Question for the muscle mamas whose second home is the gym

No- I got pre-eclampsia which meant I was in hospital for a while, and had an emergency c-section so couldn’t exercise at all for a while. Got it back though! Started doing home workouts as soon as I was able and I’ve definitely got my strength and fitness back 🙂

Yes yes and yes. I managed to maintain the muscle when pregnant, helped define my belly and not give me any extra fat around my belly/hip/waist area, even though I’d gained 44lbs which was mainly weight in my belly only it wasn’t like weight all over as some mums gain. Which meant as soon as I gave birth half of that came off immediately, and the other ~20lbs came off slowly over time and by his 1st bday I’d gotten back to weight but still needed toning and by 18m I was back to my old body again fitting into my old jeans again. 3rd baby too so not my first, first baby I’d gotten back to weight even quicker, this one took me longest at 18m. Took up Pilates and Zumba at 4m for a break and some socialising, replaced them both w salsa as I’d found free salsa lessons. Weights and squats I do at home- Hubby has barbells and I have 3kg and 5kg dumbbells. Because I was doing core work pregnant and Pp, I’d gotten my pelvic floo back nice and strong so I don’t pee myself when I sneeze or cough.

@Kellie awesome! What specific exercises did you do before to make sure pelvic stays “in tact” somewhat or bounces back quickly after?

@Sawin continued w hip thrusts and leg lifts before and during and after pregnancy. When pregnant I sat on the gym ball cross legged watching tv- to stay on the ball I need to use my core muscles. Any exercises for core also indirectly helps w pelvic floor as they are connected.

I honestly had to stop working out intensely during third trimester, so all I did was walking, swimming and running after my toddler 😅 bouncing on the ball etc. but around 4 weeks pp I started body weight exercises, 8 weeks pp I started lifting light weights, 3 months in I’m lifting 10kg for squats and arms, started core strengthening, and my body has bounced back. Muscle memory helps a lot 💪🏻

No.. I still managed to work out until around 10 weeks pregnant but I really struggled due to lack of energy! I wasn't deficient in anything, just felt exhausted every day and my legs felt like I was running a marathon every day 🥲

I worked out but wasn't as consistent consistent as I'd like to be with my second. I was looking so good after my first. I am trying to only gain 25# this 3rd pregnancy. I'm actually looking for some moms who like to work out, help keep each other motivated, and share tips that worked for them.

I’m now 32 weeks pregnant with my second. With my first I exercised up to one week before having her but I was not doing anything intense. My strength went down a lot. After I started to do weights again maybe 2/3 weeks pp. I felt very weak especially on lower body. Eventually I got back my strength (almost). Not sleeping much at night was Not helping of course. I lost the weight I gained very quick almost immediately. Now with my second pregnancy I was hoping to workout harder until the end but at second trimester I got crazy sciatica pain and it’s really difficult to exercise lower body. I still almost same strength on upper body as I was before pregnancy. Anyways with pregnancy we get much weaker. The joints get loose. I would not recommend to doo too much core exercises because the muscles are all stretched and you risk to get abb separation