When Emily Breeze was 34 weeks pregnant, she dead-lifted 155 pounds for 55 reps while competing with her CrossFit team. But that was nothing for the 5-foot-5 Charlotte, North Carolina–based trainer: before she was pregnant, she was dead-lifting 325 pounds.
“My one-rep max on dead-lift is 325 pounds, so 155 is less than 50 percent of my one-rep max,” Breeze, 31, tells Us Weekly. “The 155 pound dead-lift would not be considered too heavy for me. I’m working at 50 percent of my normal pre-pregnancy 100%.”
Breeze and her husband, investment consultant Montell Watson, plan to welcome their first child — a boy — on April 29. “I’m still working out six times a week,” the Crossfit Games athlete tells Us. With just 25 days until her due date, Breeze is safely working up a sweat with Crossfit, Olympic lifting and metabolic conditioning.
On March 11, Breeze shared comparison photos of her abs before she was pregnant — and then with her baby bump. “What a difference an entire year makes,” she Instagrammed. "The picture on the left motivates me but also terrifies me. Will my body ever go back to the same pre-baby weight? I have never been into strict eating but I am sure it’s going to take a lot to bounce back.”
Breeze — who has gained 26 pounds so far — admits she still worries about her post-baby body. “I have always been an athlete and never had to worry about weight gain,” she tells Us. “The unknown and what I can’t control is scary. I’m hoping to snap back quickly.”
Despite her anxiety, the mom-to-be refuses to count calories and will indulge in two or three cookies from a local bakery. “People who don’t know me write the craziest things [on my Instagram],” says Breeze. “I am completely baffled that people would think I’d do anything that would harm my baby … but I won’t allow someone’s uneducated opinion to deter my doctor-approved fitness regime during my pregnant.”
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The mom-to-be and former NFL star Randy Moss host a free boot camp at STAX gym in Charlotte every Monday and Wednesday at 6:30 P.M. “We get anywhere from 300 to 500 people a night!” raves Breeze. On May 14, Breeze, Moss and the STAX Bootcamp family will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest bootcamp/circuit training in history.
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