Mamas & Babas Athletic

This is a slightly more personal post, but I’m sharing it because I wonder how many other women might relate, and perhaps need to hear it too.

For the longest time, I was trying to compete with the version of me who didn’t have children or a business and trained six times a week. And honestly, it left me constantly frustrated.

The workouts that would normally make me feel good were making me feel awful. My body ached, I was constantly exhausted and I never actually wanted to train. But I kept dragging myself through the workouts because that’s what I do.

Eventually, I felt like I was falling out of love with the sport altogether.

The pressure I was putting on myself, all for the sake of getting a workout done, left my nervous system in a constant state of fight or flight.

It was only when I decided to pull back, rest more, introduce lower-intensity training and exercise because I wanted to, not because I felt I should, that I started enjoying it again.

Basically, I gave myself a fu***ng break.🙈

If you’d told me eight years ago that I’d only be doing two CrossFit workouts a week today, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But it turns out that two CrossFit sessions are enough for me in this season!

I’ve recently started Reformer Pilates, I also do a weekly gym session, and my nervous system is loving the change. More importantly, I’m enjoying training again. ❤️

I’m a true believer that women can become stronger than ever in motherhood, but strength doesn’t always have to look the way it did before.

Both can be true, and both can be celebrated.

So, if you’ve been putting the same pressure on yourself, perhaps this is your sign to give yourself a break too. ❤️

This is music to our ears! 🤩

If you were already training at a high intensity before you fell pregnant, you don’t suddenly have to join Pilates classes just because you’re pregnant.

You can continue to train hard, but we do want to see some structural modifications.

High-intensity work should sit inside a well-designed pregnancy training plan.
It’s an important piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole plan.

Alongside it, you still need strength training, mobility work and the elements of “prehab”.

- pelvic floor and postural awareness,
- abdominal pressure management,
- core and pelvic floor strengthening exercises
- various breathing strategies for various loads
- mobility work for the pelvis and the thoracic spine.

This is how your workouts support both your pregnancy and your progress but also become an investment in your postpartum self.

👉 Comment PLAYBOOK and I’ll send you my free guide The Pregnant Athlete Playbook. A simple guide that will help you turn your training into sessions that are supportive of your changing body and prepare you for next chapter, ahead of time!

Thank you ❤️

There’s a difference between scaling a movement and adapting it.

And there’s absolutely room for both during pregnancy.

But if scaling is always the first answer, Pregnant Athletes can end up unnecessarily losing strength, skills and progress.

Before we replace the movement entirely, have we tried adapting the movement itself? Have we explored different breathing and bracing strategies? Have we helped her understand and manage abdominal pressure?

Sometimes scaling is the right choice. But it shouldn’t be the only choice, or happen earlier than it needs to.

Training during pregnancy doesn’t automatically have to mean doing less. In fact, I sometimes like to call it RX+, because training well through pregnancy can be far more complex when it’s done with intention and a clear strategy.

Comment PLAYBOOK and I’ll send you my free guide, The Pregnant Athlete Playbook. I’ve put everything you need in there to better adapt your training during this season and to prepare for the postpartum 🤰🏼

I can’t believe there are only 2 more dates in 2026 for my Coaching Pregnant & Postpartum Athletes course!

There’s still time to join me in Edinburgh on 20th September at and Belfast on 25th October at .

The day combines evidence-based education with plenty of practical coaching. so you don’t just leave knowing more about the pregnant and postpartum body, you leave knowing how to actually coach this growing population on the gym floor.

We cover everything from breathing, bracing and pressure management to postural management during pregnancy, postpartum rehabilitation, rebuilding strength and gradually returning athletes to impact, lifting and the training they love.

And we put a LOT of it into practice throughout the day!
You’ll leave with a much clearer understanding of what pregnant and postpartum athletes need from their coaches, and the confidence to know how to support them moving forward.

The course is CIMSPA accredited and includes 7 CPD points + certification on successful completion of the online assessment.

Two dates left for 2026!

📍 Edinburgh — 20th September
📍 Belfast — 25th October

Head to the link in my bio to book your place.

Do you live in Edinburgh? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I’m looking for a Pregnant Athlete in her 3rd trimester or late 2nd trimester to join me at on Sunday 20th September!

“Coaching Pregnant & Postpartum Athletes” is my 1-day, in-person certification course, and you’ll be a really important part of the practical side of the day.

I’m looking for someone who is still training and happy for us to look at how your body is moving and responding to exercises..

We’ll work through breathing and bracing, pressure management, postural adaptations as well as pelvic floor awareness.

You’ll learn about how to adapt movements to your changing body while still allowing you to TRAIN and make progress. What signs to look and listen for, and what postpartum rehabilitation should look like!

And if you’re a coach yourself, even better! You can stay for the full day, complete the assessment afterwards and gain your certification too.

There’s no cost to attend, I just need you, bump and a willingness to let a room full of coaches learn from you.

If this sounds good, please send me a DM with “EDINBURGH” and I’ll send you all the details.

Tag a pregnant athletes who’d be interested! 🥰