Anna Moraff, CPT

Returning to exercise postpartum can seem daunting, but the best thing you can do for your body is start small. Make specific, actionable goals for yourself and take it one day at a time. If you’re not sure exactly what you need and have the means, invest in a professional. And as always, don’t take fitness advice from people who use terms like “bounce back” or “pre baby body” in their marketing.

Right now I have one spot available for in-person training. DM me for more info!

Is pregnancy or postpartum messing with your body image?

Pregnancy is an amazing, miraculous process, but can also be hard on our mental health at times. Feelings of discomfort and even shame due to our changing bodies are common in pregnancy and postpartum. It doesn’t help that so much of harmful diet culture is geared towards guilting new moms into feeling like they need to “bounce back” right away. On top of that, toxic positivity culture on social media can make us feel like we have to jump from negative body image feelings straight to total self love.

The good news is that it’s okay if you don’t absolutely love your pregnant or postpartum body all the time! On days that I struggle with body image, I’ve found it more realistic and manageable to shift the focus to recognizing what my body is physically doing for me and my sweet baby. This growing, changing body is creating life, and I think that’s pretty amazing.

Little known fact about me: I have exercise induced asthma!

Basically, when my heart rate gets too high too fast, my lungs start to close up. This means I stay away from most high impact cardio and don’t do 1-rep maxes.

While I was getting my degree in Kinesiology and studying for my PT certification exam, some people questioned my choice because how can a person with a limiting physiological condition make a whole career in exercise??

For a while, I would even limit my own self in my thoughts and actions. I would stay away from cardio full-stop. I wasn’t actually progressively overloading my muscles when lifting. I ended up not really challenging myself at all.

Eventually I got frustrated by not making progress and realized how much I had been unnecessarily self-limiting. Now I do low-impact cardio that I really enjoy (walking my dog, hiking) and am stronger than I ever was, lifting much heavier (within a range my lungs can handle) and feeling good.

Our limitations don’t have to dictate our outcome. Yes, sometimes we have to make necessary modifications, but it’s important that we challenge our thoughts and beliefs about our capabilities because usually, we are capable of so much more than we perceive.

Myths vs Facts Part 2!

Recently, I did a fitness assessment for a woman in her second trimester. She was consistently lifting heavy weights before she got pregnant and was cleared for exercise by her doctor. She told me that another personal trainer had told her that now that she’s pregnant, she’s not allowed to lift more than 10 lbs. This is absolutely not true!

There are so many misconceptions about exercise during pregnancy. With clearance from a doctor and the appropriate modifications, exercise is not only safe, but also incredibly beneficial for pregnancy. Stay tuned for Myths vs Facts part 2!

So excited to finally launch my new website!!!

•Easily book a complimentary fitness assessment
•Browse different program options
•Straight forward communication directly from the website

To celebrate, I’m offering a flash sale through the end of November for in-person, virtual, and online clients! If you’ve been on the fence about signing up for a program, this is the time! Limited spots available.

Things men have actually said to me while on the gym floor:

“Are you lost?”

“Don’t hurt yourself over here little lady”

In the middle of training a client, a guy asserts himself into our obviously occupied squat rack -
Me: “excuse me, we’re actually using this squat rack”
Him: *rolls his eyes and mutters just loud enough* “unbelievable”

A former male coworker explaining my job to me: “If you want to train for muscle growth and strength, you should stick to 3-5 sets and stay in a rep range of 6-10... not that I’m trying to mainsplain to you or anything”

Former male client (while I was counting his reps): “Be quiet. You talk too much.”

Most woman in the fitness industry, or really most woman who have ever worked out in a gym, can tell you at least one story similar to the ones I’ve heard. All I gotta say is: Men, it’s 2020. Do better.

My favorite go-to response to men trying to give me “advice” or trying to make me feel inferior in the gym: a straight-faced “I know more than you”.

Ladies, have you experienced this? Do you have a go-to response to these gym bros? I’d love to hear them!

We’ve all been in this situation: We create a fitness goal for ourself, feel super motivated, work on it diligently for a short period of time, get burned out, and let that goal fizzle out.

The missing piece? A proper plan! It’s important to think ahead and make long term goals for ourself - but it’s even more important to turn that goal into an attainable, actionable plan.

I used a half marathon goal as an example here (I have a lot of long-distance runner clients), but you can input any other fitness goal for yourself!

I work on this a lot with my clients - taking their goals and working with them to turn those goals into daily and weekly habits that will foster long term behavior change.

Looking for direction or specific coaching to help you with your fitness goals? I currently have 3 virtual and 1 in-person space available for new clients. Comment or DM for more info!

There’s a whole lot of half-baked at home workouts being marketed and sold right now.

Fun workouts are great - but a scientifically sound, well thought out fitness program yields the greatest results and long-term reward (and can also be just as fun!).

Currently accepting virtual and in-person (socially distant) clients. Limited spots available - DM for more info! @ Pasadena, California

Hiking is my absolute favorite form of exercise - so i was SO excited to hike the Grand Canyon this past weekend! Getting to see both the sunset and sunrise over the canyon was the cherry on top. 🌞 @ Grand Canyon National Park

I’m thankful that I’ve been able to train online through all of this... but I’m still dreaming about being reunited with all my clients in-person again 😍