Abdominal work during pregnancy: What you need to know

Abdominal work during pregnancy: What you need to know

Pregnancy and abdominals is easily the topic our clients ask us about the most. This area has changed a lot in the ten years Oh Baby! Fitness has been open- a decade ago women thought ALL ab work during pregnancy was “bad.” Thankfully the tide has turned a bit and pregnant women generally understand now that they probably should be doing ab work during pregnancy. That said, they often don’t know what they should do (and what to avoid). The good news is, it’s not rocket science! Here are the five basic rules of pregnancy abdominal work:

Why we created the Oh Baby! Fitness Prenatal/Postnatal Fitness Training

Why we created the Oh Baby! Fitness Prenatal/Postnatal Fitness Training

Several years ago, I sat with a team of newly hired Oh Baby! Fitness instructors in a live perinatal fitness training. This was the go-to pre/postnatal training at the time–basically the only one on the market. I had taken the live training a few years before with a great instructor and had spent the years since teaching 20+ Oh Baby! Fitness classes a week. I was excited for our new team, but about halfway through called Clare, the CEO and founder of OBF and said, “We’ve got to create our own training. NOW.”

Ask the Expert: I was active, but I’m pregnant— now what??

Ask the Expert: I was active, but I’m pregnant— now what??

“Before I got pregnant, I was in a pretty active rhythm, incorporating a combination of strength training, warm yoga fusion, and Pilates classes into each week. I was able to maintain most of that routine for the first trimester, but I’m starting to hit some walls recently. I get fatigued more easily, recovery takes longer, and a lot of different kinds of movement are becoming uncomfortable or even impossible for me to perform. So I have two questions: (a) at this point, and going forward, what are the types of movement that are NOT safe for me and the baby? And (b), what are some effective exercises to replace the things that are no longer safe?

Ask the Expert- C-Section Recovery

Ask the Expert- C-Section Recovery

Dear Kathleen- I am having a scheduled C-section, so I already know that my post-delivery recovery time will be several weeks. When can I expect to be able to really exercise again? When will I be able to just go on a walk around my neighborhood? Any tips for recovering my pre-pregnancy shape as soon as healthily possible? What’s the best way to deal with getting my belly back to its normal size?