Expecting and Empowered

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Expecting and Empowered

Safe and structured workouts for mamas from the week of a positive pregnancy test through their post From your positive pregnancy test until week 40.

A COMPREHENSIVE PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
WORKOUT GUIDE

WE’VE GOT YOUR FIT MOTHERHOOD COVERED! This workout guide eliminates the questions of “What should I do today?” and “What modifications do I have to make?” out of the equation and lets you efficiently tackle your workout. The guide consists of 3 days per week of: flexibility, pelvic floor, and strength training sections along with 2 days of suggested cardio.

11/02/2026

Most women are doing C-Section Recovery Backwards 👇

We program C-Section recovery a little differently at Expecting & Empowered. 👀

And there’s a reason why👇

I’ve spent the last 15 years as a women’s health physical therapist and have helped 5,860 C section moms rebuild strength and reconnect with their core.

But I’m also a mom of THREE C section babies myself…and even I didn’t know how to recover from my first C section. Crazy, right?!?!

When you think about C section recovery, it makes sense to focus on the area that just went through surgery: your scar.
But we actually start somewhere you might not expect.
UP TOP. With your rib cage. 🤯

Pregnancy doesn’t just change your belly. Your rib cage expands, your abdominal wall adapts and your entire pressure system changes. And your ribs, core, scar and pelvis don’t function as completely separate parts. They have to work together.

So before we rush into traditional ab exercises, we want to start restoring movement and connection throughout the system.

✨✨✨ MAKE SPACE UP TOP ✨✨✨

👇THEN 👇

✅✅✅ RECONNECT TO CORE ✅✅✅

We have an entire C-Section portion of workouts in our app!!
It will take you through 33 weeks of 3 strength workouts per week!

And YES! This does apply to you even if you had a C-Section 2, 5, 10+ years ago. You’ll just want to start our C-Section strength programming at week 10 🔥

Comment TRIAL and we’ll send you our free 7 day trial so you can start your C-Section Recovery journey.

10/28/2026

This is NOT your new normal after kids. 👏 Just because something is common during pregnancy or postpartum doesn’t mean you have to live with it forever.

Here are a few things I tell my patients that SHOCK them. 👀👇

💩 Wiping over and over after pooping isn’t normal. It can be a sign your pelvic floor isn’t relaxing or coordinating properly.

🍑 Losing your b***y during pregnancy might be contributing to your hemorrhoids. Changes in glute strength and pressure management can create more tension and pressure down below.

💦 Leaking even ONE drop of p*e is worth addressing. And sometimes the solution starts with your BACK! A stiff ribcage and upper back can affect how your body manages pressure.

🤰 Your C-section scar needs attention, too! Scar mobility and abdominal wall function are important parts of recovery.

🧘‍♀️ When treating prolapse, I don’t always start with the pelvic floor. Sometimes we start with the upper back and ribcage to improve pressure management throughout the body.

And here’s the BIGGEST thing I wish every mom understood:

Moms are MASTER compensators. And that’s not always a good thing. 😅

I can get your body moving on the treatment table, but we ALSO have to reteach it how to move, strengthen, and coordinate so those improvements actually stick.

Hello at-home movement!!

Motherhood changes your body, but leaking, pelvic pressure, and discomfort don’t have to be your forever reality.

✨ That’s exactly why I created the Expecting & Empowered app. We’re happy you’re here!

10/26/2026

There are 3 major areas you’ll want to focus on when prepping your body for a C-Section

In this post we focus on exercises that target creating space & strength in your thoracic spine but here is the full list of what you can focus on when prepping for your C-Section!

(Don’t worry…we have other posts about this coming out soon 😉)

1️⃣ Creating space and strength in your mid-upper back. The nerves of your Thoracic Spine “innervate” or “stimulate” your core muscles - which is the area that’s about to be affected!

2️⃣ You have to learn how to connect to your core through lifting your abdominal wall

3️⃣ You want to stack your pelvis underneath you to manage internal pressure better

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

The nerves from your Thoracic spine “innervate” or stimulate your core muscles (the part of your body that’s about to be impacted)

So we want to do prep work to LENGTHEN & STRENGTHEN these areas ✨

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

Try this half kneeling thoracic book openers to start opening up your mid-upper back

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

Then LENGTHEN & STRENGTHEN your side abs through triangle pose with reach over

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

Next: lengthen your thoracic spine to get pressure off your back. Your back is already tight from pregnancy and about to be tighter after a C-section. Try this Child’s pose reach with Pilates ball.

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

Lastly: “connect the dots” through lateral lunge with diagonal
core work which lengthens the thoracic spine and strengthens core control.

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

SAVE THIS post and comment TRIAL to start your free 7 day trial with us ✨

10/23/2026

We program C-Section recovery a little differently at Expecting & Empowered. 👀

And there’s a reason why👇

I’ve spent the last 15 years as a women’s health physical therapist and have helped 5,860 C section moms rebuild strength and reconnect with their core.

But I’m also a mom of THREE C section babies myself…and even I didn’t know how to recover from my first C section. Crazy, right?!?!

When you think about C section recovery, it makes sense to focus on the area that just went through surgery: your scar.
But we actually start somewhere you might not expect.
UP TOP. With your rib cage. 🤯

Pregnancy doesn’t just change your belly. Your rib cage expands, your abdominal wall adapts and your entire pressure system changes. And your ribs, core, scar and pelvis don’t function as completely separate parts. They have to work together.

So before we rush into traditional ab exercises, we want to start restoring movement and connection throughout the system.

✨ FIRST ✨ open your middle upper back so you can actually reconnect to your core! Check out our C-Section recovery part one to see what we’re talking about - it’s in our profile!

THEN ✨ reconnect to your core through diagonal core work (we show detailed exercises in this video) it’s going to help you truly reconnect with your core!

And if you’re ready for more guidance, this is exactly how our C Section Core Program inside the Expecting & Empowered app progresses 🫶

10/21/2026

Your body is always giving you little clues about what it needs. 👀 💩🧻

And sometimes, the smallest changes in how you move can make the BIGGEST difference in how you feel.

Here are 4 exercises we LOVE to support your pelvic floor

1️⃣ Elevated Hip Drop (for our mamas with one-sided hip pain!)

Helps your pelvis move more freely from side to side, easing tension in the muscles surrounding your hips and pelvic floor.

2️⃣ Serratus DB Press (for better pressure management!)

Improves rib cage and mid-back mobility, helping your body distribute pressure more evenly instead of sending excess pressure down toward your pelvic floor.

3️⃣ Hamstring Strengthening (for our butt grippers and mamas with a lower belly pooch!)

Strong hamstrings help support a more neutral pelvic position, reducing the tendency to tip forward and place unnecessary load on your pelvic floor.

4️⃣ Triangle Reach to Oblique Crunch (for our postpartum mamas!)

Your obliques can become weaker during pregnancy. Strengthening them helps improve core support and pressure management, taking unnecessary strain off your pelvic floor.

At Expecting & Empowered, we take a whole-body approach to pelvic floor health because everything is connected. 🤍

Ready to stop guessing which exercises your body actually needs?

Comment TRIAL and we’ll send you a 7-day FREE trial of the Expecting & Empowered app! 🙌

10/19/2026

Save this post! And comment TRIAL - your (🍑)will thank you ☺️

We sequence our exercising program a little differently at E&E to help your body feel its best whether you’re pregnant or postpartum!

Inside our app you’ll find very specific (pelvic floor PT created and approved ✅) exercise programming that

1️⃣ Helps you BREATHE better (this is a huge piece of the puzzle)

2️⃣Creates SPACE and LENGTH in the body

3️⃣ Strategically LOADS or STRENGTHENS the body

This progression supports you from the inside out! Comment TRIAL and we’ll DM you a 7 day free trial to our app 🫶

Address

101 E Main Street, Suite 2
Madison, WI
53597

Website

http://www.expectingandempowered.com/

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