Jeff wore a weight vest in the gym for the duration of his wife's pregnancy.
For the first half of 2012, Jeff Morgan was known as the “pregnant old guy” at RedBlack CrossFit in Austin, Texas.
The meaning behind the nickname starts with the empathetic story of the father-to-be who puts on “pregnancy pounds” as a gesture of solidarity. The 43-year-old went down a similar path to support his pregnant wife, Sanieh. He added his own CrossFit twist — he started wearing a weight vest in the gym.
Jeff gives credit to fellow CrossFitter, Antione Harris, who wore a weight vest in the gym for the duration of his wife’s pregnancy.
“I told Sanieh Antione’s story, and it immediately resonated with her,” Jeff says. “I knew 20 pounds would be too heavy to start cold turkey, so I made a deal with her that I would wear a vest, but would gradually increase weight to match her net weight gain throughout the rest of her pregnancy.”
He started when his wife was 20 weeks along with a vest that added seven-and-a-half pounds. He wasn’t surprised when movements such as pull-ups, muscle-ups and handstand walks became more challenging. Other movements such as thrusters, squats and sandbag carries snuck up on him, and he quickly learned to dread them, along with high knees and squat jumps in dynamic warm-ups.
By April, Jeff was so used to wearing the vest — he’d worked his way up to 20 pounds — he only thought about it when he first grabbed it from the trunk to throw over his shoulder to go into the gym. Once the workout started, it was business as usual.
The pregnancy didn’t stop Sanieh from training either. A three-year CrossFit veteran, she made it a priority to maintain her healthy and active lifestyle. As her body changed, certain movements became challenging, but she approached her new limitations with a sense of humor.
“As cleans, atlas stones and even deadlifts became somewhat of an anatomical issue for me, I was sure to remind [Jeff] that he needed to find a way to grow him a med-ball belly in addition to the weight [vest],” she jokes.
The couple met at CrossFit Central in Austin, where Sanieh was teaching a “Yoga for CrossFitters” class. Suffice it to say, Jeff became a regular.
“You see more crossover in the clothes than you do the people, so I’m lucky we even met,” he says. “Needless to say, CrossFit holds a special place in our lives.”
The community at RedBlack CrossFit has been extremely supportive of the couple, and the vest inspired a number of athletes in a myriad of ways. According to Jeff, no one wanted to get beat by the “pregnant old guy.”
Many of the members started wearing weight vests of their own, and when Jeff turned in stand-out performances during the Open — he finished first in the gym on workouts 12.1 and 12.4 — they were quick to give props to the vest.
The vest didn’t accompany him on every workout. He went without it when working on skills, technique and max lifts. Coach Michael Winchester also kept a close eye on him, and if his form started to break down, in the interest of safety, Winchester would advise him to take off the vest.
As the months went by, the couple realized the vest was not only a gesture of solidarity, but also a symbol of their commitment to a lifestyle, which would benefit their family for years to come.
“After a while, we both came to understand that there was a bigger, much more powerful underlying intention here which is Jeff’s commitment, dedication and support to me, our healthy lifestyle and the importance of full-spectrum health and wellness that we want for our son,” Sanieh says. “To know this man at all is to recognize and love his dedication, loyalty and heart to all that drives him. CrossFit is a vessel for all of these things in Jeff’s life. Genuinely, I couldn’t be more proud and more honored to be his wife and life partner. He has inspired so many around him, including me.”
James Keyhan Morgan was born on June 9. His father says he “came out with a full head of hair and the longest arms and legs I’ve ever seen on a baby.”
In light of the different kinds of strength training he has done, Jeff jokingly refers to his son as an “odd object” he totes around now. “I will submit that babies qualify as ‘odd-objects’ just as much as a keg or an atlas stone, but they also squirm and scream in your ear and can be just as precarious to pick up and hold in awkward positions for prolonged periods of time,” he says.
Understandably, the Morgans’ schedule with the baby keeps them from working out at RedBlack CrossFit as often as before, but their commitment to fitness led to a bit of improvisation. The Morgans put together a garage gym complete with barbells, bumper plates, bands, a Concept 2 rower, sandbells and med balls. A pull-up bar is coming soon. While one of them works out, the other watches the baby.
As far as the weight vest goes, Jeff says, “It will always hold a special place in my heart.”
For now it’s more or less retired. He has used it again on runs, warm-ups and the occasional Hero WOD, but he doesn’t foresee it becoming an integral part of his training again.
