MANILA, Philippines — Ashley Nowe, a certified fitness expert and nutrition coach specializing in rebuilding and maintaining strength though pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause, is sharing practical tips on how to bounce back and become strong again.
The founder of “Get Mom Strong,” which has 350,000 Instagram followers, knows this only too well. Nowe personally went through the rigors of pregnancy and postpartum depression herself, having a traumatic birth and challenging recovery experience.
Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Ashley Nowe was very athletic during her growing up yeas and was active in softball and gymnastics. In college, she studied Journalism and, after graduating, worked in public relations and the corporate world writing grants. She loved CrossFit and was a competitive athlete. Considering her active lifestyle, it would only be proper that pregnancy and childbirth would be a breeze for her. So, as expected, when she had her first child, even though it was through a C-section, she bounced right back.
But her second pregnancy, a traumatic twin pregnancy, left her far from a “bounce back” story. In her own “Get Mom Strong” website, she says, “After birthing three children (including a set of giant twins), I didn’t recognize my body. The twins shook my foundation, taking such a toll on my body and my sense of self. I struggled with diastasis recti—a “separation” of the abdominal wall—but have worked hard to love my stomach again in its new form and connect with my core.”
Nowe started to work out five weeks post-partum in an effort to get back in shape, but ended up making things worse. She sought out a pelvic floor therapist, who helped her regain her core.
“This journey set me on a mission to educate other women and help them take back pregnancy and postpartum! Whether you are a mom to a newborn or a grown kid, it is never too late to improve your core and pelvic floor and live a life full of function and vitality. My mission is to help mom regain their strength, health, and confidence,” she added.
It is from this experience that her business idea blossomed. With “Get Mom Strong” and her health and fitness app SLAM (Strong Like a Mother), Ashley Nowe has helped over 50,000 women heal their bodies postpartum and stay strong throughout pregnancy.
SLAM combines science-backed pelvic floor and core exercises with sweat-inducing workouts. It features workouts designed to help women improve diastasis recti, prolapse, incontinence, back pain, and more.
Not just another boring “core and floor rehab” fitness program, SLAM can be done at home with minimal equipment. The total body workouts combine strength and cardio to benefit the core and pelvic floor, with five levels of programming — from newly postpartum to advanced athlete. With workouts tailored to each week of pregnancy, SLAM helps women to stay strong and empowered throughout pregnancy, with real health tips from a variety of experts specializing in birth, pelvic floor physical therapists, obstetricians, doula and more. The app has a nutrition section with 100+ recipes.