During pregnancy there are some reservations and cautious. Thus, always consult with your doctor and trainer before beginning.

When building muscles we need certain variables in training such as time under tension, progressive overload, and volume which means more sets and sometimes reps.

Time under tension means – the amount of time a muscle is held under tension or strain during an exericse set. For example; having to hold a weight or your body weight while in a squat position or press position at every rep which sometimes requires mama to hold your breath a little longer than usual.

Progressive overload means: Increasing the resistance of the weight overtime safely but in a challenging way. And sometimes pregnant mamas cannot do that without causing more pressure on the bump or the baby.

Lastly, to gain muscles, we don’t just need more weights, but we also need volume. More days in training, more sets of deadlifts and bent over rows etc. Having 2-3 more training days to target a certain body part which sometimes being pregnant is not always easy and that is ok!

Depending on what stage of your pregnancy you are at – 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd  trimester. Training changes up every time.

I am a full time fitness trainer and even for someone like me who works out everyday during pregnancy. I did not put on muscle mass the same way as when I was not pregnant. But i felt stronger throughout my pregnancy, i maintain my muscle mass and i kept it all ‘tight’.

So mamas! dont be discouraged! We can get stronger throughout pregnancy. But listening to the body is more crucial now more than ever.

During pregnancy, the body has now prioritized the baby’s health.  Mother’s immune system is lower because the health of the fetus is before the mothers.  Thus, when working out we increase blood flow to our body and sometimes it goes straight to the baby first. So if mamas feel a little light headed  after training. Take some time to rest and elevate her heart rate before continuing the rest of the day!

Mamas that I’ve trained with throughout their pregnancy is no longer concerned about aesthetics. We can worry about that later. But working out during pregnancy makes them feel badass, like they can conquer the world even though they lose or maintain muscle mass along the way. it is ok! We feel tighter, more controlled and more alive than ever. Mamas’ tell me, they feel stronger, they feel that they have more energy throughout the day compared to days that they don’t move and those days they only feel sluggish.

Mothers who work out throughout their pregnancy seems to have an easier birth and recovery.  However, every birth is special and different but my take is if we can control of the present and do what we can for a better tomorrow.

What’s stopping us to excel on our recovery?

I am now a mama of an 8 month old. It took me 3 months before I entirely feel like a stitch of myself and have control of my body again.. The first 3 months after giving birth i felt like a vessel and I was just surviving. I worked out throughout my pregnancy and enjoyed every minuite of it. But there were hard days and those days nonetheless and I rested hard.

I am a huge advocate for being strong throughout your pregnancy even if we lose muscle mass along the way because never for 1 second I felt weak or handicapped. I felt like my mental health was at its peak!

So we may lose muscles but it is ok mamas! All the hard work you put in throughout pregnancy will pay off in postpartum and recovery!

take care and have a good week ya’ll!!