Climbing in the Second Trimester
Climbing in the second trimester is great fun but it brings upon its own set of challenges. At the time of writing this, I am about 22 weeks pregnant and feeling energetically fantastic for the most part. My morning sickness is mostly gone (unless I start to get hungry and forget to bring a snack…) and I have so much more energy than I did in the first trimester, in short bursts. Like a puppy, I’ll have bursts of energy then need a nap, then have a second wind then I’m out for the count but have a hard time sleeping because the little bugger decides to kick when it’s time for bed. That being said, I wanted to share my 3 biggest obstacles climbing in the second trimester.
I feel relatively strong climbing again in the second trimester. I don’t feel sick as often and my head is less foggy. In my full body harness, I continued to lead climb easy climbs until about 17 weeks and then decided to stop. I was getting heavier, easy moves were starting to feel harder and mentally, clips started looking farther. Now having a protruding bump, I begrudgingly decided to stop lead climbing because I didn’t want to risk the off chance that I fell and hit my belly on anything. Easy climb or not, it just wasn’t worth the risk for me. I had no intention of stopping climbing, it just changed a bit for me. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be done.
With my full body harness and the rope top rope ready, I will get up anything that isn’t overhanging. Slab? Check. Vert? Check. Overhang? … have you ever tried bouldering with a 20lb weight vest? It’s like that… but on rope for 50-100 feet. All I have to say is, my fingers better be like biceps after I pop this baby out! Obstacle one, massive weight gain.
Aside from climbing 10x slower than I did before (who thought that was possible), obstacle number two is my every growing belly. It gets in the way and body positioning becomes even more important to staying on the wall. My center of gravity has completely shifted and space to move is a little trickier. High steps? Forget about it! Remember when you first started climbing and felt like your bum was constantly pulling you off the wall? It’s like relearning technique all over again with a new body. Shifting my body side to side and having my hips hugging the wall is even more critical now to keep weight on my legs and off those poor fingers trying to hold on for dear life. Welcome to weight training of a lifetime.
Being 20+ lbs heavier, I feel it largely in my legs from all the walking and millions of mini squats one does while climbing. I still go climbing outdoors often, when I can, but after a full day, I will get in about 3 moderate climbs and I will be tapped out. My legs are jelly, my hips start to ache, and I will feel like I just projected all day. Which leads into my next biggest obstacle to overcome in the second trimester. The mental aspect. My Ego
Telling myself to stop leading was hard enough. I would look at a warmup climb and think to myself, I could still easily lead that and telling myself no, it’s not worth it is a tough thing to do! Especially after pushing my limits of climbing for well over a decade. Climbs that were once easy feel nearly impossible even on top rope. I get tired easier and it can be a really frustrating thing. Logically I know that my body is demanding more of me. I am growing human life inside of me for Christ sake! Emotionally is a different story.
It’s almost like a sense of loss in a way. Grieving the body I once had and how strong I once was. Letting go of who I was and accepting who I am becoming now. Having to come to terms with my body being strong in a different way now. SO STRONG! And don’t you ladies forget it! Will I and can I get my body back? Sure, very likely, but it won’t ever really be the same. On top of everything a woman is going through with pregnancy, adding this to the mix can feel like a lot. I had to learn to give myself a little grace and I am here to tell you it is ok and you’re not alone and you’re doing great!
