I spent my first 6 months postpartum bouncing between two types of fitness content:

Camp 1: Gym-bro programs. "Just squat heavy." Cool, except nobody mentioned my pelvic floor, diastasis recti, or the fact that I hadn't slept more than 3 hours straight in months.

Camp 2: "Mom-friendly" gentle workouts. Resistance bands and 5-lb dumbbells forever. Felt nice. Changed nothing.

Neither worked. So I built something that does.

The 3 exercises you should be doing:

🏋️ Goblet Squats — Loads the anterior chain without excessive spinal compression. Start bodyweight, add a kettlebell when ready. These rebuild your quads, glutes, and core simultaneously.

🏋️ Modified Deadlifts (Trap Bar or Sumo) — The posterior chain needs work after pregnancy. Trap bar or sumo stance keeps the center of gravity closer to your body and reduces lower back strain.

🏋️ Incline Push-Ups → Full Push-Ups — Progressive overload for your chest, shoulders, and core. Start elevated, work your way down. Most postpartum programs skip upper body entirely. Don't.

The 2 to skip (for now):

❌ Crunches / Sit-Ups — If you have any diastasis recti, these make it worse. Period. Replace with dead bugs and pallof presses.

❌ Heavy Barbell Back Squats (too early) — Not forever — just not first. The spinal loading is too aggressive before your core and pelvic floor are rehabbed. Goblet and front squats first. Earn the barbell back.

This is what I teach inside MomStrong. Real programming. Real progressive overload. Built for bodies that just did the hardest thing imaginable.