Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Two moms in two different stages of life. Robyn (foreground) is 19 months postpartum with her second child, and Meaghan (background) is 7 months pregnant with her second child.
Robyn is comfortable activating her core, so she’s performing dead bugs, a core stabilization movement, on her back, without added weight.
Because Meaghan has a lot of pressure going on within her pelvic floor and abdominal walls, we flipped her over onto hands and knees to take excess pressure off of her back and pelvis, and to keep her insides safe from being squished by her baby, even if it would only be a few minutes.
Could Robyn add a dumbbell or kettlebell to intensify the workout? Probably. Could Meaghan lie on her back for this? Again probably.
But in order to preserve postpartum recovery, slow and steady is the name of the game.
Here at Bent On Better Moms, we focus on the person right in front of us. While programs are written for everyone to follow together, what works for one may not work for another.
We take into consideration many things, such as:
- did this mom work out while she was pregnant?
- is this mom currently pregnant? Which trimester?
- did this mom work out with Bent On Better Moms while she was pregnant?
- what kind of birth did she have?
- what was her recovery like?
- does she have other children at home?
- did she have any complications during or after birth?
- was her birth traumatic?
- is she breastfeeding?
- is she experiencing any symptoms?
- and the list goes on and on…
Each baby-carrying person is different, and we treat each workout as such, constantly checking in before, during, and after workouts. Our pre/postnatal members should feel welcome to discuss any concerns with their coach to troubleshoot pain, discomfort, or uncertainty.