The Barbell Mamas Podcast | Pregnancy, Postpartum, Pelvic Health

A lot of pregnancy and postpartum fitness advice sounds confident until it hits real life. One mom feels ready to load a barbell at six weeks postpartum, another is rebuilding from pain, sleep deprivation, or a tough delivery, and both get handed the same plan anyway. I’m Christina Prevett, a pelvic floor physical therapist and researcher in exercise and pregnancy, and this short bonus episode is a clear announcement: Barbell Mamas is re-engaging and doubling down on nuance, not one-size-fits-all prescriptions.

I share why we built our training programs around a templated workout style with “filters” and options. The backbone stays the same, but you can adjust based on what you’re feeling, what equipment you have, and the realities of your pregnancy or postpartum recovery. We also talk about why c-section versus vaginal delivery can change considerations, and why individualized strength training matters whether you are a CrossFitter, weightlifter, powerlifter, or simply a mom who wants to get stronger.

Then I lay out what’s next: more educational products and deeper support, including ebooks, presentations, and personalized wellness consultations so you can apply research to your specific body and goals. The first new resource in the pipeline is a birth prep ebook for active women, plus tools to help you have better conversations with your provider about physical activity and preparing for birth.

If you want evidence-based pregnancy fitness, postpartum exercise guidance, and pelvic floor-informed strength training without the quick-fix noise, follow along. Subscribe, share with a friend who lifts, and leave a review so more moms can find the support they actually need.
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You can also follow us on Instagram and YouTube for all the up-to-date information you need about pelvic health and female athletes.

Interested in our programs? Check us out here!

The military asks your body to perform on demand, and pregnancy does not pause that reality. Today we sit down with Dr. Chris Edwards, a researcher focused on the female military experience, to get honest about what happens when standards, equipment, and “evidence-based” training were never built with women in mind. If you have ever felt like your body is the problem, this conversation flips the script and shows how missing data and poor design can quietly drive injury risk.

We talk about why the research pipeline moves slowly, what it takes to build strong injury surveillance, and why parity status and pregnancy exposure should be treated as real variables in musculoskeletal injury prevention. We also dig into gear fit, from body armor that rides up to boots that no longer match a postpartum foot, and how those seemingly small mismatches can change load transfer, gait, and overuse patterns.

Then we get practical: pregnancy disclosure and stigma, postpartum return timelines, fueling and energy deficit, and why a rushed fitness test can backfire on recovery and readiness. Dr. Edwards shares why pelvic floor physical therapy should be early and routine support, not a last resort, and we zoom out to the bigger message: many women return to sport and service stronger than before, and performance can peak later than you were taught.

If this helps you, subscribe, share it with a teammate, and leave a review so more active moms and service members can find evidence-informed support. What policy or training change would make the biggest difference where you serve?
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Don't miss out on any of the TEA coming out of the Barbell Mamas by subscribing to our newsletter

You can also follow us on Instagram and YouTube for all the up-to-date information you need about pelvic health and female athletes.

Interested in our programs? Check us out here!

You can train hard, lift heavy, and still feel blindsided by labor. A lot of the internet messaging aimed at “fit pregnancies” skips the messy middle: contractions still hurt, pushing is still hard, and sometimes the biggest challenge is navigating the gap between what you hoped for and what actually happens.

I walk through a comprehensive birth prep plan for the active mom-to-be from my perspective as a pelvic floor physical therapist, researcher in exercise and pregnancy, and strength athlete. We talk about what pelvic PT birth prep looks like in real life, why coordination matters as much as strength, and how to practice pelvic floor relaxation so you are not accidentally tightening during the pushing phase. I also unpack the common myth that fitness guarantees an easy vaginal delivery, using a more honest, evidence-informed lens: activity may improve odds and endurance, but it cannot control breech presentation, medical complications, or the need to pivot.

We dig into perineal massage with a nuanced take on the research and the “ring of fire,” framing it as exposure to stretching sensation and learning not to flinch, not a promise to prevent tearing. Then we zoom out to the paths labor can take, including induction (cervical ripening, mechanical options, Pitocin), epidural choices, and what it helps to know about cesarean birth before you are exhausted and making fast decisions. I also share a favorite resource that supports calm, informed preparation.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a pregnant training partner, and leave a review so more active moms can find these conversations. What part of birth prep do you want us to go deeper on next?
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Don't miss out on any of the TEA coming out of the Barbell Mamas by subscribing to our newsletter

You can also follow us on Instagram and YouTube for all the up-to-date information you need about pelvic health and female athletes.

Interested in our programs? Check us out here!

Leaking on a heavy squat can feel isolating, but the numbers tell a different story: pelvic floor symptoms show up in a huge share of resistance-trained athletes. We walk through what bracing actually is, how the “core canister” works, and why your pelvic floor is supposed to join the brace automatically rather than being forced on with constant kegel cues. We also explain what tends to change once you cross higher intensities, why breath holding and Valsalva show up above roughly 80% for most lifters, and how breath strategy can change intra-abdominal pressure without turning your lift into a fragile, overcontrolled routine.

From there, we get specific about what drives symptoms like urinary incontinence, heaviness, and pelvic discomfort in the gym. We call out one of the most common coaching mistakes we see in female athletes: “big inhale and bear down,” especially when someone is told to push hard into a weightlifting belt. Instead of spreading pressure evenly through the trunk, those cues can send pressure down into the pelvis, creating a coordination problem that shows up as leaking or loss of support when the load gets real.

We also dig into new pelvic floor research on a 5x5 heavy squat protocol using ultrasound, what the findings do and do not mean, and why normal pre to post “effort changes” are not the same thing as damage. Finally, we share practical belt guidance (fit, tightening on an exhale, keeping the same brace from warmups to top sets) plus postpartum considerations and realistic timing for returning to breath holds and belt use. If this helps, subscribe, share it with a lifting friend, and leave a review so more moms and athletes can train with confidence.
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Don't miss out on any of the TEA coming out of the Barbell Mamas by subscribing to our newsletter

You can also follow us on Instagram and YouTube for all the up-to-date information you need about pelvic health and female athletes.

Interested in our programs? Check us out here!

A scary headline can change how you move for months, even if the caption “adds nuance.” We’re talking about that uncomfortable truth and why it matters so much in pregnancy and postpartum fitness, where pelvic floor anxiety, diastasis recti worries, and return-to-exercise pressure are already high.

We break down the rise of emotional hooks in social media marketing and how phrases like “ruining your pelvic floor” are built to stop your scroll, not to educate you. I share why our brains cling to threat-based messages (negative saliency bias), how misinformation can spread even when someone means well, and why the first thing people do is check the comments to see if everyone agrees. We also get real about the creator side: the push to post with total confidence, the temptation to trade context for reach, and how hard it can be to challenge peers publicly without it turning into personal conflict.

Then we pivot to practical solutions you can use today. If you’re a mom or mom-to-be, you’ll learn how to “train” your algorithm by using notifications, marking content as not interested, and choosing long-form education where evidence-based pelvic floor physical therapy and postpartum recovery guidance can actually fit. If you’re a provider, we talk about finding a middle ground: getting attention without causing harm, holding our professions accountable, and connecting through stories without projecting our own fears onto someone else.

If this helps you see your feed differently, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s overwhelmed by postpartum advice, and leave a review so more people can find calmer, more accurate pelvic health information.
___________________________________________________________________________
Don't miss out on any of the TEA coming out of the Barbell Mamas by subscribing to our newsletter

You can also follow us on Instagram and YouTube for all the up-to-date information you need about pelvic health and female athletes.

Interested in our programs? Check us out here!