Kickboxing during and after pregnancy

All kinds of people train at De Vechtclub, and everyone is welcome. But our biggest group right now: moms with elementary school kids. Young kids sometimes get even younger brothers or sisters, so we regularly get questions about the do's and don'ts during and after pregnancy. Remy and I aren't experts on that. But we know someone who is: Miriam Hockx, and she happens to be my own sister. So we roped her into writing a guest blog based on her expertise, specifically for our bag work classes.

Hello, kickboxing Weesp! What a great idea, and a bit of an honor too, to write a little guest blog especially for you and your awesome sport. With all the time in the world too, sitting beside a pool in the Greek sun, so it's tempting to go on and on about my amazing profession... But nobody likes too much reading, so I'll get straight to the point. Just remember these five C's and you'll no doubt punch and kick your way through this incredibly special time safe and sound:

1. Contact

As soon as you start showing, avoiding physical contact is obviously a smart move for every pregnant person. From then on, stick to bag work and always ask your trainer for an alternative when there are contact drills. One stray punch or kick to your belly can have serious consequences, and "by accident" is still an accident. Be smarter.

As for everything else: there is no week X when thing Y suddenly becomes off-limits. A huge amount of bullsh*t gets passed around by mothers-in-law, neighbors, and even supposedly reputable pregnancy platforms. You can probably do much more than you might think right now. Training intensity, abs, and your pelvis and pelvic floor: don't let it all drive you crazy... Just stay in touch with your body. It will tell you when it's time to adjust (see 2 through 5), and staying active brings a mountain of benefits. Less back and pelvic pain, less stress, less risk of excessive weight gain, less risk of gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, better sleep, better fitness going into labor, and faster recovery afterward. The international exercise guideline for pregnancy is 150 minutes of exercise spread across the week, plus strength training twice a week. Sounds like a class schedule, so book it ;) I've trained with Kev before, and I found kickboxing to be a truly great mix of cardio, strength, and feeling better in your own skin. If I were pregnant now, I'd keep doing it for as long as possible. How long that is depends on one thing only: what your body can handle. Unless, of course, your midwife or OB-GYN has a medical reason to advise against something.

2. Communicate

For cardio, the talk test is your new benchmark. Getting warm and sweaty is absolutely fine, but make sure you can still talk (not while the trainer is explaining, correction from editor Kev). Your baby will be fine, so don't worry about that. But if you're completely out of breath, your coordination drops and you're more likely to pick up an ache or injury yourself. And that's no good, because you want to keep going!

You can also rate yourself on a scale from Netflix (0) to Nearly puking (10). Aim for a 7. That keeps things safe and effective. This scale also works well for individual strength exercises. Does it feel like a 7, and can you keep breathing through it? Perfect!

Keep communicating with your trainer about how you're feeling that day and about any belly tightening during exercise. These contractions that only happen with movement are almost always harmless, but if you're unsure, always check with your midwife. Do the same for sudden or unusual abdominal pain, an unfamiliar headache, dizziness, bleeding, or leaking amniotic fluid: stop and don't continue until you've been given the all-clear.

3. Control

This is the perfect time to really work on your technique. Punches, push-offs, squats, and lunges. Keep doing them, but stay controlled and focus on exhaling during the effort. That lowers abdominal pressure and helps your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles work more effectively. Pivoting during kicks isn't suddenly forbidden the moment your pregnancy test is still warm or you reach some mysterious week X. Feeling discomfort, around your pubic bone or in your groin, for example? That's the moment to choose a lower-impact option or switch to a more symmetrical exercise.

Keep checking in with yourself and ask your trainer to take a look to see whether your abs can still handle the exercise. Look at and feel the center line of your six-pack. Does it feel like a small groove, or stay flat? Great! If a little ridge forms there (check especially during sit-ups, leg lowers, and planks), your abdominal wall is telling you that the pressure is just a little too high right now. It's not dangerous. The female body is smarter than that. But it is your cue to act. First, try exhaling even more fully during the effort and gently drawing in your lower belly. Flat now? Keep going! That's training: working right at your edge. Does the ridge keep coming back? Make the exercise easier or ask your trainer for an alternative, such as something seated or standing.

4. Continent

Does an exercise give you a heavy feeling down below, make you feel like you need to pee, or cause you to actually leak a little? That's basically the same signal as the ridge on your belly, only this time it's coming from your pelvic floor. The pressure is higher than it can handle, and you shouldn't ignore that. You'll hear "that's just part of it" a lot, far too often, but you women at De Vechtclub know better. Modify the exercise and check out Floor's free tips for even more honest information.

5. Congratulations!!!

It's a DIY gift, sure... but here they are: your beautiful, tiny, brand-new Vechtclub member. The tips for after giving birth can all be summed up under this one fifth point, because they're very similar to the previous four.

Start by reconnecting with your core. Breathe, relearn how to engage and relax your pelvic floor, walk, and gradually build up gentle strength exercises. That includes your rectus abdominis, the front abdominal muscles!

Then, starting at around 4 weeks, or 6 after a C-section, gradually reintroduce all your kickboxing movements with relaxation and control. Check that your belly stays flat, especially during planks and leg lowers, and pay attention to what you feel in your pelvic floor, with no accidental urine leakage and no heavy feeling.

For the first three months, skip exercises that involve running and jumping. We know that even if nothing feels wrong, your body simply isn't ready for them yet. So no jump squats and no burpees. Punching and kicking the bag is still great. After three months, gradually build all the low-impact variations back up!

For complete recovery programs, check out Floor's Tips, and of course keep communicating with your trainer too. They normally love pushing you, but breastfeeding, short nights, and a body recovering from a miraculous injury all affect what your body can handle right now, and that needs to be taken into account. "Nine months in, nine months out" has a nice ring to it, but a year and a half out is actually more realistic when you look at tissue recovery times. Give yourself that time. And let yourself keep that belly for a while too. Forget "back in shape." You're not going back, you're moving forward! Forward as your 2.0: a wonderfully fit mom body ♡

Not sure what applies to you? Does something feel wrong? Tell your trainer, and if they don't know, I'm always here in the background with tips, advice, or a referral to a good physical therapist or pelvic floor physical therapist near you. Have an amazing time training at De Vechtclub, and just as much fun with your pregnancy and little one! You're absolutely in good hands.

Miriam (1981) is the mother of my two nephews and niece. She's a sports physical therapist who specializes in the abdominal wall and pelvis. The common thread throughout her career is her focus on how women need different care and training during different stages of life. Devouring all the research, translating it into real-world practice, and serving it up in bite-sized pieces is what she loves most. After all, practice is where it ultimately has to happen. Miriam ran Mom's Planet for many years, her own physical therapy clinic focused on every aspect of motherhood. She later became a clinic owner at Fysiotherapie van den Berg in Alphen aan den Rijn and De Singel Fysiotherapie in Leiden. Two large practices, with Mevrouw van den Berg as a dedicated women's health department for physical therapy and training. Together with Ellen Aalpoel, she also trains physical therapists in this exact field through the Women's Health Academy. Floor is the pregnancy program offered through physical therapists, and Door does the same for women going through menopause. Finally, again together with Ellen, she founded DiastaseNetwerk Nederland to improve information and care for diastasis recti. The foundation has since been handed over, but she still teaches colleagues about the subject in the Netherlands and Flanders.

I was already proud of my sister, but after writing out this list, I'm just a little prouder.