Postpartum Fitness with Purpose: How MamasteFit Helps Moms Heal and Thrive

At Bonsie, we believe in honoring the raw, beautiful journey of motherhood—including the often overlooked transition of postpartum healing. We’re proud to spotlight Gina Conley, founder of MamasteFit, a movement and education platform supporting women through pregnancy, birth, and recovery with evidence-based fitness programs and a whole lot of compassion.

Whether you're newly postpartum or preparing for birth, Gina’s approach to movement is revolutionizing how mothers reconnect with their bodies after baby. 

Gina and her kids at the gym. 

Meet Gina Conley: Mom of Four, Exercise Scientist, and Founder of MamasteFit

Gina Conley is the founder of MamasteFit, a mom of four (with her youngest just 10 months old), and a passionate advocate for supporting women through pregnancy and postpartum. She holds a master’s degree in exercise science, is a certified birth doula, and the author of the book Training for Two. For over eight years, Gina has worked exclusively with in-person and online prenatal and postnatal fitness clients, helping them feel strong, confident, and supported throughout their motherhood journey.

“I started MamasteFit after the birth of my first daughter in 2017. I was overall really fearful of exercising and confused on how to move my body without hurting my baby throughout my pregnancy, and felt clueless on what to do to get back to my normal workout routine (or what that even looked like as a mom) after I gave birth. At the time, there weren’t really any pre/postnatal fitness-specific programs out there, but there was definitely plenty of fear mongering and lists of ‘do not do this’ for exercise.

That personal experience sparked a turning point. Instead of staying stuck in fear and confusion, Gina took action—determined to not only understand her own body, but to create a path forward for other moms facing the same uncertainty.

“I wanted to help other women feel confident to move their bodies during their pregnancy and after birth, so I went back to school to study it and started to work with clients to develop my programs. The result? I have helped thousands of women feel so good throughout the pregnancy, prepare for birth, and feel strong again after birth!”

What Does a Realistic Postpartum Fitness Timeline Look Like?

“After birth, we need to be patient! And that can be hard!” Gina says. “The first month or so after we give birth, our body needs to recover from the planned injury that is birth—this initial healing period lasts for about 21–28 days. During this time frame, you can focus mostly on gentle mobility, gentle core exercises, and walking—we are focusing mostly on reconnecting with our body and bonding with our baby!”

According to Gina, while some moms may feel ready to jump back into workouts during the first few weeks postpartum, it’s essential to hold off on structured exercise until around the 4–6 week mark. This isn’t just about waiting for a doctor’s clearance—it’s because the body is still in the early stages of tissue healing. Jumping into intense movement too soon can increase the risk of injury or slow the healing process.

“After you're around 4–6 weeks postpartum, you can start a return to fitness program (we offer our program online)! In a return to fitness program, start with mostly bodyweight, banded, and light weights to relearn how to move again in this new body. For example, you may start with a box squat, then progress the next week to an air squat, then progress to a weighted squat.”

Gina also recommends complementing traditional strength training with accessory work that supports postpartum recovery. Movements that cross the body can aid in core healing and diastasis recti recovery, while single-leg exercises help build hip stability and support pelvic floor function. Mobility work is also a key part of the equation.

“It can take around 4–6 months after birth before you may feel ready to run, jump, and do things more similar to pre-pregnancy! So, be patient with this process.”

Core and Pelvic Floor Healing: It's a Full-Body Process

“We design our programs to support you as a person rather than treat symptoms,” Gina explains. “Symptoms like diastasis or prolapse, and other pelvic floor or core-related issues need to be addressed with a full-body approach. We are incredibly connected in our body, so rarely should we treat symptoms in isolation.”

With that in mind, Gina starts by addressing how posture and mobility influence core and pelvic floor function—especially after the physical changes of pregnancy and birth.

“First, we can focus on mobility and how you are able to position yourself. In pregnancy and into motherhood, we tend to favor a more arched back position. This can cause some compression to the back side of the body and flare the rib cage upwards. This can impact how we breathe, delay diastasis healing, and put more pressure on the front of the pelvic floor. When we can find a more stacked position and improve overall mobility of the rib cage, we usually see a ton of relief with these issues!”

Once proper alignment and mobility are established, the next step is addressing how the body manages pressure during movement—something that’s often overlooked but critically important in postpartum recovery.

“Next is learning how to manage pressure—aka breathe! This is a huge part of our programming—learn how to breathe and move at the same time so that we are supporting the pelvic floor and core.”

The Biggest Postpartum Fitness Mistake? Focusing on Shrinking.

Gina urges moms to stop focusing on aesthetics and shrinking. “Your size and being smaller does NOT equal healthier. I heard some quotes recently that really stuck with me: we can focus on gaining health, NOT losing weight—and we can choose to live a bigger life, not fit into a smaller size. If we focus on function over aesthetics, we can approach this recovery journey with so much more grace and love for ourselves AND we can feel so much better in our body.”

It's a mindset shift that invites more compassion and celebration, rather than pressure to return to a pre-baby version of yourself. Gina reminds moms of the incredible strength and power their bodies hold—regardless of size.

“Remember that you literally created LIFE! That is incredible! What an honor to be able to do that—you do NOT need to shrink to show you are worthy of anything. You are a literal goddess.”

Learn more about Gina and MamasteFit at: www.mamastefit.com and follow along on Instagram: @mamastefit

At Bonsie, we’re proud to support moms at every stage—from those first skin-to-skin snuggles to the strength it takes to rebuild after birth. Because when moms feel supported, the whole family thrives.