"I believe that CrossFitting and being active while pregnant will help me keep healthy, and prepare better for labor and for the post-pregnancy phase."
Who says being pregnant is an excuse to become lazy and sit around all day?
Diva Osório definitely does not think so. At five months pregnant, the Brazilian CrossFitter still trains six days a week. Expecting her second baby, she has trained since the first week of her pregnancy.
Now, going on week 20, she scored 195 reps on Open Workout 13.2.
“I feel great,” Osório says. “I believe that CrossFitting and being active while pregnant will help me keep healthy, and prepare better for labor and for the post-pregnancy phase. As long as you are a healthy woman on a healthy pregnancy, you should be perfectly safe if training using the necessary precautions.”
Thinking on the safe side, Osório did step-ups and downs on 13.2 instead of jumping, and took several small breaks during the 10-minute AMRAP.
She trains at BSB CrossFit, the first CrossFit affiliate in Brasília, Brazil, but for 13.2 had to perform at Myleo CrossFit in Berlin, Germany while on vacation.
“That’s one of the best things about the CrossFit community,” she says. “I feel like we have friends wherever we go. We went to different CrossFit boxes at every city we visited while on our trip and were always very welcomed by its owners and members. It feels great to be part of this community.”
Osório plans to CrossFit up to the last week of her pregnancy. She says she and her coach have done all the necessary research as to what exercises are safe during pregnancy and of those to avoid, scale or modify.
“One of the main things to watch for is your oxygen intake,” she explains. “That’s why I always take small water breaks during the workouts that I do. It affects my performance as far as my time and score, but now is not the time to think about beating anyone.”
Cautious of high-impact movement, such as high box jumps and burpees, Osório is just doing what she can to ensure she’ll remain healthy.
“I started CrossFitting shortly after the birth of my first son and never stopped since. Now, on my second pregnancy, I feel much healthier and much more prepared to face another challenge in my life, both as a mother and as an athlete,” she says.
She’ll continue participating in the Open, as long as the workouts can be performed safely.
“I didn’t do the 13.1 because I couldn’t do proper burpees, but that won’t stop me from trying the next (workouts),” she says. “I feel like the Open is a time when CrossFitters unite even more. It’s all about competing to participate, taking different challenges, surpassing your limits, supporting other fellow CrossFitters, having fun with it and being part of something much bigger than just winning. This is the Sport of Fitness, and I’m proud to be part of it.”
