Have you heard the term prenatal & postpartum fitness specialist?
This is a person who has additional training and certification in working with the pregnant and postpartum mamas with their health and fitness goals.
It is not a trainer who got pregnant, had a baby, and then got themselves back into shape afterwards who has now proclaimed themself an expert in working with pregnant and postpartum moms. Just because someone is a personal trainer who happened to have a baby, does not make them an expert in intricacies of working with pregnant and postpartum clients.
Why should someone who is pregnant or postpartum seek out a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist?
A big reason is safety. You want to make sure your trainer knows what exercises are safe to do during pregnancy and what are the most effective ways to get your body back in shape postpartum.
Too often we see women in pelvic physical therapy because their trainer pushed them too far too fast or prescribed core exercises that the client could not perform correctly and the client ends up with symptoms such as bladder leakage, pelvic prolapse, low back pain, or diastasis recti.
During pregnancy a good prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist will guide you through exercises that are going to keep you strong and mobile through your pregnancy. These exercises can help you prepare you for delivery, and then even set you up for postpartum success.
In postpartum, a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist is there to guide you back into fitness you want to do at your pace, individualizing it for your body. They can help you maximize your results whether you like traditional strength training, yoga or you are a high-level athlete and want to get back into a lot of high-level weight training and impact exercise.
How do I know when I need to stop or modify my exercise?
Many women are used to the no pain, no gain mentality of working out and they continue to push their bodies past the point that the bodies can handle. We are all for being active and pushing yourself, but there are a few things to watch for to help you decide when you need to modify.
The Three P’s:
- Pain
- Pelvic Pressure
- Peeing
A good prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist should be screening you for symptoms of the Three P’s and be able to help you modify exercises to workout without these symptoms.
What if I can’t partner with a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist in person, are there any good online programs?
There are many online options out there, but unfortunately, not all of them are put out there by pelvic physical therapists and pregnancy and postpartum fitness specialists.
Because of the needs we have seen with our own clients, we have created an online program called Moms Made Stronger. Think about it like Netflix for anything you want to know about fitness related to pregnancy, postpartum, pelvic and core health.
The Moms Made Stronger Membership gives you all kinds of exercises and workouts to take you from pregnancy all the way through postpartum, and even years postpartum. All you have to do is show up (on your computer, tablet, or phone), press play, and you follow along with us because as moms and moms-to-be we have enough on our plates.
Whether you have only have 10 minutes to get a quick workout in while the kids are occupied, or you have 40 minutes to get a workout we have you covered.
We have several options available to you to partner with a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist, including the Moms Made Stronger Membership. You can check out the options on our fitness page.
