When Morgan Greger, six-year fitness coach and owner of Born Active Training became pregnant, she quickly discovered firsthand the lack of consistent information on how to workout safely as a pregnant or postpartum woman. “Pregnancy and postpartum fitness guidelines from the internet can be vague and confusing,” shares Morgan. “Having someone who understands what you're feeling and what is going on with your body is really important.”
In May of 2022, upon earning her Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Certification, Morgan opened Born Active Training offering personal training services inside Centerville CrossFit and her home gym. Her main focus is helping women navigate how to safely be active during pregnancy and postpartum and combat symptoms associated with core and pelvic floor dysfunction as a result of pregnancy and childbirth.
Pelvic floor and core dysfunction occurring from pregnancy is common and leads to back, hip, pelvic pain and bladder leakage. “Women do not have to accept that ‘this is how life is now,’ we can absolutely do something about those things no matter how many years postpartum you are,” explains Morgan.
Morgan has an empathetic approach to training. “I strive to make every single mom that I work with feel comfortable, understood, strong and proud of the work they are putting in.” Her clients describe her as kind, approachable, encouraging and knowledgeable. Ally Berger began training with Morgan to help build strength and endurance during her pregnancy. “Morgan really pays attention to your form and offers kind guidance and corrections when needed,” shares Ally. “She is easy to communicate with and makes her workouts accessible to everyone.”
Working with women to meet their goals is exactly what Morgan is all about. Struggling with a weak core and pelvic floor, Chelsea Buck could barely workout without difficulties when she reached out to Morgan. “Most women are surprised by their postpartum bodies. I was no exception,” observes Chelsea, who has been able to reach her goals with Morgan. “Working with Morgan has helped me gain total control of my pelvic floor. My core strength has improved and I have returned to my pre-pregnancy exercise routines.”
Morgan tailors her training plans to meet the individual needs and goals of each of her clients. Megan Jay began training with Morgan after the birth of her daughter to help keep her chronic illness postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) at bay. “I've worked with trainers before and no one has been as considerate or thorough as Morgan has in regard to my chronic illness. Morgan goes above and beyond to make sure I can workout safely.”
Morgan offers several different training packages for pregnant and postpartum women that can be done online or in-person. Beginning at the end of January, Morgan is launching a Pregnancy and Postpartum six-week class at Centerville CrossFit. Classes are 60 minutes long, occurring twice a week. For more information on this class or to start training with Morgan, reach out to her directly at bornactivetraining19@gmail.com or through a direct message on Instagram (@born_active_training). More information can also be found on Morgan’s website, BornActiveTraining.com
Tips for Staying Active During Pregnancy:
-
Always ask yourself why and how when exercising. WHY do I want to do this exercise? Is HOW I'm doing this exercise good for my body long term?
-
Use the talk test to judge the intensity of your workout. Your goal is to be able to have a conversation during your workout. If you are too out of breath to talk, slow it down.
-
Pregnancy is not the time to set new personal records.
-
You can't stop your abs from separating during pregnancy, but you can change your breathing, positioning and tension strategies to maintain a healthy core.
Tips for Staying Active When Postpartum:
-
Relaxing your pelvic floor is just as important as doing kegels.
-
Leaking urine when you run, jump, cough or sneeze is common, but not normal. The best part is we can do something to fix it.
-
After having a baby, seeing a Pelvic Floor Physical therapist is a must, even if you feel like everything is fine.
-
When you are cleared at six weeks postpartum, you are not back to “normal”, you are still healing. When starting to workout again, begin with modified movements and progressively add more to your workouts as time goes on.
“I strive to make every single mom that I work with feel comfortable, understood, strong and proud of the work they are putting in.” - Morgan Greger, Born Active Training