The Fittest Woman on Earth has slowed down since getting pregnant. It will make her a better athlete

• CrossFit champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is weeks away from giving birth to her first child.
• The six-time Fittest Woman on Earth told Insider how she's stayed active and healthy while pregnant.
• Toomey-Orr has been focusing on mobility and said her sumo squats are deeper than ever.

Six-time Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr says working out during her pregnancy has improved her mobility and technique, and she hopes to keep it that way when she becomes a mom.

The Australian athlete has won the CrossFit Games for six consecutive years, but is not competing this year because she is weeks away from giving birth to her first child with her husband and coach, Shane Orr.

"We are literally at the very end and just waiting for the little baby to give us some signs on when it's ready to come out," Toomey-Orr told Insider in an exclusive interview.

Toomey-Orr, who is due in May, has stayed active throughout her pregnancy but has adapted her training a lot — reducing the intensity, time, and weights — and has made sure to listen to her body. She hopes that slowing down and focusing on technique rather than aiming for maximum speed or weight will actually benefit her performance in the long-run.

Toomey-Orr is taking the opportunity to slow down

At the start of her pregnancy, Toomey-Orr found it hard to know what her body and her baby needed to stay happy and healthy. But she learned as she went and now, past the 36 week mark, she feels a lot more confident, she said.

Her priority is feeling happy and relaxed, and not over-committing herself, which is a change from her days of competing.

"I was always so busy, trying to capitalize on where I was in my life with my athletic ability, and trying to push the envelope every single minute of every single day," Toomey-Orr said. "Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've tried to do a complete 180 and just take a hot minute to relax, to take a break, and not sweat the small things."

But nutrition has stayed a top priority for the elite athlete. Since becoming pregnant she's made even more effort to eat well and stay hydrated.

Her pregnancy craving? Scrambled eggs.

"The whole first half of my pregnancy, I was just craving scrambled eggs," she said. "It was all I could stomach or feel satisfied eating."

On the whole, she's maintained her regular diet with lots of vegetables and wholesome foods, she said. 

Toomey-Orr doesn't have a training schedule

Toomey-Orr was surprised to find she still felt the desire to exercise while pregnant, as she wasn't expecting to.

She's dialed back her training significantly and taken the pressure off, but says exercising has helped her mentally, physically, and emotionally during her pregnancy.

Toomey-Orr has no training schedule so just sees how she feels on any given day — sometimes she just wants to walk, other times she wants to go to the gym.

Experts previously told Insider that moderate exercise is not only safe during pregnancy but is beneficial for mother and baby, provided certain adjustments are made.

When Toomey-Orr works out, she does much shorter sessions than she used to, at a lower intensity and with lighter weights, she said.

There are some movements she has had to stop doing altogether as her bump has grown, such as snatches (moving a barbell in a straight line from the floor to overhead, keeping it close to the body) and running.

Others she has modified — for example, she can no longer bend down to pick up a barbell so might start in a "hang position," hinging at the hips with the weight in her hands already.

If she feels any discomfort in a movement, she stops doing it.

Toomey-Orr has also had to navigate her center of gravity changing as well as her weight increasing, but she can still do pull-ups.

Toomey-Orr has prioritized mobility and recovery

Although training less, Toomey-Orr has devoted plenty of her time to recovery and mobility exercises. She is an ambassador for mobility app Pliability's new pregnancy path, which consists of three mobility routines per week, designed specifically for the needs of each trimester, with the aim of reducing pain and discomfort, and improving a woman's ability to move and exercise safely.

Toomey-Orr has been working on exercises for her pelvic floor and core, stabilization, and posture: "It's about good movement mechanics and keeping a baseline of strength without lifting a lot of weight."

Toomey-Orr feels that maintaining good posture and mobility has helped her avoid sore aches, lower back pain, and joint swelling. "I think it's going to set me up for success after birth and throughout the post-partum process," she said. 

Her mobility is even better than it was before pregnancy "because everything's relaxing and opening up," Toomey-Orr said.

For example, she can now get into a really deep sumo squat, and it feels so comfortable that she could hold it "all day long and have no discomfort," she said.

"I just hope I maintain this mobility when my pregnancy's over because it would make for a really good technique," Toomey-Orr said.

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