Training for the Sport of Motherhood
Years ago, before I became a mother, I would go to these high level $1,000 + seminars to learn about sport specific program design for my clients.
I was excited to learn how to train someone in a specific way to achieve specific training effects and goals.
Training a tennis player is different from training a triathlete.
Training a soccer player is different from training a gymnast.
We were there to learn to design programs for athletes based on their sport.
As a student of these high-level seminars, I learned principles like:
How to properly choose, combine and progress the exercises each client needs.
How to train different muscle fiber types using different exercise time under tension.
Proper rep ranges (what reps you use) and rest times (rest in between exercises) for each muscle fiber type (1, 2, 2B).
How to progressively load and unload an athlete by varying their volume (amount of work done in a workout) and intensity (how close to your max strength) of their programs over time.
How to write a program with the goal of endurance (postural and aerobic needs), hypertrophy (muscle fiber growth) or power (increase max strength capacity).
After getting home from these seminars I couldn’t wait to apply my new knowledge.
What I found, though, was that I was often frustrated, disappointed, or confused as to how to make the case study examples (the ones we did in the seminars) apply to my clients in real life.
See — my clients were mostly mothers.
But because most of the case studies or program design examples I was being taught were based on professional athletes, bodybuilders, or highly dedicated gym junkies who have committed their lives to training 3-5x a week in the gym…
It was like I was without a roadmap for the mother.
The average mother does not fit into this category.
And because she doesn’t fit into this category she is typically cast aside to focus on weight loss when that’s not what she actually needs.
The average mother is experiencing things like: interrupted sleep, the demands of breastfeeding or a waking baby, the serious physiological changes inherent in pregnancy, childbirth, and early postpartum, and more.
Here’s what I know now: in the fitness industry there is a massive misunderstanding of what mothers actually need.
There’s a massive gap.
The moms aren’t being served.
And most of the time, when they are, they’re being served inadequately/wrong.
Moms need something different — especially new moms.
One of the core messages I share with my readers is this:
Motherhood is an actual sport worth training for.
Mothers could be trained forthe sport of motherhood.
Specific training techniques could be used to assist in healthy pregnancy and healthy postpartum recovery.
It’s up to us, as women, to recognize and uphold the importance of this sport.
It’s up to us to recognize the demands our female bodies go through in pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
It’s up to us to seek the proper training and rehabilitation we deserve.
So, let’s talk about it…
What, physiologically, is going on for the average mother?
strength endurance (carrying a load for 9 months).
potentially long childbirths, potentially lasting longer than marathons or ultramarathons.
physiological injury rehab
potential surgery rehab (cesarean)
lifting and carrying your baby
lifting the car seat (and often trying to get it out of the car at an odd angle)
lifting the baby, the child, and the groceries in and out of the cart
breastfeeding + the nutrition required to support this
needing high levels or mobility and energy to squat up and down from the floor
the high energy demand of: playing, chasing, sprinting
high levels or stress, interrupted sleep patterns, pain from untreated chronic injury
and more.
Moms need postural work, structural stability, and endurance to carry and recover from pregnancy.
Moms need type 2b muscle fibers to help with aging, body composition, and metabolism.
Moms need energy and easy access to their workouts.
And moms also need to combat sleepless nights, nervous system stress, and variable days.
But society (and the fitness industry as a whole) fails to see motherhood as a sport worth training for.
We could get into a whole discussion about why that is but what I’ll tell you today is this:
The work you’re doing as a mother is important.
It’s time to view motherhood as your sport — it’s time to train for it.
Your body is incredible.
It can grow, carry, and birth your children — it’s time to care for your body well.
I train my female clients in a way that acknowledges the sport of motherhood.
The principles that I was taught during these seminars and trainings are amazing…
I use these principles when I design programs for mothers but the difference is I map out the training program and schedule to actually be conductive to THAT mother in front of me.
Talk soon,
