Six-time Fittest Woman on Earth says giving birth was like her first CrossFit Games. It was the best day of her life, but not easy.

• CrossFit champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr gave birth to her daughter Willow in May.
• The birth didn't go as planned and she ended up having a cesarean section.
• Incredibly, Toomey-Orr competed again in October, and she's gearing up for the 2024 CrossFit Games.

Like many expectant mothers, CrossFit legend Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr was told countless tales during her pregnancy about what it's like to go into labor and give birth. But nothing really prepared her for it.

This reminded her of training to compete at her first CrossFit Games in 2013, she told Business Insider almost exactly a year after she shared the news of her pregnancy with this publication on Christmas Eve 2022, sending a shockwave through the sport.

"I didn't know what to expect, I just ran with the punches and then I changed things up to see if I could do better," Toomey-Orr said of her first CrossFit games. She went on to become the "Fittest Woman on Earth" six times in a row from 2015.

That incredible legacy left fans with a lot of questions. They were, of course, happy for the celebrated Australian athlete and her husband and coach, Shane Orr, whom she lives with in Nashville.

But what did this mean for CrossFit? Who would take the crown at the 2023 Games with Toomey-Orr out of action? Would she ever return to the sport?

They didn't have to wait long for the answers.

The 30-year-old took the same pragmatic approach that saw her become a CrossFit champion towards competing again just five months after becoming a mother.

She gave birth to a baby girl, Willow, in May, and so was indeed watching from the sidelines at the CrossFit Games in August. But she shocked the sport's followers when she announced in September that she would be competing at the Rogue Invitational, a major CrossFit competition, in October.

"When I was pregnant, I did say to Shane, 'If everything goes well, I would really like to see myself back out on the competition floor at Rogue.' And a lot of people thought that that was a little bit ambitious," Toomey-Orr said.

Her self-belief was absolutely warranted, and Toomey-Orr wowed fans by placing second. Neither the training to get there while keeping her new baby as her top priority nor the criticism she has received was easy. But it has all been worth it.

"Being a mom is a thousand times more incredible and more impactful than I could have ever imagined," Toomey-Orr said. "We're just learning as we're going. It's just been such a breath of fresh air and something that Shane and I have wanted for a very long time. She is just absolutely everything that we could imagine plus more."

Toomey-Orr caught up with BI this December to talk about her birth, which didn't go as planned, rebuilding her strength while being a mother, and dealing with criticism for training during pregnancy and post-partum.

Staying active while pregnant

Toomey-Orr enjoyed being pregnant and felt comfortable throughout, despite many people telling her to expect the inverse, she said.

She stayed active throughout her pregnancy, which people are advised to do, while modifying movements and training where necessary to keep her baby safe.

"It was just so fun to actually exercise during my pregnancy," Toomey-Orr said, knowing she was lucky to have felt well enough to do so.

"It was definitely a very interesting experience trying to move around a bigger belly as it got bigger and bigger throughout the weeks," she said. "But I just absolutely loved every minute of it."

Toomey-Orr had an emergency c-section

After a relatively stress-free pregnancy, however, Willow's birth didn't go the way Toomey-Orr had hoped.

"Essentially everything that I didn't want to happen happened," she said.

"Despite what my ideal birth looked like, I was very open-minded to just make the necessary changes to deliver Willow healthy and happy," she said, which meant having a cesarean section.

"It was the best day of my life, but it definitely wasn't easy," she said.

Toomey-Orr "definitely" wants more children but she would approach a second birth differently, which is exactly how she felt after her first CrossFit Games.

Easing back into fitness after giving birth

After the c-section, a type of major surgery, Toomey-Orr was shocked that it took her a couple of weeks to simply be able to get around as normal.

I asked Toomey-Orr if she was desperate to get back to the gym and was surprised by her answer.

"I wasn't itching to get back, to be honest," she said. "I absolutely loved just being at home with her, no one else. We didn't have family in Nashville at the time, so, selfishly, Shane and I just got to experience Willow for ourselves by ourselves, and it was so beautiful for me. That was really, really special."

The new parents wanted to wait at least a month before exposing their newborn to a gym environment, she said, and for the first few weeks after the birth she just did short walks, sometimes only 100 meters.

When she did return to the gym, it took longer than expected to regain her strength.

"Breastfeeding definitely isn't one of those things that contributes to building strength," she said.

Toomey-Orr's initial focus was just breathing steadily and getting her blood following. She moved on to really light weights and, once she had the green light from her doctor, started to build up the intensity and load.

She didn't experience too much ab-separation, which affects about 60% of women, but she still had to be careful and not rush into intense core exercises such as snatches, GHD sit-ups, and toes-to-bars, which can put pressure on c-section scars and strain the muscles, risking injury.

Toomey-Orr wasn't back to full strength at Rogue — and still came second

During this period, not being able to defend her title at the CrossFit Games and watching the other athletes compete was a "huge motivator" to work hard when she could, Toomey-Orr said — as was knowing that some people were shocked she was even trying to return to competing, or doubted she'd be able to.

"Some people might think I have too much of an ego, but it was a really great motivator and a really great way for me to lock in and set my sights up, but I also think it was a key component to setting myself up for next season," she said.

That laser-sharp focus saw her finish second on the podium, and not far behind winner Laura Horvath, despite knowing she wasn't back to her pre-pregnancy fitness.

But she felt herself mentally, even if not physically, Toomey-Orr said.

"I definitely believed in my abilities and I think that's the only thing that really got me through," she said. "Of course, my body held up and I was really proud of how my body did hold up when I was five months out. It was really about being smart, but also being eager and pushing the envelope to what was safe."

Rogue is a strength-dominant competition and that was an area that Toomey-Orr had to accept wasn't coming back as quickly as she liked.

"That was the first time in my career that I've had to be OK with that," she said. "That was probably one of the most challenging things, just being OK with going into a competition, half done, if you will."

Six months of motherhood down, Toomey-Orr is still seeing improvements in her performance and how her body feels every day, she said. She's confident that she'll be in peak condition again for the 2024 CrossFit season, with hopes of reclaiming her title.

Criticized for competing as a mother

As many female athletes can attest to, she has had some unwelcome distractions from rebuilding her strength. Throughout her pregnancy, Toomey-Orr received mixed comments on her social media when she posted videos of her training, and not much has changed now she's a mom.

For every person who praised her as an inspiration or called her the "GOAT," someone would tell her what she was doing wasn't safe for her or her baby.

"It's hard not to see these comments," Toomey-Orr said. "It definitely can be really heartbreaking, especially when people are having a go at you for potentially putting your absolute world, your baby, at harm."

She tried to take a step back and remind herself that she's only ever done what her doctor says is OK.

"I'm not being an irresponsible person, I'm listening to my body and just having that constant check-in," Toomey-Orr said. "Well, if I have haters, I'm definitely doing something right."

Toomey-Orr won't compete forever

Toomey-Orr loves having her daughter watching her train and compete — it's a "dream come true," she said — but she's been asking herself how much longer she wants to do it.

"Do I want to be putting that stress and that inconvenience to Willow, to Shane, to my family?" Toomey-Orr said. "Because while I'm training someone has to look after Willow, and while I'm training, Willow has to either be sitting watching me, she's not going to the beach or doing something that she wants to do."

In the meantime, Toomey-Orr is showing her daughter what it looks like to be one of the fittest people on the planet — although she may not yet realize it — while wearing many hats.

Toomey-Orr's second book, "The Heart is the Strongest Muscle," a memoir and manual that delves into how she built her mental strength over her life, will be released in February, and she and her husband are opening a new HQ gym for their fitness brand PRVN in Nashville in early 2024.

But for now, she's working hard to get ready for the next CrossFit Games, with Willow watching on.

"This afternoon I did this workout and I was puffing and puffing, and I felt like she was cheering me on," Toomey-Orr said. "It was a constant reminder of why I'm doing it, and it was just so special."