The Barbell Mamas Podcast | Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pelvic Health
The times are changing and moms have athletic goals, want to exercise at high-intensity or lift heavy weights, and want to be able to continue with their exercise routines during pregnancy, after baby and with healthcare providers that support them along the way.
In this podcast, we are going to bring you up-to-date health and fitness information about all topics in women's health with a special lens of exercise. With standalone episodes and special guests, we hope to help you feel prepared and supported in your motherhood or pelvic health journey.
Episodes
161 episodes
A Third Pregnancy After Two Miscarriages
I’m finally saying it out loud: I’m 15 and a half weeks pregnant with baby three. After two miscarriages, I didn’t expect to ever record this kind of announcement, and I definitely didn’t expect how complicated it would feel to share it. Pregna...
Practical Strength Training Principles For Pregnancy
A viral video of a near term athlete lifting sparked a surprisingly supportive comment section and it signals a real shift: more people now accept that strength training during pregnancy can be normal, safe, and empowering when it is approached...
Informed Consent After Birth
You can do everything “right” and still feel blindsided after birth. That’s the heart of today’s conversation: why so many moms reach the postpartum months and think, I wish I would have known, and how that gap in education can quietly break tr...
Early Postpartum Training Framework
Waiting for a single “all clear” date after birth leaves a lot of active moms stuck between fear and frustration. We walk through the early postpartum exercise framework I use with clients, starting from the first couple of weeks and extending ...
Nuance Over Hot Takes
The internet keeps forcing women’s health into two extremes: science says one thing, your body feels another, and somehow you’re supposed to pick a side. We don’t buy that. We walk through why scientific communication breaks down online and how...
Running Through Pregnancy
Blanket rules about running during pregnancy sound comforting, until they leave you stuck between fear and frustration. We want something more useful: a clear way to decide what’s safe, what’s sustainable, and what actually fits your body right...
Postpartum Surgery Decisions
You’re cleared for pelvic surgery and then someone hands you a rule that says you can’t lift more than 10 pounds. Meanwhile, your toddler weighs three times that and your life doesn’t come with a pause button. We’re talking about the gap betwee...
Rethinking Bed Rest In Pregnancy
Your pregnancy gets labeled “high risk,” and suddenly the default advice can feel like a single blunt command: stop moving. That can be crushing if exercise is how you regulate stress, manage pain, and feel at home in your body. We go straight ...
Pregnancy Exercise Modifications
If you’ve ever been told to “just walk” the moment you get pregnant, you already know how discouraging that can feel when training is part of your identity. We’re digging into a smarter, more flexible approach to exercise during pregnancy that ...
Brace Better Lift Heavier
Half of women report leaking when they lift heavy, and we have somehow decided that’s normal. I’m not interested in telling you to accept it or to stop lifting. I want to help you understand what’s happening when you brace, why it shows up most...
From Pregnancy Myths To Postpartum Power: What Sarah J. Maas Sparked
What if the most radical thing a mother can say is also the most honest: I adore my kid, and I hated being pregnant. We open that door and walk through it, using Sarah J. Maas’s candid interview as a springboard to unpack the real forces shapin...
Should You Squeeze Before You Lift? A Clear Guide For Active Moms
Ever been told to “Kegel before you lift” and wondered if it actually helps? We take a clear-eyed look at leaking under heavy loads, how bracing strategies can make or break pelvic pressure, and why a breath-first approach often outperforms con...
Olympic Mothers Are Rewriting The Rules Of Pregnancy And Postpartum Fitness
Gold medals and car seats can share the same backseat. We reflect on a Winter Games filled with mothers who didn’t just compete—they redefined what pregnancy and postpartum training can look like at the highest level. From Alana Myers-Taylor an...
From FIFA’s Return-To-Play To GLP-1s: What Active Moms Need To Know
Ready to trade rigid rules for a smarter return-to-sport plan? We walk through a groundbreaking consensus published in BJSM that maps a postpartum pathway for soccer players—and any active mom—built on real-world variables: medical red flags, m...
High-Load Training, Miscarriage Myths, And Pelvic Floor Truths For Active Moms
Heavy lifting in early pregnancy carries a long shadow of fear—but the data tell a different story. We unpack a newly published study on first-trimester high-load resistance training, revealing that pelvic floor symptoms actually decreased comp...
How Social Media Shapes Women’s Health Choices
Ever feel like every scroll brings a new rule for your body? We sit down with Dr. Emily Fender, a health communication scientist whose research tracks how women’s health messages spread across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube—and why the loudest ...
How Training, Fueling, And Stress Shape Fertility
Trying to conceive while training hard can feel like you’re being asked to choose between your identity and your goals. We go straight at the myth that vigorous exercise is the enemy of fertility and show where the real culprit often hides: low...
Pelvic Floor Truths For Athletes, Soldiers, And New Moms
Leaks under a heavy deadlift, pressure during a ruck, or a sudden urge mid-sprint can derail training—and confidence. We go straight at the myths and mechanics behind pelvic floor symptoms in athletes and service members, unpacking how high loa...
Mom 75: Real Fitness For Chaotic Seasons
The New Year avalanche of challenges and “perfect morning routines” can feel brutal when you’re sleep-deprived, healing, and parenting on a hair trigger. We take a kinder path for pregnant and postpartum athletes and active moms: small, repeata...
Why I’m Choosing Intentions Over Resolutions in 2026
New years can feel loud and demanding, especially when you’re juggling motherhood, training, and a nervous system running hot. We’re choosing a different path: intentions over resolutions, performance over punishment, presence over perfection. ...
Year-End Reflections On Strength And Motherhood
What if the advice you’ve been handed about training through pregnancy and after birth is more fear than fact? We close out a bruising year with honesty about grief, miscarriage, and the quiet ways movement held us together—then channel that ha...
Busting Myths about LIFTING during Pregnancy
The loudest voices on the internet say “don’t lift heavy when you’re pregnant.” We say: let’s look at what the body does, what the research shows, and how to train with confidence. Christina Previtt, pelvic floor physical therapist, researcher,...
Moving Before The Six Weeks
What if the six-week postpartum rule is more tradition than science? We take you inside a smarter, kinder approach to early recovery—one that blends evidence with real life so you can move your body sooner, safely, and with confidence. Christin...
Rethinking Pregnancy Fitness Rules
Most advice about training through pregnancy and postpartum gets boiled down to catchy lines that spark more fear than clarity. We take those mantras head-on and replace them with something better: a body readiness approach that respects traini...
Rethinking Pregnancy Fitness And Pelvic Health
Stop earning your workout. We make the case that exercise is the tool for healing during pregnancy and postpartum, not a prize you unlock after perfect recovery. From lifting to running, we unpack how smart, scaled training can reduce pelvic sy...