Historically, pregnant noble women would require months of bedrest before and after giving birth. Luckily today with more scientific knowledge, for most women this is no longer necessary. In fact, we’ve seen several athletes break records and do the seemingly impossible on their postpartum journey. However, no two postpartum journeys look the same and what works for one woman may not work for another.

One person who knows about postpartum return to sports is Amy Richards. She represents Great Britain in Olympic Weightlifting, competing twice at the Olympic Weightlifting World Championships, and the European Championships, winning several English and British medals and becoming a mother to her baby, Daisy.

Now Daisy is a one-year-old and Amy has a few more priorities to juggle, Mirafit caught up with her to discuss her postpartum journey and what a return to exercise looks like one-year on.

How did you adjust your training throughout your pregnancy

Before I became pregnant, I was training in the garage on my own most of the time. I decided to go back to the gym because I thought being around people whilst I was training was a sensible idea. I have a coach because although I'm aware of what I’m doing and I did a lot of research around training during pregnancy, it’s nice to have someone there all the time. Also, there was a change in direction for my training, I wasn’t training to compete anymore, I was training for fitness and fun.

In the first 12 weeks I didn’t change too much, but it depends on you as a person and what you feel comfortable with. As this was my first pregnancy, I had no idea how I was going to feel or what was going to happen, I spent this time working out what felt comfortable for me. I wasn’t showing so I didn’t have to worry about my bump, but I did drop all core movement.

When I started to show around 20-22 weeks I dropped barbell movements, which again is different for everyone. I didn’t want anything impacting the bump, so I swapped to Dumbbells, mainly for snatches and clean and jerk. I was still doing the same movements but with dumbbells outside of my bump. I switched from front squats to back squats and still did deadlifts, just changed to a sumo stance because that’s what felt comfortable. There were some overhead movements, I just dropped most of the exercises to about 50%. I was still moving relative weight, but my goal was just to keep moving, have fun and be sensible.

Post-Pregnancy, What did your return to exercise look like?

I ended up having an emergency c-section and that changed everything because I wasn’t able to move properly for the first few weeks. My goal for the first few weeks was just to move, go for walks and the more I moved the better I felt. It was when I sat down that it hurt. After a couple of weeks I introduced gentle yoga and stretching whilst my daughter was sleeping, so sometimes it was a quick session. After having a c-section you worry about infection and opening up the wound. But I took it in my stride, it is what it is, and it was out of my control.

About 6 weeks after giving birth I went back to the gym. Luckily my mum works part-time so she would take the baby to the gym and look after her whilst I got a session in. It was about slowly progressing back up and doing what felt right. I was lucky that everything went back quickly, I kept training right up until I was due which I think helped. Having a c-section is a big procedure, so with the Barbell movements I had to be careful of my scar. I didn’t go back to snatching for around 6 months, mentally and physically I was not ready for it and scared of how it would feel because my scar is where my snatch contact point is.

How does having a toddler impact your training?

I have to get up early. I’ve never been one for early morning training. But I do love exercising and that hour is my time, so to get that in is important. I train at 6am now, in the evenings it’s harder because of bedtime and family time together. So it has to be an early session which sometimes means sacrificing a couple of hours in bed, which is fine if your baby sleeps alright. Now she sleeps more; it means that recovery is much better. 

Navigating Your Own Postpartum Fitness Journey

The most important thing to remember is that every body is different and therefore no one person will have the same experience during their postpartum fitness journey. What felt right for Amy might not feel right for you and that’s okay. It’s all about being safe, kind to yourself and taking the necessary steps to stay healthy in a way that feels right for you. It is important to seek medical guidance when undertaking new or continuing exercise during and post pregnancy. For more information, you can access the NHS’s current guidelines on prenatal and postnatal exercise.

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Tags: Misc > Lifestyle