Discussion

Prior to even thinking about conception, it’s crucial to establish a solid fitness foundation. Obviously, this isn’t realistic advice for everyone (hey, accidents happen!) but in an ideal world, expecting mothers should go into their pregnancy with at least technical knowledge on how to train properly, and preferably a high baseline of fitness already in place.

Building muscle and strength and work capacity and stability and body awareness are all really hard to do even in the absence of a little human growing in your womb. Trying to play catch-up after the deed has been done isn’t necessarily a losing battle (something is always better than nothing provided it’s done right), but it’s definitely going to be an uphill battle within an already uphill battle.

Taking your fitness from 0 to 1 is hard under normal circumstances; and damn-near impossible by the time you realize you’re pregnant, weigh your options, and decide to actually get started on a plan. But the upshot here is that maintaining fitness levels are much easier than improving them! And the higher your starting point, the more breathing room opens up for the inevitable regressions that will happen by the time the due date rolls around.

We want this foundation to be as solid as possible to ensure not only your health throughout the pregnancy, but also your baby’s health. And then to enable a much faster, easier, and safer post-pregnancy recovery.

We all recognize the importance of exercise and training hard for general health. For women planning to conceive, this is even more vital. Procrastination has potentially severe consequences here.

The best time to start was yesterday. But the second best time is right now.