Alicia Quinn—who you likely know by her self-described alter ego, Alicia Sacramone—was the team captain for Team USA's gymnastics team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where she helped the team earn a silver medal. These days, in addition to coaching gymnastics here and there, broadcasting for the SEC Network, and keeping fit with the help of her side project "The Gympire," Alicia is also mom to Sloan, who's 2.5 and Teagan, who's 8 months.

Here, we talk about how Alicia decided it was time to move on from gymnastics and onto quote unquote real life, how pregnancy positively affected Alicia's body image and self-esteem, how to be gentle on yourself as you try to stay fit as a mother, and some of the things Alicia wish she knew before she was thrown into the thick of things.

Transcript:

https://www.alsomom.com/aliciasacramonequinn

Episode Highlights:

• 4:30 - The story of Alicia's comeback to elite gymnastics in 2010
• 10:35 - Alicia thinks she "could've worked harder" before the 2008 Olympic Games (and I tell her that sounds like motherhood talking)
• 11:55 - How her training as an elite gymnast has helped her in these early years of motherhood
• 14:50 - Body image! Pregnancy, postpartum, and the gymnastics body image warp for baby #1 and baby #2 
• 18:57 - A tiny snippet of Alicia's birth story with Sloan
• 20:53 - Alicia's experience with surgery as an elite gymnast and how it prepared her for the challenges of recovering from a cesarean birth
• 24:15 - How she makes time for workouts, or more accurately, how she's changed her definition of what counts as a workout these days
• 30:20 - Alicia's top four product recommendations for new moms
• 32:04 - A shared mutual hatred for laundry (you too?) 

Links Mentioned:

• The Gympire - Alicia and former teammate Samantha Peszek's Instagram account full of fun ways to stay fit
• BabyBjorn Carrier - The carrier Alicia wore Sloan in for treadmill walks. 
• UPPAbaby Vista Stroller - It's a worthy workout just pushing a kid or two in this thing.
• Ollie Swaddle - One of Alicia's favorites (ours too!) for great sleep. 
• DockaTot - Another favorite for sleep.
• Doona Car Seat / Stroller - Alicia's obsessed.
• YogaGlo (Glo) - Megan's go-to for at-home yoga. (Want me to send you a free class? Email me at [email protected]!)
• Audible - Megan's go-to for audiobooks while folding endless laundry. Sign up for the free 30 day membership and receive two free audiobooks! Recent favorites include Becoming by Michelle Obama, Educated by Tara Westover, and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. 
• Blinkist - Alicia's go-to for SparkNotes-style summaries of non-fiction books she definitely doesn't have time to read.
• @asaq3 - Where you can follow Alicia (and also find cute pictures of Sloan and Teagan)