Fit Pregnancy Club Is Offering New Moms a Better Way to Work Out

When you're pregnant, a local gym or fitness studio might offer prenatal yoga classes. But it's rare to find gyms that boast multiple workouts tailored specifically for expectant and new moms. That may very well be changing, thanks to two New York City-based moms, Carolina Gunnarsson and Joanie Johnson, who are the masterminds behind Fit Pregnancy Club, a gym in New York City devoted to supporting pregnant and postpartum women's efforts to exercise safely.

According to Good Morning America, Gunnarsson, a mom of 3, was scared to exercise during her first pregnancy. She also gained more weight than she planned and had a difficult labor and delivery.

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When she had her second baby, she hired a personal trainer but suffered postpartum complications related to her fitness routine. Thankfully, with baby #3, she connected with Johnson, a former professional dancer and personal trainer, through a mutual friend. And she says the difference between what she experienced with her first two children and her third was "night and day."

"Coming out of this pregnancy, I was in better shape than I have been in my entire life," she said. "I was doing classes up until the day I gave birth and feeling great with no pain."

That's when she was inspired to help other pregnant women who might be struggling to find healthy, supportive prenatal and postpartum workouts.

Gunnarsson and Johnson want to raise awareness among moms that certain physical challenges they're experiencing after pregnancy don't have to stand.

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"Women are just accepting, 'Oh, I’ve had a baby. I have to pee my pants every time I sneeze,' or 'I just have to deal with this pain,'" she said. "We have so much re-educating to do that, no, this is not the norm and we can prevent it."

The duo's brainchild, Fit Pregnancy Club, now offers a signature workout that Johnson developed and calls a "way to strategically strengthen the muscles that you need for an easier pregnancy, better delivery and more complete postpartum pregnancy."

She encourages clients to focus on a low-stress form of breathing and "moving with a different intention and focusing on your core and pelvic floor as opposed to just going into class and cranking it out and sweating and forgetting about your body."

What's more, the instructors at the gym are not only well-versed in fitness but also in specific aspects of prenatal and postpartum health.

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Three of them are doulas, one is a pelvic floor specialist, another a childbirth educator, and there are also a prenatal nutrition specialist and a lactation counselor. In other words, the gym is a one-stop shop for a wealth of information and support for expectant and new moms. IT also offers workshops on childbirth, breastfeeding, postpartum recovery, etc.

Ultimately, Gunnarsson and Johnson want to build a community.

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"The goal is for us to be empowering these women and strengthening their bodies for motherhood, but they’re also getting this really amazing community out of it," Johnson told GMA. "They can ask all their questions, and they feel supported."

No doubt this gym is filling a void for so many expectant and new moms. Fingers crossed Gunnarsson and Johnson's efforts inspire others across the country to follow in their footsteps.