed together and without my father, I couldn’t define what wrestling was. It took years of struggle and work with an amazing sports psychologist and coaches to again find my love for the sport. I finally found the  love for wrestling that I believe my father had. Undying, steadfast, understanding. The love that wrestling brings together mind, body, spirit, and community.

Wrestling has given me a confidence and empowerment that will be with me for the rest of my life. It is a feeling I could only have created myself, inspired with my father’s support. My wish is for more fathers to learn the importance of fostering and supporting their daughters in a sport, but then allowing them to discover that deep love on their own. It is an immensely long and difficult journey to earn an Olympic berth or Olympic gold. It is an accomplishment that few on this planet can say they have achieved. I have seen too many fathers and coaches push their athletes past their limits. The pressure they create may causes an athlete to fall out of love for their sport.

Every daughter wants their father to be proud of them. I know my father is proud of me if I win Olympic Gold or if I take last place. To a father, it should be all the same because your daughter is the same bright, amazing woman you helped create. I am eternally grateful for everything my father taught me while he was here and the lessons I am still learning. He gave me the opportunities to love something that fosters community and giving. His goal wasn’t for me to win, his goal was for me to become who I am intended to be.

This story originally appeared on The Lady Athlete

"Dear Younger Me": Lauren Fleshman

I am so impressed by the female athletes of today who are writing on girls' and women's issues. I have been a major fan of competitive runner and entrepreneur, Lauren Fleshman. She is an Oiselle Brand ambassador, co-founder of Picky Bars, and all around awesome mom and athlete. 

She recently wrote a letter to her younger self; a "I wish I had known" article called Dear Younger Me. She narrows down on major young athlete issues like body image, comparing yourself to male teammates, nutrition, and adjusting as your body shifts from "girlhood" to "womanhood." Being especially passionate about these topics, I wanted to share some love for this blog to my LuchaFIT family... all of you! 

"You'll see girls react to a changing body in three ways: give up, ride it out, or fight against it. With 100 percent confidence, I can tell you the best choice is to ride it out. The best is yet to come."

Lauren does such an amazing job describing the female athlete woes and (literal) growing pains. She talks about coaches and teammates who encourage taking paths towards resisting those natural changes. Extreme dieting and extreme working out that will temporarily seem like the natural progression toward woman-hood is halted. An extreme sport culture that only seems to "feed the desire of for short term success." 

I have seen many athletes loose opportunities to continue a potentially amazing wrestling career due to coach, team, or family pressures towards wrestling a particular weight class. Unrealistic expectations that their young athlete will always be... young. That the only way to be successful, is to be the biggest one in the smallest weight class you can get to. That the value is on winning, no matter the expense to body, mind, spirit, or longevity. 

"You notice what happens sometimes to female athletes. She hits puberty; her times get slower or plateau. She is confused; she is working harder than ever. Clueless adults who are overly invested in her "performance" will grieve, as if her worth is based solely on PRs. This makes you scared of growing up."

Lauren describes that after being a professional runner for 12 years, she can recognize a completely different set of values... miles away from a culture around recklessness for achievements. I love that even in a completely different sport, I can relate to the same sentiment. It takes experience and long years to find these values, but the time invested in always worth it. 

We are fortunate to have athletes in the world who are giving back in the way Lauren does. She has revealed a darker side of female sports that is often ignored or not discussed. She certainly had to draw upon personal experiences in order to share to future generations of athletes. 

Make sure you check out the full article linked above, and find her on her personal website and social media! 

Lauren Fleshman: 

Twitter

Instagram

Website

 

Katherine

 

Know Your Value

I often fell in the trap of thinking others only valued me based on my accomplishments. That they paid attention if I failed, and that failure meant they didn't see me the same way. I couldn't get past the count on wins and losses, so I would shift the attention to how well I could manage my life outside of my status as a professional athlete. If I couldn't be perfect on the mat, then I could prove that I was perfect off the mat. It took me a long time to realize that not only is no one keeping score, but they are often too busy battling with the same inner dialogue to pay attention to what's going on in my life. 

You are valuable not only because you make choices you think others expect of you. I have spoken to many young athletes over the years who have a strong fear of quitting sport, because they think others will not see them the same way. If all your values are defined by the things you do, it will be very difficult once that is thing is no longer around. Each time you enter in a new stage of your life you can make new choices, but still bring your ideals. You are not only valuable to that coach, teacher, family member, or friend because you are doing well in a sport, or because you have been an accomplished student. Your value is internal and intrinsic. Your work ethic, attitude, helpfulness, etc. is held within you. Even if you made a choice to change the course of direction in your life, people would see you carry integrity in every new endeavor you pursue. 

Our relationships with others and who we keep around us can be the root of how we decide to value ourselves. The people around me didn't keep me as a friend, companion, or advisor because I won something. If that was the case, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to keep them as friends! That would mean they weren't really interested in who I am as a person. I realized, I wasn't choosing friendships based on who was most accomplished. I kept friends around because of the amazing values they bring to their life and to mine. They enrich me in ways that inspire me to be a better person. 

Sometimes, we get stuck in a one-sided relationship. Make sure the friends around you build and enhance your life as much as you are enhancing theirs. When you care about what others are feeling, they will see how you value them and value yourself. It is all a learning process when we enter into relationships and hope to build something amazing. Both people are equally committed to brining their values to the table, and others we realize, end up being a one-sided equation. This can be in friendships, work or business relationships, family, etc. 

But what do those great relationships look like that have been built around understanding the standards? It's important to realize that we teach others how to treat us (I heard once that this is what Oprah said, if so, she's right). If we don't communicate our needs, they will not be met. If we think that it is selfish to express our needs, so we become passive and non-expressive, then we are creating more harm than benefit to a relationship. There is actually a very, very thick line between being proactive about your needs, and being selfish and taking from a relationship. For someone who has often struggled with putting myself first, I finally realized that I was creating more harm by putting myself second. It seemed like selfishness, but ironically, I started seeing that it was more selfish to just hope someone understood my needs. Holding back doesn't empower yourself or those around you to speak up for whats important. 

Shifting that inner dialogue takes practice, and it takes patience. I had to learn that I could only complete myself first, and in turn, I could harness my own power and learn how to ask for what I needed. Don't ever give yourself away just to please others. Shift your focus to relationships that show the best side of you, and the people who have told you your worth is irreplaceable. Those are what your life and your relationships should be modeled after. It creates a standard that helps you enter into partnerships/relationships that only meet that standard. And then use it for good! Knowing your value means you can create a world that benefits yourself and others. 

Lots of love to you guys, and start building your world of value for good!

Katherine