2018 NPAA Magazine 2018 NPAA Magazine - This is Our Sport | Page 52

PRE & POST
NATAL CARE
for the fitness athlete
BY: JULI SORENSON
The transition from show prep to pregnancy is not a new
experience for me;   And as I’ve competed in 7 shows
now and 4 different organizations, I have come to find
I am one in many women who have taken to the stage
after signing up for motherhood. 
Even before kids I was in awe of the physiques that
graced the body building world.  A part of me wishes
that I had started competing BEFORE I had kids, and
even before I was married.  That may sound funny, but
competition prep is no cake walk, and sometimes can
be time consuming.  Prep life would have been a little
more simple back then.  But I have to wonder if I had
started before I had kids, would I have been scared to
get pregnant in fear of never “getting my body back” or
never stepping on stage again.  The old adage “your
body will never be the same after childbirth” may be
true,  but it doesn’t mean that fitness competitions or
even pro cards are out of reach.  Having kids is not a
death sentence to your fitness goals.  It just changes the
game a little/a lot.
I did my first competition 15 months after my first son
was born.  I had been a personal trainer for Mount
Royal University for some time and had always done
my workouts at the gym.  I was struggling with the
adjustments of being a new mom and the inability to
just go to the gym whenever I wanted.  I was getting
depressed because I had lost my outlet, my alone time,
and my body.  After mucking about for a while I decided
enough was enough.  If I was to regain my strength, not
only physically but mentally as well, I needed to start
doing more and working with my situation instead of
fighting against it. 
PHOTOGRAPHY BY:
LAURA TAYLOR
49.
I began working out from home in my 500sqft apartment.
I stored weights under my bed and when my son went