184: Training Through Pregnancy with Kari Pearce, 4-Time Fittest American Female

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Brianna Battles  00:01

Welcome to the practice brave Podcast. I'm the host Brianna battles, founder of pregnancy and postpartum athleticism, and CEO of everyday battles. I'm a career strength and conditioning coach, entrepreneur, mom of two wild little boys and a lifelong athlete. I believe that athleticism does not end when motherhood begins, and this podcast is dedicated to coaching you by providing meaningful conversations, insights and interview topics related to fitness, mindset, parenting and of course, all the nuances of pregnancy and postpartum, from expert interviews to engaging conversations and reflections. This podcast is your trustworthy, relatable resource for learning how to practice brave through every season in your life. Hey everyone, welcome back to the practice brave Podcast. Today I'm really excited to bring Carrie Pierce on the podcast, and we're going to be talking all about her experiences as a very high level CrossFit athlete, especially as she embarks on a new season of her athleticism. And I'm really excited to bring her on the podcast and just talk about what life has been like. Carrie, thanks for being here. I'm so glad we got to

Kari Pearce  01:16

connect. Of course, thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to share. Yeah.

Brianna Battles  01:20

So, okay, tell me why you are here today on the podcast. Give us a little bit of background about you and how we got connected.

Kari Pearce  01:27

Okay, so, I was an athlete. I've been an athlete my entire life, 18 years of gymnastics, seven years of competitive CrossFit, continued to stay active after that, and me and my husband were down a long fertility journey, and fortunately, we were able to conceive. And so I got pregnant. I had a friend that mentioned your training programs a while ago, because originally I had wanted to get certified in pre and postnatal, but I ended up getting a women's fitness certification. Obviously, I will definitely take your certification here, coming in the future, especially after as much as I have learned and enjoyed doing your program during pregnancy. So I, like I said, I was familiar with your certification, came across your program, and I was I got pregnant. I was like, I just need a program to follow the first trimester. Yeah, well, said was rough. Was really rough. Like, I was so tired, I was nauseous, and I was like, I just need somebody who's educated, somebody who I trust. And the friend that actually recommended your certification is one of my really good friends. And if I need anything, I go to her, and I'm like, Savannah, who like, Who do you follow for this? Who do you see for that? So when she was talking about your program, I was like, Okay, I need to do that. So sign up for the program and have been doing it. I'm 24 weeks as we talk pregnant, and I think I started at week, like eight or nine. So yeah, for quite a while I

Brianna Battles  02:59

love it. Well, shout out, Savannah. Thank you for connecting us. I we were talking earlier like I'm always so grateful for those of you who are just like the you know, just out there, like yapping and passing this information around, and you guys are truly like the first line of defense for helping get better information out there and being the supporters and resources for women and female athletes who are navigating these chapters. So I just wanted to say that, and I'm very grateful that, you know, I I've worked with so many different athletes, and there's just different themes and things. You can recognize that a lot of high level athletes too, they either assume that they know everything and they don't need any help, and that they got this and pregnancy is no big deal. And then we have the others that are really intentional and really proactive with wanting to collect information and learn and invest in other coaches or in a training program so that they, you know, just have a little bit more insight on their training. And I'm always very grateful for athletes like you who kind of take that extra step to be like, Hey, I don't know what I don't know. Like, this is new. This isn't something that, you know, we've been taught. It's not something I have experience with, and, you know, willing to sort of take a step back and be willing to do a lot of learning during this season as an athlete. So I'm very grateful that that you did that. Yeah, thank

Kari Pearce  04:14

Thank you. Well, I'm grateful for you too, because, like you said, This journey is so different from everything else. And, yeah, I've, you know, coached a lot of women, I've written training programs, but the pregnancy workouts and training is so different, and your body is going through such extreme changes, especially in the second trimester. Like the little bit that I've been through, I'm like, my body is changing so rapidly, and I feel like this is a time period you want to make sure you're doing things right, because if you don't, then you're probably going to pay for it in the long term. So I love learning from, you know, people that I trust and people that are well educated. So it's been a fun learning experience so far, and I'm excited to keep it going

Brianna Battles  04:55

well. Thank you for saying that. Um, let's, let's talk a little bit. Do. And like, rewind a little bit. Can we talk about just how much things change? But you mentioned that you were in a trying to conceive season for a while, so you have been in the trenches of trying to learn about your body, learn about this process, and honestly, probably just shift your overall experience as an athlete and as a woman. So can you talk to me about what the last, I don't know, however long it's been Where you've decided, like, you know, you wanted to become a mom. What's that process been like? Yeah,

Kari Pearce  05:30

so I was an athlete, like I said, many, many years, 20 something, 27 years, I think of competing, and when you're competing, I was just so focused on my body and my performance and my looks and never necessarily my health, and I didn't want to do anything that could potentially like harm. You know how successful I was as an athlete, so I just kept doing what I was doing, and then when I retired, I had met my now husband at the beginning of that year, and I never knew if I really wanted kids. I thought maybe I did. And then after meeting him, I was like, Okay, it's definitely a lot more likely now than it ever happened. And I was like, and I'm done being an athlete, like, I need to figure out my body, like, I didn't have a regular period ever. And like, doctors always said, take birth control, and then you learn it's like, that's not actually fixing anything, like it's it's not even a band aid, because it's not even a real period, right? So I tried to, you know, learn and do things myself for a while, and then I ended up meeting up with a nutritionist, and she had me get Jen Ryan. She was the nutritionist. She hadn't get a full blood panel, and I just saw my hormones were all over the place, so worked with her for a while, and then things were progressing, but not quite the way that we wanted. So then I ended up seeing a fertility doctor later that year, and she, you know, really said that I needed to reduce my stress, mental, physical, I had to add some padding, aka body fat. And I think just hearing all of that, it was such a shock, and it was really hard, but I knew that I was approaching a new season of life and my body would change. So I feel like that kind of started shifting in my body, and you know, then eventually I was able to get a period, get a regular period, later on, um, then about a year afterward, me and my husband were able to conceive, but it was a big physical change, a big mental change, like you said, just learning to train for different things, and then even training for fertility. And then now I'm, you know, training for pregnancy. So there's, like, these ages that I've been through. I'm so

Brianna Battles  07:41

grateful that you shared that, because I think that you know, especially as female athletes, and those of that grew up being a female athlete, it sort of gets glorified to be really fit and what we're able to do performance wise, maybe how lean we are, but that not always being a great indication of how actually healthy we are from the inside out. And that's the thing about motherhood in general, is it truly reveals how healthy are we actually from the inside out, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, like all these different things, where we have to make some adjustments to our training and our overall approach to life as an athlete. But that can be so hard and so humbling when we've attached a lot of our identity to our ability or to what we look like esthetically. Yeah,

Kari Pearce  08:26

and that was actually one of the conversations that I had with my friend Savannah too. Is just like, okay, as I'm going through this new season, like, as I was changing my training, it's like, what's hurting for you to deal with, like the changes, like physically that you can see in your body, or the performance aspect, like you can't do things like that you used to be able to do. And I was like, I mean, where I was at right then I was like, physically, because, as you said, a big part of going through what I have is you look healthy on the outside, everyone looks at you. You're the pinnacle of health, and then you find out on the inside you're not. And like, those two things can be so different, and that's now I'm like, okay, yes, I need to be healthy exactly like you said from the inside out. Yeah. And that's

Brianna Battles  09:06

a steep learning curve, like, and it could be, it's, like, almost embarrassing to some points, like, there's, it might be, like, some shame attached to that. And then, just, like, a lot of undoing, a lot of unlearning, and then a lot of, like, figuring out new layers of grace where, like, maybe the average person would look at you and be like, Oh my God, you're still so lean and you're still so fit, but you're like, but not compared to what I was, you know, and I think that's the continual self battle that we all have. But ultimately, you know, I say that like motherhood is our greatest it's our greatest teacher in so many ways, because we are forced to deal with all of our toxic bullshit that has ruled us, that maybe we've been able to get away with for a long time, but motherhood forces it to be revealed whether that's a history of an eating disorder, and now we're triggered as we're seeing our body gain weight during pregnancy or trying to conceive even postpartum, where you're like, I don't like what my body looks like, so I'm going to. Strict, restrict our relationship with our exercise, our relationship with our body, and any body dysmorphia. Just so many things get revealed that we're like, okay, okay, I get it. I ignored this for so long, but now I'm being forced to deal with it, because it's truly affecting the season of life I'm in for the first time ever, because that's no longer about just us now, there's a baby involved, either a baby that we want, or a baby that we are growing, or a baby that we currently have. It forces you to sort of shift your approach in so many ways. Yeah,

Kari Pearce  10:33

no, definitely. And that was definitely something that helped me through the journey. Is just like remembering, like, Okay, this isn't just for me. Like, now, this is for me, this is for my husband. This is for our freedom child. And even now, like, as I'm going through and, like, each week, I'm like, my belly is getting bigger. And I mean, there's still days where I look in the mirror and I'm like, oh yeah. Like, I'm pregnant. It's amazing. Like, there's a little girl in there. And then there's other days where I, like, look in the mirror, I'm like, Oh, you're so fat. Like, look at your monthly and so it is. It's hard. And I mean, you still go back to like, I'm if they're like, there's this amazing gift, like, I have this child that I'm growing inside me, and I always have to go back to that. And even on the heart days, you just have to keep reminding yourself of that, because it is bigger than and like you said, it has revealed a lot in things that I I knew that I need to work on, but arc I'm constantly working on, but have got a night and day better still work in progress, probably always, but definitely body image, eating all of that. Yeah, started when I was, you know, a teenager from gymnastics totally,

Brianna Battles  11:35

and it's like so we don't even realize how much of like our early childhood sport experiences to sort of follow us, and so many ways you know, your background in gymnastics absolutely served you as a cross fitter. And now it's saying, Well, what part of that's going to keep serving me, and what part of that do I have to start to undo in different ways? And we all have to face that at some point where you know what we were able to compensate with prior isn't necessarily what we're still able to maintain now, and as we move into mothers and are raising the next generation of little athletes, how do we want their life experiences to be? You know, it's going to be what you want for your daughter is going to be different than what you had in many ways. So that's just sort of like this natural evolution of growth. And it's really positive that, you know you've been able to navigate these seasons so far with such I guess, like intention and humility of being willing to change some things or just address things that were you know that ultimately help you both.

Kari Pearce  12:32

Thank you and yet, like you said, it hasn't been easy, but I know it'll be worth it, and I know that I can teach her things. You know, that I learned, that I ways, that I messed up, or, you know, just to make her healthy from a young age. And, you know, do the best that I can with any body image issues, eating disorders, anything like that, as well, because it was hard, it's hard to deal with, as many, many, many females know. And if I can help her and help other little ones. You know, that'll be amazing too.

Brianna Battles  13:03

No, absolutely. And it's it, I tell people like, it just exists on such a spectrum. So even if you're like, I didn't I don't have an eating disorder. But it's like, we are still when you're an athlete in any capacity, if that's something you identify with, you are probably more hyper aware of your body and your food and little changes that others wouldn't notice. We just have a different level of awareness. And again, that intensity of it exists across a major spectrum, but ultimately, it's something that we care about. It's hard to see your body change. It is hard to adjust aspects of your lifestyle to accommodate where you're at right now. It's hard during pregnancy, and I'd argue that it's even harder postpartum, and we were talking about that a little bit before we started recording. But just, you know, really trying to leverage this as a significant growth opportunity for who you're becoming as an athlete and as

Kari Pearce  13:53

a mom. Thank you. And yeah, I agree. Like any athlete to be successful too, like you have to be that way. You have to be so extreme and so intense, like, because otherwise, somebody out there, somebody else out there, is going to be that extreme, and they're going to be better than you. So I feel like that's the mentality that I always had in an athlete, and one of the reasons I was so successful. But as you move into a different season of life, it's like, now I'm, you know, learned that intensity. It's like, okay, but you need to use that intensity on rest, on recovering. And, yeah, I mean, the energy on eating good foods. And not necessarily, like looking at your body and saying, your fat, it's like, no, I need body fat in order to conceive. And, right? That was like something that I had to change, like a little mindset, thing I had to change as well, from being an athlete to then the new chapter.

Brianna Battles  14:40

Yeah, I mean, and it sounds like you've done such a good job of, like, leveraging that athlete brain that we were talking about, where it's so hard, because, yeah, we are programmed. We are programmed to push through that pain and discomfort, maybe physically. We're programmed into the thinking like, well, I should do more. Someone else is doing more. And, like, just, kind of, again, just having a. Drive and being like a high performer, but in like every capacity of life, and sometimes pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood calls for a different to have our intensity channeled in different ways. And that's a heart that is a steep learning curve. It is a steep learning curve, one that I'm still learning. And I've been in, been in this for a long time, and it still creeps up, right? I'm like, oh, man, I thought I was past this. No, okay, that's humbling,

Kari Pearce  15:24

yeah, that's even, like, after I retired stuff, I was like, I'm not going to the gym because I know I'm training for something different, and if I go to the gym, I know I'm gonna work out harder, work out more, do things that like I shouldn't be doing for this next chapter. So I was like, totally, I have to focus on myself. And I appreciate you saying I've been doing a great job. It is really hard, though, like you said, and it did take a long time, and it's, you know, like any athlete who's been competitive many years, you have all of those years that you're trying to now change. And I wouldn't say on because I've learned so much from them, like the discipline, motivation, like all that stuff, still continue to this day. It's just that intensity of, like, where to put it, and it's okay to rest. And that's something like, I've never been good at. It's like, no, like, you need to learn that you need to do more self care. Um, so just, yeah, changing the intensity from, you know, working out hard. It's like, now I need to rest hard, or I need to meditate and, like, focus on like, like, meditate hard, I guess is just, like, can't really just relax it, you know,

Brianna Battles  16:23

absolutely? Yeah, there's like, definitely an athletic maturity that is gained through this process. And some people kind of get it early on, and others it takes, it takes just being further into the process to start acquiring that. But ultimately, that is what will serve you the most when you're on the other side. Because we were saying again, before, before we started recording, we were just like, yapping, like, it's not just about pregnancy and post horn exercise. It's about this lifetime of athleticism and then leveraging these, these seasons to just better support you across your long term quality of life and performance, whatever that might look like.

Kari Pearce  17:00

Yeah, because I want to, you know, work out during pregnancy. I want to be able to be fully functioning, like, athlete wise, after I'm pregnant and everything too. So just being smart in this season, I know, is so important, because, you know, I have that extra 510, pounds to the barbell right now. I'm like, you probably shouldn't do that, and I don't need to. So I need to, like, shut down athlete, bring it off, because now is so important, but then I know postpartum is going to be way harder, but probably even more important to being healthy for the rest of my life, especially if I do end up wanting to conceive again and then be healthy in that pregnancy, and then whatever is to follow. Like you said, it's a lifelong journey, and that's what I'm training for now, is the longevity, the health and everything for me, and then obviously my children and my husband, too, yeah, and I

Brianna Battles  17:49

mean, that's the best part. It really is. I feel like that's the best season of being an athlete for me now has been being an athlete as a mom and like raising little athletes and seeing just like, how we can influence that and create families that really value, like, not just fitness, but like, being athletic and using our bodies in really incredible ways. So it's pretty fun just and I would say that because I'm ahead of a lot of you that are listening to this podcast, and it just helps kind of see the forest through the trees when you're like, it's so we get so zoomed in on where we're at right now, what our body looks like right now, what our training is like, it can feel really frustrating, really depressing, really defeating. Burger like, maybe you go from wanting to workout all the time and your volume was really high, your intensity was really high, your lows really high, and now you're like, What is even the point? Like? This sucks. This sucks to like, have to change or not have the energy to train the way that I want to. And so on that note, can you tell me, like, compare and contrast? What was your training like as a CrossFit Games athlete, in contrast to what your training is like right now? So

Kari Pearce  18:55

when I was a CrossFit Games athlete, usually train four to six hours, around five days a week. Um, very intense. Almost every part of my workout had intensity. So I would do two a days. Usually the first session was an hour to an hour and a half. Usually, every once in a while, two hours. Then I would take a break, have like, have a meal, and then another session that was around three hours, give or take, three, three and a half, the first session was usually like some sort of monostructural work, rowing intervals, running intervals, like I said, something that would be a longer session. And then the second session for the day would be weight lifting, some sort of like clean snack, something like that, a strength piece accessory, a met con and sometimes gymnastic skill. So, yeah, four to six hours, five days, a lot of volume. Yeah, a lot of volume, and a lot and, like I said, almost everything I did, you hit with intensity, you know, so, like the intervals. I mean, yeah, you'd start off like, maybe moderately slow, but then as you build up, you're going ham the Met. On every day, almost you're going as hard as you can. Then the sixth day would be either rowing intervals or a swim, some sort of monostructural work that was usually an hour, sometimes an hour and a half, like full session, including warm up the workout and cool down and everything. And then I would have one complete day of rest. So yeah, a lot of volume, a lot of intensity, and just a lot of fitness, and your days were like, basically centered around working out, right,

Brianna Battles  20:28

right, and now and now the transition, yeah, I think a lot of people can relate to this. Obviously, most of us are not CrossFit Games athletes and not training that level of that volume or that intensity, but maybe we were used to lifting heavier or spending more time in the gym, or being able to hit a CrossFit class five days a week, and then you enter a new season where you're like, whether it's pregnancy or postpartum, it can feel like this isn't enough, because we're comparing it to what was instead of like, what's Well, what's actually healthy. So talk to us a little bit about your

Kari Pearce  21:02

training right now. Yeah. So now I usually do four days a week, like I said, I follow your program, and then usually on a fifth day, I might add, like, some zone to, like, 30 to 40 minutes of just moving grooves. What a little bit does that athlete in me? I was like, I want to do a little extra cardio. So do that. And, yeah, the workouts have a little warm up, full body warm up, for the most part, some rehab in there, which includes breathing. And as we were talking about, first, I wasn't the best at doing it, and then now I've had, like, a little bit of pelvic floor pain. So I'm like, that's probably the most important part of the workout, is like, learning to breathe and doing that prehab stuff. So it's in the programming. I did it now I'm focused more on it. And yeah, there's that prehab section. Then there's a strength some accessory, and then a Metcon and some stretching at the end. So depending on the day, usually around an hour, yeah, and then there's another day where there's like, a optional conditioning piece, which I see optional. I'm like, that means you do it. So always optional. For me, my athlete brain means that you're going to do it. So

Brianna Battles  22:05

I get that, yeah, that's why it's there, you know, because, but, you know, sometimes we like to give the permission, because sometimes people do need their permission. But I do feel like it is really hard to feel like less is more, even though we do know that as athletes like we do know that, like, sometimes less is more that quality over quantity, and there's certainly a time and a place for intensity and for quantity. But right now that's just not really the focus. You can still have a good workout, a well rounded, well structured workout that prioritizes strength and hypertrophy and long term performance without, like, having to get your ass kicked, you know,

Kari Pearce  22:44

no, and that's been something like, even through pregnancy, it's like, okay, you don't need to max out with your lifts. Like, make sure that you can, like, breathe throughout, because that's more important than like, like, max out lifting. I need to, like, Grunt the last rep out. So even the intensity is like, not only the volume and time, but the intensity is lower and like sometimes with the Met cons. I remember when I competed, I would warm up sometimes 20 minutes for even a 10 minute workout, because it's like, I need to make sure I get my heart rate up. I gotta try every movement right now. It's like, okay, set it up. Feel each movement real quick. Okay, get into and so just, I feel like that mindset of training has changed, but it also is just nice, because half the time I don't start a timer, unless it's like an EMOM or a 10 minute camera, then I will. But if it's like four rounds of three exercises, I don't even set a clock. So I'm like, I don't need to worry what my time is. I need to turn off. If I'm pushing and I feel good about how my effort, that matters more than the time on the clock. So I've had to, like, shift that mentality. And

Brianna Battles  23:45

that's like, a great example of the athletic maturity that we were talking about, where it's like, you gain perspective on, like, how do I feel? It's more like of a qualitative experience, where you know that you're getting the physiological benefit, but then you're also getting, like, the qualitative experience, where it's not attached to a data point or an outcome, or being like, exhausted on the floor, breathing hard as being like or a PR that you said, or working close to a PR off of a percentage like, sometimes it can actually just be about the qualitative experience of working out. And that gives you so much freedom as an athlete that I think athletes are so afraid to do because it feels like it's less than or like not good enough, but ultimately that is that is the way, that is the pathway to that lifetime of athleticism. You're not always going to be chasing PRs or data points or whatever, like, we're in this for longevity, and we can still push the pace here and there, but there's just a time and place for that.

Kari Pearce  24:43

Yeah, and it's funny, even as you were, like, talking, it makes me think, because, like, when I was competing for the games, I was so exhausted every day after my workouts, I was just like, laying on the couch. I'm tired, like I would do work or do whatever I had to do. But now days that I'm tired, I'm unloaded. Like, I'm like, I don't want to work out. Like, just go work out. Yeah, and afterward I feel so much better. So it's like the opposite, where it's like, now I do the workouts, you know, for me and for my future child, and then also to have more energy, versus before it was like, you're pushing yourself so hard all the time, you're lifting so much, but you have to do as an athlete, right? But then now it's like, for that long term, that long longevity, I'm like, so much better after I work out and after I've moved my body, yep,

Brianna Battles  25:25

oh, there's, I mean, again, there's a time and a place for everything. And I think when more female athletes, when they're in the seasons of pregnancy and postpartum, can give themselves the grace to be like, I am still fit, I'm still athletic, I'm just training for the body and the season I'm in right now, and it's not about maintaining. I think that's a big myth that so many women experience, but especially like my CrossFitters, like they want to keep maintaining. They want to keep doing the class workouts in the same way that they were prior. They want to keep hitting the same loads. They want to keep doing the pull ups, or keep doing the box jumps, or keep doing whatever it might be. They're so desperate to even maintain that they're not really willing to de load variables of their training, because it feels like, Well, I'm gonna lose it, then I don't want to lose it. And I was part of that camp, for sure, with my first with my first son, of just being afraid that that meant I was gonna lose, like, performance markers or ability. But ultimately, when you do de load and do take a step back, you are preserving those abilities, you're preserving it. But it's so hard to think like that, yeah.

Kari Pearce  26:25

I'm like, I can preserve that. Those abilities. I can like, you know, go a little lighter. Now, soon I'm gonna have that mom shrink, so I'm just gonna help that. It's

Brianna Battles  26:33

and it's so fun. Like, I love when people are like, you're a mom, and I'm like, yes, thank you. Thank you for saying that you're so strong. And I'm like, Dude, I know, but it's funny, because it's like, you, even if I'm not lifting the way that I used to, like, I just don't really want to. That's not what I'm training for right now. It's our foundation of strength and fitness stays with you like you don't lose it like that you've created a baseline. That's what I wish every athlete mom knew is like your baseline will serve you forever, even if it looks different, like I would say, even if I'm not lifting 300 pounds for my dad, lift anymore, that doesn't mean that I'm not still lifting heavy. Heavy is just relative like it. Heavy needs to be determined by the season of life you're in and what your interests are like you have the mom strength, it stays with you, doesn't go anywhere, yeah? Just a great like opportunity to unlock a new level of who you're becoming as an athlete. Yeah? So what has been like, one of the biggest struggles for you within your training? Has it been adapting that intensity? Has it been the mindset, the nutrition? Which part has been hardest for you, I think

Kari Pearce  27:42

it's the mindset part of adjusting almost everything you know, especially slowing down, especially after stopping competing. Then I was so used to looking a certain way, being able to do certain lifts, being able to run a mile in a certain time or row at a certain time, like all of these certain like, benchmarks that I had for myself. And you start slowing down, you're like, am I gonna lose all of that? And like, in your mind, you're like, Yes, I am. But also, why do I need to be able to run a six minute mile or be able to do a 400 pound deadlift? Like, I don't need to do any of those things, and now I'm gonna be focusing, like, right when I was done, it took a while, you know, to turn off that athlete brain. And as we said, still working on it, but just thinking of longevity, like, I can't train this way for the rest of my life. I want to find something that is more sustainable, you know, 90% of the days. And then, you know, every once in a while, it's like, no, I want to be an athlete. I need to turn on that mindset and turn off that mindset. So it definitely is the mindset that I think is the most important part of everything, because it all stems from your mindset. And that's been something like so important to relearn and retrain. And no matter how many times you tell yourself like you're in a different season, you still look and think back to the way that people know you like they know you as an athlete, this cross it gains athlete, this podium, this fittest born in America, all these different accomplishments and stuff that you have. And it still is hard to, like, kind of let that go and be like, well, that's not going to need me anymore. Like, I can't delete that. And, like I said, I didn't go to the gym for a while because in my mind, whether anyone else was comparing me or not. In my mind, I wanted to be the fittest that was there, and I knew at the reduced volume, intensity, everything that I was doing that wouldn't be me. They're super fit people in the gym. Like, I don't even want to do that. And for a while, workout with my husband, and if I would beat him by 10, he's like, I only lost you by 10 seconds. I'm like, I don't want to. I just want to work out for fun. After I word, I'd be like, I'm not comparing myself to you like and so it's just trying to change that mindset was definitely harm, like, I just need to work out with myself for a while. And I mean, we would end up doing workouts and different weights or different elements, however it was. But I was like, I just need to focus on this myself. If for a while, and not put myself in those situations that I know wouldn't benefit me for my long term goals.

Brianna Battles  30:07

And that's so smart, because that is something that so many people struggle with, is that comparison to other people in the gym, or the expectations by their itself, or that we assume others have of us, and then feeling like I'm I basically like just I need to work harder, because that's what's expected of me. But ultimately, like, that's such a big piece of of that mindset and of improving is putting yourself in an environment where you're not being forced to compare whether you want to or not. And we see that on social media. You're talking about that before too, where it's like, Well, you see so and so who is doing this during pregnancy, or this person who got back to competing at X amount of weeks or months postpartum, and you almost are like, is that what's normal? Is that what I should be doing? And then as athletes again, we have that athlete brain where we're like, well, if she could do it, I can do it, and that was okay for her. Why wouldn't I be able to do it? I'm a better athlete, or I'm an equal to that kind of athlete. And we kind of look and compare whether we want to or not to these people that we see in the gym with us or on the internet, and sort of regulate our self expectations based on what they're seeing, instead of like what we need to be healthy. So sometimes it does take removing yourself, either from following somebody or from being in an environment that ultimately feels more triggering than it does enjoyable, and that can be really hard, because so many of us find our happy place by being there, but sometimes it doesn't say your happy place during certain seasons that are just more vulnerable for you. So you have to be training in a place and in a way, and consuming content and info that's not going to derail you from what you need right now,

Kari Pearce  31:43

definitely. And I think in addition to just like the performance side, I needed to slow down. And so I had a feeling my body was going to change, and I didn't want people to see me and see my body change. And like you said, Yeah, 90% in your own head, people aren't going to notice if you increase your body fat a percentage or two, but in your mind, you're like, my body's completely changing, like, gonna look different. Everyone's gonna judge me for it. And so I'm like, I'm just gonna stay away. I'm gonna try and focus on myself, and focus on, like, this new journey that I'm going down and try and let go of 100% of how I look like, yeah, my body's gonna change, but I need to embrace it for what is ahead. That's

Brianna Battles  32:21

just so powerful to hear. Because I think so many moms, even if they can't relate to the level of athlete you are, we do all relate to it just being hard to see your body change, and knowing like, even though this is a good thing, this is what's supposed to happen. This is what I need. Um, we just do. We hold so much of our identity, and sometimes even like our worth to how lean we are, what we look like, what we can do, and it just becomes so mentally challenging to surrender to these changes, because ultimately this is positive, but it can still be hard. It's like both this. It's just really complex emotions, because these things coexist where it's hard to see things change, but ultimately it's exactly what you want, yeah,

Kari Pearce  33:03

and it's like people see the outside, which we said earlier, like, the outside doesn't necessarily tell, like, how healthy you are anything, yeah, like, it's the inside. And what's going on with your hormones and everything that is, you know, really important, especially for long term health and longevity. Yeah,

Brianna Battles  33:18

absolutely. And now I want to talk a little bit about, you know, we've talked about the intensity, we've talked about what, you know, adjustments you've had to make mentally, what your training has been like. Let's talk about you as a female athlete in general. Because, again, while your avatar of a human is like a very high level performance, most of us are not at that level of of athleticism. But you have a history of gymnastics, you have a long history of CrossFit, and you have a long history of overall being a I call them a high tension human. We hold a lot of tension in our abs. We hold a lot of tension in our traps. We hold a lot of tension our glutes and pelvic floor. And one thing we've talked about is trying to down regulate some of that tension and not have everything be so intense. You know, you talked about Kegels earlier, and I just want to use this as an opportunity to say, like an athlete like you, which actually is so many people, it's just again, across the spectrum, they don't need more tension. They don't need more contraction through Kegels or pelvic floor specific exercise for the most part, it's about reintegrating and down training some of that tension and those habits that you have as a gymnast and as a CrossFit athlete. How's that been for you?

Kari Pearce  34:32

It's been hard because, like you said, it's years and years and years of being a certain way, having a certain mentality, and just everything that you do, you do it with intensity, and now your body is changing. And as you said, like, I know for the long term, and like for pregnancy, for birth, like my body's changing, like I need to learn to relax, especially like my abs and the pelvic floor, and just like, release some of this tension, the season has changed. My body is going to change, and especially as my uterus and my stomach and everything grow, right? Like you said, there's so much tension that is built up in the pelvic floor. And yeah, the whole Kegels thing, I was very interested, because everyone says you need to do them when you're pregnant. And yeah, but that's not a one size fits all, because my body is way different from like someone who sat on the couch, you know, their entire life, I've been active. I've been bracing and like, holding in tight, tight, tightens. Like, okay, we're at a different season. You need to unlearn some of that intensity, especially in certain places and like, just for my brain to adapt to the changes, I need to be able to relax and adjust certain things. And even more like focusing on the breathing to relax my floor, which is so important, I think definitely underestimate. I've been learning a lot from you recently about it just and how important it truly is for any athlete or anyone you know that has worked out a lot throughout your entire life. So relearning a lot of things, the breathing, the bracing, you know, when it does come to working out,

Brianna Battles  36:04

yeah, because it's like, you know, and it doesn't, I tell people, it doesn't have to be, like, this lame approach to exercise. It's just about changing how we exercise. Because as gymnasts, you've been taught hold tension in your core, and then everything with gymnastics, and same with, like, our dancers and stuff like that, and CrossFit athletes, it's a lot of extension everything in those sports like kind of reinforce extension, and again, that just puts a lot of additional stress on the body, especially when we're now growing a baby, and there's more pressure and there's more load, and there's more demand on that core and pelvic floor system in these sports and these postures and these tendencies that you know can contribute to pelvic health symptoms and the to the diastasis. Again, diastasis is a totally normal adaptation, and it will be something that you experience during pregnancy, but we just don't want to continually reinforce that with our tendencies of how we're breathing, how we're bracing, some of the movement patterns we're doing, and so it's an opportunity during pregnancy to sort of relearn how to train in ways that aren't reinforcing some of the habits that we have from our history in sports, whether it was the sports we did growing up, or CrossFit or powerlifting or whatever it might be, yeah,

Kari Pearce  37:16

and just learning how pregnancy is so different from normal training, I think is so important for any female going through it. And, like I said, something that I don't, I didn't, don't know much about I may, women's fitness cert, we hit on it, but still, just hitting on it and learning a little bit is way different than, you know, talking to someone who's been educated in it for years. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. It's such a distinct season that, you know, we need to train for and listen to our body during and kind of shut off that athlete mindset and be like your body is changing. You need to train for this season that you're in

Brianna Battles  37:50

absolutely and, you know, and something I've been talking about more recently is, like, a lot of the information that we have on pregnancy and postpartum fitness, or for like, women's fitness stuff. It's not reflective or in alignment with how women train in 2025 like everyone is like, Oh, I'm not an athlete. I'm like, but you've been in the gym, training at CrossFit, at F 45 at Orange theory, at your boot camps, doing athletic stuff that the pre and postnatal industry, and honestly, like the scope of women's health information, it does not has is not designed for the way that women train today. So you are inherently doing athletic stuff. So we do need to approach your training through the lens of being an athlete, because how maybe your mom, or how my mom trained back in the day, which, like my mom even, like, didn't actually, but I would assume, like the generations before us, that's not how women were training. We like millennial women in general, and maybe the generation a little bit before us, like that was the first generation of women who knew that exercise was beneficial, that we're in the gym, lifting, lifting for women is still a relatively new, newly embraced normalcy, and yet the rest of the information for women's health and pre and postnatal does not reflect that whatsoever. Even the ACOG guidelines are very short sighted and do not reflect how women work out in 2025

Kari Pearce  39:20

Yeah. And like I said, in addition to that, like women lifting during pregnancy too, it's like, oh, yeah, another thing as well, yeah,

Brianna Battles  39:27

yeah. And that's, it's been keeping me busy for the last decade. But yeah, I mean, and I think that's hard part is like, we want to have all this research and have all this evidence, but what we truly have is now like a lot of reps and case studies of working with people and just trying to connect the dots between that athlete psychology, the core and pelvic health concepts and considerations, and then through the lens of their lifetime of athleticism, that long term athletic performance like and then being able to reverse engineer the. Training should look like on that behalf, and like you have, you're already a great example of that, because you looked at you're trying to conceive chapter, and you were like, all right, I'm like, not ready for the chapter ahead of me of pregnancy, because I gotta get all of these things in alignment first. So if the goal is to get pregnant, I gotta reverse engineer that. And you know that truly is what this process is. But it's hard, because we get very consumed by where we're at instead of kind of looking at the big picture and working backwards on it,

Kari Pearce  40:28

yeah. And then even in addition to that, like trying to conceive, and as I was, like, going through the process, it's like, okay, even if you were able to conceive, is your body in a place that is ready or that it feels safe to hold on to the baby, because that's a whole nother thing too. It's like, okay, just because you can conceive doesn't mean that you can carry the baby full term. So it's like, okay, get your body ready in a place that you can conceive and then so that it does feel safe to continue to hold on to the baby for the entire 40 weeks.

Brianna Battles  40:57

Yeah, you know. And I tell people, like it's hard, like there's just so many variables that we do not have control of, that we don't have control of, and so the very few things that we do have control of is like our exercise approach and the grace, the very levels of grace we're able to get our give ourselves throughout every curve ball that presents itself, because that there's no avoiding them. It's just like the grace that we give ourselves to be really adaptable in our approach, in our mindset, like those are the things we actually do have control of, because it's just, it's a season filled with with just new things that we didn't even know. We don't know to consider until, until you're faced with it. A lot of times,

Kari Pearce  41:36

yeah, or until you Yeah, you're educated enough to know what's going on too, because sometimes you just don't know until you until I saw a nutritionist and saw a doctor, like, what really was going on with my body, and then having to adjust the mindset, even being scared, but just trusting my body and trusting them and trusting the process to know, like, this is going to take me where I want to

Brianna Battles  41:56

go totally and then, like, managing expectations as an athlete, that is, I feel like that's really hard. I want to talk want to talk about that a little bit, because athletes are so process driven. We're like, Okay, if I do x, y and z, then this is going to guarantee me this result. I'm going to peak at this time. I'm going to be ready to hit this PR. I'm going to be ready for the games, whatever it might be. But this is what my process needs to look like, and I will not deter from the process and then, like, pregnancy, birth, motherhood, whatever is all like, oh yeah. Like, good luck. Yeah. There's no set and predictable process. So what has that been like for you as somebody who's, I would assume, pretty rigid in your process? Yeah? I mean,

Kari Pearce  42:39

luckily, I guess, for conceiving, getting pregnant, it was like, Okay, you need to do XYZ, as far as, like, supplements, nutrition, reducing your stress, taking more for self care. So I had, like, all of these things that I knew I needed to do. So it kind of like my roadmap, yeah, and being, you know, the intense person that I am, like, okay, when I was training, I was focused 100% I'm on training become the best gymnast I was first, then cross athlete, and then now I'm, like, training for this new thing. Yeah. So I think I kind of took a similar mindset that was like, Okay, you're training for this new thing, and now you have these certain guidelines, supplements, nutrition, like I said, reduced workouts, but now you're adding in meditation, or you're going to add in journaling or reading, and like, adding in more of these self care things, so that, you know, I had, every once in a while, it's like, okay, you don't need to have a schedule or you just need to chill. But having that, knowing what I had to do, and like, having those stepping stones, I guess, helped me use that athlete mindset to then just focus on the training for my fragility, journey and what was to come? Yeah,

Brianna Battles  43:42

no, that's so good. I mean, if it's, I think it's really hard when you're in that chapter to be like, well, this is what I'm used to doing. This is what I thought it was going to be like, and now I'm being hit with, wait, I can't just get pregnant. Oh, this is a problem. Oh, I need to, like, do this now. What the heck? Pelvic health symptoms. Where did that come from? Where you're just, like, I wasn't expecting that. And then having to, like, you know, just adjust your sales a bit,

Kari Pearce  44:06

yeah. And then even figuring out, like, the hormones, like, yeah, oh, they're all over the place. You need to do this for this one. You need to do this for this one. And just like, adjusting different things in your life. But I feel like also knowing you're getting blood work done every couple months is like, okay, that's like, my competition, so like my nutritionist and my doctor will know if I'm doing the proper things, depending on how the blood work comes back, or, you know, maybe we need to monitor or change a few, alter a few things that you are doing. But I felt like I had to, like, stay true to my roadmap and kind of use that, like I said, as a competitor mindset to then see how the results would then end up showing up a couple months later.

Brianna Battles  44:45

Absolutely, absolutely. Well, what are you looking forward to most? With what you have on the horizon? You're about little over halfway through your pregnancy. What's next for you?

Kari Pearce  44:55

Yeah, I mean, so I'm going to be releasing a business too. I do want to talk to. Just more about all of this stuff, the journey I've been through, the hormones, the mindset, just because it has been such a wild ride. And I feel like so many women feel like they're in it by themselves. And I mean, even when I was going through a through it, a lot of it felt like I was in it alone, like I have a great support system, which I feel like is incredible, and like my husband's been amazing by my side the whole time, the medical team, friends, family, everything, but still, you're the one going through it. And I feel like it is lonely, and even like, just talking a little bit about it, women have come to me and just said, like, I appreciate you sharing your journey. I was on something similar, or I want to learn more, because I'm going to be going through that journey, whatever it is. And I think that's just so important, something that is missing. And even talking about being an athlete and having hypothyroidism and not having a period, and just all these things that I was faced with my body and like we talked about the mindset is such a big thing. Like, how did you change it? So I want to be able to help women out there. And then I am looking forward to being a mom as well, like, it's just going to be such a different journey. And I feel like I'll have a new motivation just for life with a little one, I'm like, she's going to be a mini me, hopefully, so that'll be fun, and just the new experiences that come with it, I know it's going to be really hard, but then just having all these other moms to relate to and talk to and ask questions about and learn from, and just really embrace this next chapter, because I know it's going to be so different from anything that I've done. And yeah, just focus on, you know, that true body health, and be able to show that to my daughter. Between me and my husband, obviously, he's very active and works out, and just Yeah, being healthy from the inside out and from a young age, like, not just, like, saying that life is about how you look or be sweet and everything. So I don't know, I guess, yeah, a lot of different things to look forward to that I'm excited about. Yeah,

Brianna Battles  46:52

you're entering, like, really incredible season of life. And you know, like, we talked about the beginning of this, like, it athleticism does not end when motherhood begins, and it's going to be different, but that different is the thing, the very thing that will create a lot of great opportunities. And I'm really excited, really excited for you. I'm excited to support you through these chapters and see where it all goes.

Kari Pearce  47:12

Thank you, and I appreciate your program and everything you've done for me so far, I've learned so much from you, which has been awesome, because, like I said, I'm educated in women's fitness and everything, but this is just such a different journey, and so it's amazing just to be able to have someone like you to learn from and make sure that I'm doing it right, especially for my long term health. Yeah, well, absolutely.

Brianna Battles  47:34

Thank you so much for thank you so much for saying that. And where can people find you? At find out more about you, yeah, mainly

Kari Pearce  47:41

Instagram at Carrie Pierce CrossFit. I have a Facebook page, Carrie Pierce CrossFit Games athlete, and then my website, which I'm like redoing, but Carrie

Brianna Battles  47:52

pierce.com All right, awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing your time and your story on this podcast, and we're looking forward to following your journey as it progresses, of course. And

Kari Pearce  48:01

thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Brianna Battles  48:07

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the practice brave podcast. If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review and help us spread the work we are doing to improve the overall information and messaging in the fitness industry and beyond. Now, if you are pregnant and you are looking for a trustworthy exercise program to follow, I have you covered. The pregnant athlete training program is a well rounded program for pregnancy with workouts for each week that are appropriate for your changing body. That's 36 weeks of workouts, three to four workouts each week, and tons of guidance on exercise strategy. We also have an at home version of that program. If you are postpartum and you're looking for an exercise program to follow. The eight week postpartum athlete training program would be a really great way to help bridge the gap between rehab and the fitness you actually want to do from there, we have the practice braid fitness program, which is an ongoing strength conditioning program where you get new workouts each week and have a lot of guidance for myself and my co coach, Heather Osby, this is the only way that I'm really offering ongoing coaching at this point in time. If you have ever considered becoming a certified pregnancy and postpartum athleticism coach, I would love to have you join us. Pregnancy and postpartum athleticism is a self paced online certification course that will up level your coaching skills and help connect the dots between pelvic health and long term athletic performance, especially during pregnancy and postpartum, become who you needed and become who your online and local community needs by becoming a certified pregnancy and postpartum athleticism Coach, thank you again for listening to the practice brave podcast. I appreciate you, and please help me continue spreading this messaging, this information and this work