I have always enjoyed doing cardio 4-5 times a week which include running, peloton workouts, and the elliptical. I knew I needed to incorporate strength training before I ever got pregnant, becoming pregnant just pushed me to start the journey! I'm surprised at how active I still am at 9 months! I fully expected to be posted up on the couch/bed with lots of snacks. Instead, I try to walk 30-45 minutes a day and go weekly to the prenatal strength class (while still snacking of course!) I have developed a nice balance I think. I catch myself repeating moves I have learned in class throughout the week to help strengthen my core and pelvic floor to prepare me for labor and postpartum.

Additionally, I enjoy having a community of like minded strong women who are going through the same stage in life as well. Being able to share advice, ideas, and support each other while getting stronger mentally and physically is invaluable.

Before pregnancy I was mostly working out at a facility that focused on CrossFit style workouts. Around 15/16 weeks, I realized that was not going to be the safest or most helpful activity as I continued to progress in the pregnancy. My wife, who used to be a personal trainer and owned a fitness studio, sought out a place where I could continue to workout safely and was very impressed with Ashley's expertise around pre- and postnatal training. Active Mom Fitness has allowed me to focus my exercise on movements that have helped with the physiological changes during pregnancy and I anticipate will help me through delivery and recovery. I have continued to move around easily, without any pain, well into my 37th week of being pregnant. I also sleep like a baby on days when I get a workout in! I attribute my relatively easy pregnancy, outside of the reflux (bleh!), to staying active and working out at Active Mom Fitness.

During my first few postpartum workouts just showing up felt like a victory, simple movements felt pretty challenging and I think that was when I truly realized that all my core was gone. Group training feels motivating and also there is something comforting being with people with similar challenges and goals. It is also nice to chat about baby and mom things, when we catch our breath! Strength training has been particularly beneficial because it's helped put my body back together holistically and feel stronger generally. In hindsight (of course!) I should have done it while pregnant, but I didn’t know about Active Mom Fitness at the time and wasn’t sure what I could safely do. I really would like to make time to exercise at home 1-2 times a week, to sustain and build on the progress I'm making at Active Mom Fitness.

When I got pregnant, I knew pregnancy will not be easy on my body, just because aging hasn't been-and if I want to be the mom that I need to be, I have to focus on my body, push harder, work out more, to ensure I don't have a longer than needed recovery postpartum. Exercise during pregnancy is paramount. Not just for your physical health, but mental health. All of us go through pregnancy differently, but we will experience some level of mental and physical stress. Find me one woman, who did not..lol. My advise would be to find your happy place work out and do it. Nothing makes you feel holistically better than a workout. As someone who hated exercising for the longest time, I cannot vouch for it enough during pregnancy. It has been one of the few things that make me feel somewhat me, and makes me forget the discomfort

Running has always been my sanity, and after having a baby I felt like I didn’t have that huge part of myself anymore, and like I didn’t know how long it would take to get back. I didn’t expect to be so long-term limited by pelvic floor weakness and changes in my running form that resulted from my pregnancy. Strength training has been absolutely crucial – it has helped me to regain my running form and improve my endurance. My daughter is 12 months, and she and I both love going out together with her in the running stroller – she people watches and naps, and I get to fit in a nice run.

Our bodies are amazing and incredibly strong. You can do anything you put your mind to. Exercise is a great way to support a healthy pregnancy but don't push yourself too hard or compare your journey to anyone else's or even a prior pregnancy. Always listen to your body. I knew that pregnancy involved so many physical and emotional changes and I wanted my body to be in the best shape possible for my journey into motherhood. Working out helped me to gain weight at a healthy rate and helped me to feel good about myself

Before pregnancy I was very active (dance, walking, HIIT, strength training). Once I got pregnant, I became super cautious and limited my physical activity to walking for the first trimester. During the second trimester I started strength training with Ashley.

I believe prenatal exercise helped boost my energy. It improved my mental health, helping with anxiety. It also helped with sleep and insomnia. Private training helped motivate me to keep on moving, which you don't really want to do in your third trimester.

This second pregnancy I'm most proud of sticking to a strength and core routine of about 3 workouts per week. Exercise has helped me feel better physically and emotionally. I feel empowered that I feel so much stronger with this pregnancy. I really love working with Ashley as she helps me stay consistent. I have been enjoying the live virtual classes because you can't beat the commute, and yet it keeps me accountable knowing that she expects me to be there. Every workout is different and personalized so it keeps me engaged.

I feel proud that my daughter often catches me working out. I know I'm setting a good example for her about taking care of yourself even after you become a mom.

Pregnancy can be scary and overwhelming, especially when it wasn’t an easy journey to get pregnant in the first place. After researching for hours what to look for in a prenatal trainer, Ashley checked all of the boxes. All of the certifications and endless experience, plus great write ups in local publications, made me feel confident in my decision. Then once I did the consultation, hearing Ashley talk about her passion for training, being a mom herself, and the empathy she showed for my pregnancy loss history and helping me feel strong through exercise with this one, made it an even easier choice.

Doing strength training in particular has been very beneficial. In addition to being healthier and feeling more confident from the exercise, I’m energized to keep it going after delivery. Not only do my arms look more toned than ever before, but I just feel better. My body is able to do more — even during pregnancy — and I plan to keep it up after I deliver. Ashley made me feel completely comfortable and safe in an uncertain time in my life through exercise.

When I started working with Ashley I was over a year post-partum. I had joint pain, and my core was weak and disconnected after a repeat C-section. I didn’t realize for a while post-partum that I even had diastasis recti. I wasn’t able to make much progress strengthening my core on my own. I quickly saw results when working with Ashley, but the workouts have progressed in a way that is gradual and sustainable. I feel energized mentally and physically after our sessions.

If you can birth and raise kids, you can do anything. Also, the effort you put toward your own health and wellness benefits your whole family, so it’s ok to take time for yourself. My whole life I was convinced I would never be a runner. Working with Ashley has given me confidence to try, and with her strength training, guidance, and encouragement I am making progress.

I’m 100% confident that doing strength training with Ashley led to my comfortable pregnancy, smooth delivery, and quick postpartum recovery! I honestly couldn’t have imagined a better pregnancy and birth. I’m so happy that I committed to regular trainings with Ashley until the very end of my pregnancy. Beyond the physical benefits, I also felt mentally healthier after each workout, which was especially important during the quarantine. Working out with Ashley and the other moms in my group was one of the highlights of 2020 for me. Ashley was always very present in coaching us, and I never felt like another small square in a Zoom room. I was particularly impressed by how Ashley incorporated pelvic floor and appropriate core work into each workout.

Right now postpartum, the biggest challenge is juggling my work schedule with the responsibilities of being a new mom all the whole still finding time to take care of myself. However, exercising is a top priority for my physical and mental health and I started training with Ashley again two months postpartum and continue to look forward to her classes each week!

I chose Active Mom Fitness because I was finding that I needed to do more than yoga, but most exercise classes are not geared toward postpartum women and I did not want to hurt my body. In fact, my body was already hurting from all of the lifting and moving I was doing, so the last thing I wanted to was to hurt it anymore. I needed to work on strengthening my body in a safe way and I feel so grateful that I found it the perfect place to do that! I can actually hold planks for the first time in my life! And that is after having delivered TWO babies at the same time! I feel so much gratitude for my body and what it can do, as well as for Active Mom Fitness for helping me get there.

I was so intimidated to exercise postpartum. Between healing and working full-time, it took me months to start again and to figure out how to even try to fit it in. I felt so relieved and optimistic after Ashley and I first connected - I felt our values really aligned, which is really important to me in my relationship with exercise. I love how every exercise we do is purposeful, safe, relevant to activities in my daily life, and sensitive to my body as someone who has given birth. It's so important to me, especially as a woman, to have a relationship with movement and exercise that I enjoy. I hope to my family to find a way of moving their bodies that feels energizing and enjoyable. I really believe it's the key to having a long-term relationship with exercise. Also, I can do push ups for the first time ever! And I have good form with them too!

Pregnancy has been a time where my body feels foreign in some exciting and some uncomfortable ways. While I thought resting would make me feel calm and able to adjust to all the new feelings and changes it is actually being able to exercise that makes my body and brain feel the best. There are a lot of apps that help women exercise in pregnancy but I found it very difficult to motivate to move at home.Getting one-on-one attention from someone who understands prenatal exercise and could modify it for my body and it’s abilities that week/day has been well worth any amount of money to me. Getting to leave the house and head someplace in the neighborhood was very helpful. Coming to Active Mom Fitness and my prenatal massages were pretty much the only things I looked forward to at the end of my pregnancy (smile).

After my second son was born I wanted to change and become more healthy, strong and happy. Before joining Active Mom Fitness, I was struggling to overcome pain/discomfort from my second c-section. I was afraid to start exercises. Ashley solved that and made me strong. I don't have to worry about injuries. She helped me with diastasis recti, which I had never heard of before. I highly recommend Active Mom Fitness. My goal is to keep increasing my stamina and strength so I can play with my kids.

Pregnancy:

Prenatal exercise specifically was super important to me! I wanted a trainer who would know how to keep my baby safe while really challenging me, and Ashley was the absolutely perfect fit. I walked out of the studio every week super energized, even when I had walked in exhausted and completely unmotivated. Ashley’s style of pushing me while understanding my limits (and prenatal safety) with lots of fun conversation throughout was just what I needed to stay consistent!

Postpartum:

I had complications that required physical therapy. Without communication between Ashley and my PT, we might have been focusing on techniques that, while common for other postpartum moms to engage in, would have actually set me back further. Ashley was able to coach me to focus on different techniques while exercising to make sure we weren’t undermining my PT work.

I absolutely feel stronger and more agile than I did in my first trimester! I would’ve expected to feel weaker and slower as my belly expanded—but the opposite has happened thanks to Ashley! I’m almost 39 weeks and still working out regularly—and also able to do daily tasks pretty easily still! My balance, agility and flexibility has stayed steady! I’ve been really consistent with virtual training groups—I love seeing familiar faces each workout despite not being able to meet people in person! I’ve had a few private sessions with Ashely that I’ve found VERY helpful because she can completely customize the session for you.

I still feel strong. I feel better on the days I’m moving and training with Ashley. I can keep up with our very active toddler better because of it. I don’t have much pain here at the end either. The stretching exercises and use of the ball has helped me during sessions, and in-between. She is constantly changing it up and has adapted throughout all phases of pregnancy. Ashley accommodates every single work out for every single client - virtual group or private format. I truly look forward to my workouts. I’m so grateful to have Ashley and the Active Mom Fitness Community.

My sons are 14 and soon to be 10. My husband and I go with the kids on walks and hikes and bike rides wherever we are. I know that when my kids see me working out, I am positively modeling a healthy lifestyle for them. I feel it is important for them to see each of us as parents carving out time to take care of our bodies. Ashley’s speedy pandemic response to put our classes online and then respond to our need for more workouts has been essential to me maintaining my fitness level while improving my strength and flexibility. To be honest, I am usually pretty horrible about doing workouts when they are not live with other people. But, I’ve had an amazing breakthrough during this pandemic. Continuing to do my live workouts 3-4 times a week with Ashley and others has programmed my body to want to work out more. So on the days when I don’t have a live class, my body is begging me for a workout. That’s when I jump on Ashley‘s new Core Function & Fitness subscription and download the workouts that fill in the gaps for me.  

Ashley is an extremely knowledgeable person when it comes to chronic pelvic pain. She worked in collaboration with my physical therapist. I have found incredible improvement in my pain while working with her. Another part of a person's life when they have chronic pain is mental illness. Ashley seems to be understanding and empathetic about depression and anxiety. She has been able to motivate me through my difficult times and it doesn't feel like she is pushing me.

-Fatima

I was excited to learn that Ashley was offering virtual training sessions, and it has been great being able to do this with Tara (semi-private training partner) as well… we are now living in 3 different states! After having my daughter, training once per week from 2 months to 11 months postpartum was such an important part of my postpartum recovery. I always looked forward to our weekly sessions and truly missed them after moving form Philadelphia to Connecticut this past summer. Our daughters are now 21 months old and full of energy. Like many, we are juggling our work schedules with active toddlers. Having a workout buddy helps me stay on track with scheduling sessions; I have consistently been impressed by how Ashley personalizes each session for both of us.

-Stephanie, mom of one

Semi-Private Training virtually has been truly awesome and way more effective than I expected. Ashley is so thoughtful tailoring the workouts to our strength level and areas that need focus, and with regular 3 times per week sessions over the past month, I have already started to notice improvements in my strength. I've also liked learning new home exercises that I can use going forward. Having the sessions scheduled has been a great motivation to keep showing up. I've also found 30-minute sessions easy to commit to mentally.

-Tara, mom of one

When I was 9 months pregnant someone asked me, "What are you looking forward to getting back into?" My answer was: my jeans! I felt an eagerness to workout postpartum but I was really stuck on how and where to start. Active Mom Fitness' "Stronger After Pregnancy training" is a very thoughtfully choreographed group program that I feel comfortable and confident in taking, considering I do have a slight diastatis recti and pelvic floor dysplasia. Ashley knows each one of us and where we're at in our healing; she's quick to offer us variations on exercises that suite our unique cases and I find so much value in feeling like I'm being cared for... especially when the rest of life is about caring for everyone else!

-Kristin, mom of one

Fitness has always been a big part of my life - so I was really excited to find Active Mom Fitness (AMF) which gave me the option to workout WITH my kids. It's truly guilt free. I love knowing that my kids are having fun socializing with other kids while I'm working out. It's a win-win. 

I've always been a runner, and never was good about committing to consistent strength workouts. After taking AMF for almost a year I am truly in the best shape of my life. I have muscle tone I never had before, my abs are flatter and more muscular than before I had twins. My babies are about 30lbs. each, but I can lift them with ease thanks to all the strength and core work from classes.

AMF classes offer a great sense of community. No one bats an eye if a kiddo has a meltdown or needs to be held during squats. There are very few ways to workout with a group AND with your little ones outside the home - I love that AMF allows me to do that.

-Sarah M., mom of three (Visit her on Instagram)

After having two kids, I needed a jumpstart back into fitness. Due to Ashley's expertise in being an Exercise Physiologist, I feel comfortable working out with her as my diastasis recti was healing. It makes a difference to me that she studied exercise for years rather than just a weekend certification. She has the knowledge of how our bodies work and move.

Ashley has a positive attitude and easy going spirit (but is also serious!). She handles it just fine when a kid comes and joins her on a mat but she always keep us going towards the next work-out move. She does a good job of offering a sense of team as we are all at different fitness levels.

I'm getting results-like regaining definition in my arms!

-Rebecca, mom of two

I signed up for classes and personal training because I was post partum and needed help getting back into the swing of things. I wanted Ashley to do the thinking for me! I loved Ashley's style from my first class! Ashley has a really fun down to earth vibe and will make you feel very comfortable. She listens to what I want and then develops a total body workout.

Ashley is very on top of the latest research and incorporate into her programs. I really feel strong after doing my workouts and am in much better shape. It's hard work, but when I see the payoff it's all worth it. I've really enjoyed myself getting back into shape.

-Betsy, mom of one

I joined small group training because I needed the extra accountability of a small group setting. Having the same group of women that that I’ll see every week, in a similar stage of pregnancy, facilitated by someone I know is exactly what I needed. I appreciate the periodic check-ins between sessions via email. It’s a nice personal touch that I’m sure is time consuming, but helps me stay connected to my goals and progress.

I like the that Ashley checks in at the beginning of the session to see where we’re at mentally and physically and continues to check in throughout the session to make sure that I’m exerting the right range of effort. I enjoy the personalization of workouts for my current stage of pregnancy and fitness. 

Ashley is inspirational in her highly visible commitment to health and well-being for mothers and family. She is clearly committed to helping others throughout her immediate community and the wider Philadelphia area. It’s great to feel like I’m becoming a better version of myself while engaging in a healthier vision for women and moms around me.

-Susan, mom of one (soon to be two)