Are You a Holistically-Minded Mama Who Wants to Shape Up and Get Lean?
Before You Jump Fully Into a New Fitness Resolution (or Sign Up for another Group Fitness Class) Stop and Read This!
Hey Mama -
Is another group fitness class really worth your time and energy? Is this really the best path to hitting your fitness goals this year?
Or are you ready to take a different path?
One that starts with an individual assessment — and one that’s highly tailored to your body and your needs?
Here’s the thing: most of the time a woman resolves to lose weight and get fit she ends up committing or re-committing to group fitness classes.
It’s time to break up with the group fitness class hype.
I get you — group classes are fun and high-energy. You feel like you're working hard, riding that adrenaline, and getting a sweat on…
I need you to hear me out, though —
If you’re a mother who:
values her time
has limited time in the first place (hello, motherhood)
and who wants to get amazing results a lot more easily…
Then you need to know that group fitness classes are not where you’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck.
Why? I’ll explain and then tell you what to focus on instead.
#1. Every Single Mother (Including You) Deserves/Requires a Postpartum Fitness Assessment
No, it’s not a luxury. It’s just basic foundational care. You need to be and should be assessed before moving back into certain classes, exercises, movements, and lifts.
It’s normal (but it shouldn’t be) for mothers to have low back problems, discs slipping out, a core that’s poking out in the shape of a dome, a dysfunctional pelvic floor, and so many other issues that new moms seem to just accept as their new reality postpartum.
Don’t push through symptoms like this or avoid getting some real help.
You deserve to truly and deeply heal, repair, and rehabilitate. And that starts with a postpartum fitness assessment.
An assessment will guide you to the exact care you need: whether that be a specific type of workout, bodywork, or the rehabilitation exercises you need to establish a solid foundation again.
Group fitness classes rarely if ever are tailored to your individual body, which means you’re not only not getting the time and attention you need — you may be exacerbating existing imbalances and injuries!
#2. Individually Tailored Strength Training Programs are Superior to Group Fitness Classes
If you want to get sculpted and look your best with the least amount of effort and time, you’ll want to ditch the group class obsession in exchange for a strength training program that’s tailored to your individual needs.
An individual assessment and a tailored-to-you program will always take you further. It’s like taking a shortcut to getting exactly what your body needs.
In short, you need someone to help you strategically lift weights. You need someone to help you lift on a program designed specifically for your body’s needs in motherhood and postpartum.
This is the wisdom and guidance I wish more women had, truly.
A Tailored Strength Training program is superior because:
It targets the specific training effect you need (whether that’s rehabilitation, endurance, muscle building, hypertrophy, or strength).
It focuses on building the specific muscles and movement patterns you need to get your best results.
It allows you to address what muscles need to be stretched and which need strengthening which improves posture.
It provides you with the structure (exercises, reps, weights, etc.) to go into the gym or at your home and be confident that you're getting the best workout for your body.
And so much more.
Why don’t the majority of mothers do this?
I’d say it’s probably because most women and mothers are intimidated by the weight room.
After all, the group fitness class is easier on the surface because you don’t have to think or learn something new. You can just show up, follow along, and move your body.
Lasting results will come when you learn how to lift for your body versus showing up for the group class a million times a year.
Yes, it's harder, yes you have to learn, but learning to lift using a well-designed program will pay off 10x.
#3. Sometimes what a mother really needs is not another workout but a reduction in stress.
If you’re stressed from rushing around from obligation to obligation that needs to be taken into consideration and addressed head on.
How can you reduce stress?
Group classes are not designed for mothers and often getting to the class (as well as the class itself) is stressful.
Childcare.
Throwing snacks together.
Grabbing protein on the go.
Skimping on post-workout nutrition or recovery.
Rushing to the class.
Are you doing that 3x a week? How’s that feeling?
This is your invitation to slow down, to do less (but better), to get individually assessed, and to invest in a program that’s tailored to your body’s specific needs.
Break free from the group fitness hype, build confidence with strength training, and watch what happens.
Showing up to do cardio or a generic group fitness class three times a week is extremely different than following a tailored-to-you strength training program.
And if you want to reach your body goals, faster, and more sustainably, without sacrificing your hormonal health, I promise you that the latter is what you want to focus on when it comes to achieving your fitness goals.
— Cynthia
P.S. Recently I was so excited to hear one of my clients say “It’s so awesome walking in the gym and knowing what I’m doing!” and it inspired me!
Need direction about the best fitness path forward for you? Let’s get on a call and let’s talk about it. Learn more about the Compass Coaching Call, today: https://www.cynthiaspenla.com/compasscoachingcall
And if you’re in the Sedona area, you’ll want to start with a Body Mapping Session. Check that out and book yours, today: https://www.cynthiaspenla.com/bodymapping
P.S. Have you been DIY’ing your fitness routine since becoming a mom?
Unlock the story your postpartum body is telling you and discover your best route to true healing + peak fitness with The 1:1 Body Mapping Session, today: https://www.cynthiaspenla.com/bodymapping
You could:
✔️ Keep trying to figure out your imbalances on your own
✔️ Push through the pain and discomfort of your current workout routine, hoping that it’s leading to gains.
✔️ Begin working with an average trainer who doesn’t perform an assessment before having you dive headlong into a high-intensity, heavy weight workout plan.
✔️ Stay stuck in FREEZE because you’re afraid to hurt yourself.
✔️ Feel worse than you already do by beginning a program that’s not tailored to you.
✔️ Continue to DIY your fitness approach with the attitude that something will work…eventually.
Or, you could book a Body Mapping Session with me to end the cycle of confusion, doubt, and fear surrounding your body and exercise routine.
It’s time to learn about your structural, postural, and muscular imbalances, and how they are affecting your physique and overall health, so you can identify your best route forward into true healing, vitality, and peak fitness as a mother.
I’m looking forward to assisting you during this high-touch, in-person offer!
Learn more and schedule your Body Mapping Session today right here: https://www.cynthiaspenla.com/bodymapping
Cynthia Spenla
is a Chek Certified Holistic Lifestyle and Exercise Coach who Specializes in Health and Performance for Women.
She designs fitness programs that centralize both the female hormonal cycle and the complexities of motherhood while supporting her clients to create the sculpted, strong, and attractive bodies they desire without destroying their health, increasing their risk of injury, or disrupting their hormones in the process.
Her prior experience serving women who’ve struggled with eating disorders, exercise addiction, and body image issues, in addition to her transition into motherhood, has helped her adopt an approach that addresses the mental, emotional, physical, and nutritional components of a woman’s life.
Cynthia accompanies the women who’re ready to go off the beaten path — women who’re beginning to recognize that mainstream health + fitness advice isn’t working for them. She lights up an alternative pathway for new mothers — a pathway that leads to restoration, vitality, and healing after the life-altering Rite of Passage that is pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.