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Glencoe, Illinois · Winnetka · Highland Park · Northbrook

Prenatal & postnatal personal training.

Strength training through pregnancy and after birth, coached by someone certified for exactly this — in Glencoe, and across the North Shore.

Most women are told to “listen to your body” and left to work out what that means alone. Prenatal and postnatal training is not a lighter version of ordinary training — it is different work, with different priorities in each trimester and a different starting point after birth. What follows is how that actually works, and the questions people ask before they begin.

First, second and third trimester

Prenatal training

Training does not stop at a positive test — it changes shape. Early on, most of the work carries on much as before. Later, the priorities become breathing mechanics, pelvic floor awareness, posture as your centre of gravity shifts, and the strength that carries you through labour and the months after. Load is adjusted, positions are swapped, and nothing is done that you have not been cleared for.

  • Trimester-specific programming
  • Breathing and pelvic floor coordination
  • Safe positions and modifications as pregnancy progresses
  • Strength that supports labour and recovery

From cleared-to-exercise onward

Postnatal training

The return is not a switch. It starts with reconnecting the core and pelvic floor, then rebuilds capacity in a deliberate order — because doing too much too early is the most common way postpartum training goes wrong. Sessions account for broken sleep, feeding, and a body that is still changing months after birth.

  • A structured return-to-training runway
  • Core and pelvic floor rebuilding
  • Progressive loading at a pace your body sets
  • Programming that survives newborn sleep

Now enrolling · Limited to 6–8 participants

Prefer to train alongside other mothers?

The 6-week Pre & Postnatal Strength Course runs Wednesdays at 12:00 – 1:15 PM, starting September 30, 2026, at Unify Fitness in Glencoe.

Questions

What people ask before they start.

These are about training, not medicine. Anything here follows your own provider’s clearance — if they advise otherwise, that is the answer.

Is it safe to strength train while pregnant?
For most people with an uncomplicated pregnancy, yes — and current guidance encourages staying active rather than stopping. What changes is how you train, not whether you train: load, positions, breathing and intensity all get adjusted as pregnancy progresses. Everything here follows your own provider's clearance and guidance, and if they advise against something, that is the answer.
I've never lifted before. Is pregnancy the wrong time to start?
It is not the wrong time to start moving, but it is a poor time to start chasing personal records. Beginning now means learning good movement patterns at manageable loads, building strength you will use during labour and afterwards. Many people start training for the first time while pregnant and are stronger a year later than they have ever been.
What can I do in the first trimester?
Usually more than people expect, and often much the same as before — though fatigue and nausea frequently make the first trimester the hardest one to train through. Sessions are adjusted around how you actually feel that week rather than to a fixed plan.
When can I train again after giving birth?
After your provider clears you — commonly around six weeks for an uncomplicated vaginal birth, and often longer after a caesarean. That clearance is a starting line, not a finish line: it means you can begin rebuilding, not that you are back where you left off. The first weeks focus on breathing, core and pelvic floor reconnection before loading returns.
I had a C-section. Is training different?
Yes. A caesarean is abdominal surgery, and the timeline is longer and the early work more careful, particularly around the incision and the deep core. Training resumes on your surgeon's or provider's clearance and builds from there.
What is diastasis recti, and can training help?
It is a separation of the abdominal muscles along the midline, and it is extremely common late in pregnancy. Coaching focuses on how you manage pressure — breathing, bracing, and which movements to progress or hold back — rather than on any single exercise. Where it is significant or symptomatic, a pelvic floor physical therapist is the right person to involve alongside training.
Do you train people one-to-one, or only in the course?
Both. The six-week Pre & Postnatal Strength Course is a small group, capped at six to eight, which suits people who want structure and other women at a similar stage. One-to-one training is available for anyone who wants programming built entirely around their own circumstances.
Where are sessions held?
At Unify Fitness, 664 Vernon Avenue in Glencoe, Illinois — a full strength floor with the equipment a proper session needs. Clients travel from across the North Shore, including Winnetka, Highland Park, Northbrook and Wilmette. Online coaching is also available.

Start where you actually are.

First trimester, six weeks postpartum, or a year on and still not feeling like yourself — leave your name and email and we’ll start with a free 15-minute chat.

Free 15-minute chat — no pressure, no obligation.

Sessions at Unify Fitness · 664 Vernon Avenue, Glencoe, IL 60022 · (224) 522-9040