The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips

By Chandler Sommerfeldt | Strength and Conditioning Coach, Postpartum and Precision Nutrition Certified and Active Life Professional CandidateHealth & Fitness Education Self-Improvement Fitness

The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips episodes

March 03 #59 - Jaw Clenching & Pelvic Floor Problems: The Connection You’re Missing And It's Not What You Think
Are your jaw tension and pelvic floor symptoms connected?
If you struggle with pelvic floor tightness, leaking when lifting, urinary urgency, heaviness, or postpartum core dysfunction — and you also clench your jaw or grind your teeth — this episode will change how you understand your body.
In this episode of The Athlete Mom Project, we break down:
• The jaw–pelvic floor fascial connection (deep front line explained)
• How jaw clenching increases pelvic floor guarding
• Why kegels and “suck up a blueberry” cues often make symptoms worse
• The role of the diaphragm in core and pelvic floor coordination
• How breath timing affects pressure and leaking under load
• Why pelvic floor tightness is often nervous system driven — not weakness
If you’re pregnant, postpartum, or an athlete mom lifting heavier than bodyweight, this episode will help you understand how the jaw, breath, core, and pelvic floor function as one integrated system. You don’t need more isolated squeezing. You need coordinated strength.
Inside The Athlete Mom Project and Stronger Through Pregnancy, we teach you how to build capacity, manage pressure, and train heavy without leaking or guarding.
Listen now to learn how to stop over-gripping and start building resilient, integrated strength.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
🫁 Start The Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
38 min
February 26#58 - The “4-Hour Week” Reframe for Moms: Stop Consuming, Start Implementing
If you feel like you’re doing everything—saving workouts, following 30 different “hormone” accounts, bouncing between programs, Googling symptoms, trying to be a great mom and chase big goals—this episode is your permission slip to stop adding more.
In today’s episode of The Athlete Mom Project, I’m pulling a few key concepts from The 4-Hour Workweek (Tim Ferriss) and applying them to the athlete mom life through my favorite framework: capacity vs load. Because most of the time, it’s not a motivation problem or an information problem… it’s a capacity problem.
We talk about:
Why information overload keeps you stuck (and dysregulated)
What a “low-information diet” actually looks like in real life
How the 80/20 rule applies to training, nutrition, recovery, and motherhood
Why “busy” feels productive… but often isn’t moving you toward your goals
How to stop the start-over Monday cycle by eliminating what doesn’t work
Why fewer workouts + higher quality can create better results (without burnout)
The difference between random programming and a real system built for your season
Your takeaway: Clarity builds capacity. Noise drains it.
So here’s the question I want you to sit with: If you only had 4 hours a week to move your goal forward… what would you eliminate?
If you’re ready for structure and implementation (not more chaos), check out the links below.
🔗 Resources & Links
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
🫁 Start The Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
35 min
February 24#57 - SPD Pain During Pregnancy: Why “Just Rest” Makes It Worse and What To Do Instead
Pubic symphysis pain during pregnancy (SPD) can feel like your pelvis is splitting in half — rolling over in bed hurts, walking hurts, getting dressed hurts… and the most common advice is still: “rest, stop single-leg work, take Tylenol, it’ll go away after birth.”
In this episode of The Athlete Mom Project, I’m telling my SPD story from my first pregnancy with my oldest — what made it worse, what I did wrong, and what I’m intentionally doing differently this pregnancy to keep training (lifting, running, jiu-jitsu) without SPD pain taking over my life.
You’ll learn:
What SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) actually is — and why it’s usually irritation, not injury
Why pregnancy pelvic pain is often a load + coordination problem (not a “tight hip” problem)
How stress, fatigue, poor sleep, and breath-holding increase pelvic pressure and pain
Why “stop moving” advice often backfires for athlete moms
Examples exercises to use for SPD relief: seated ball squeezes, diagonal band pull-downs, crossover step-ups + curtsy, staggered stance squats, and breath-led core work
How to use pain as information so you can adjust training instead of spiraling
If you’re pregnant and dealing with SPD pain, pelvic girdle pain, SI joint pain, or that sharp “lightning crotch” feeling — this episode will give you a framework and practical movements you can start today.
Want structure + a full relief library? My week-by-week program Stronger Through Pregnancy includes strategic programming + a relief library for pelvic pain, core, breath, and strength adaptations through every trimester.
To learn more about the 36-weeek program, fill out my coaching inquiry form:
--> Stronger Through Pregnancy Inquiry <--
🔗 Resources & Links
🫁 Start The Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
43 min
February 18#56 - Lindsey Vonn, Injury, and Identity: Why Your Mind Shapes What Your Body Can Do
Watching the 2026 Olympics hit different—especially if you’re an athlete mom navigating injury, postpartum changes, or that “my body feels unfamiliar” season.

In this episode I break down Lindsey Vonn’s 2026 comeback, the pre-Olympic ACL rupture, and the downhill crash that led to a complex tibia fracture and multiple surgeries.

But this isn’t a recap for gossip—it’s a masterclass on identity, pain, nervous system safety, and returning to sport.

You’ll learn:
Why “pain is a choice” doesn’t mean “pain isn’t real” (and what it actually means)
The Pain Rules (how to know what’s safe vs what’s too much)
Capacity vs Load: why rehab and performance use the same principles
How identity shapes pain perception, fear, avoidance, and what your body believes is possible
What to do if you’re an athlete mom coming back from injury, pregnancy, or chronic pain

If you’ve ever thought “I’m broken,” “this is just my body now,” or “I’ll never be the same,” this one will shift something.

🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
If you want to READ what you just listened to so that you can have a lasting framework for navigating pain, injury, and motherhood --> FULL ARTICLE HERE <--

🔗 Resources & Links
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
🫁 Start The Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
39 min
February 16#55 - Wood Snake → Fire Horse: Why February Feels So Heavy (and What to Do About It)
Have you felt emotionally heavy, disconnected, unmotivated, or like your life is destabilizing lately — and you can’t even explain why? In this episode of The Athlete Mom Project, I’m sharing what’s been happening in my own body (I’m 25 weeks pregnant and I cried for four days straight 🙃) and what I’m hearing from so many athlete moms in weekly check-ins: “My soul feels heavy.”
We’re talking about the transition from the Year of the Wood Snake to the Year of the Fire Horse, the Solar Eclipse in Aquarius as a “new timeline” portal, and why this season can feel like ego death, identity shifts, nervous system friction, and burnout — especially for high-achieving moms who like to control outcomes.
But we’re also grounding this in real coaching + physiology:
✅ Load vs Capacity (why pain happens when load exceeds capacity)
✅ Why identity expansion can feel like anxiety
✅ How to regulate your nervous system when everything feels like it’s accelerating
✅ 5 grounding tools you can do this week (surrender, breath, strength training, decluttering, and identity journaling)
I also share a powerful metaphor from a Substack post about imaginal cells — the “imaginal soup” phase where the old self dissolves and something new is forming (even when it feels like chaos).
Here is the full article if you want to read it:
Navigating A Crumbling World: Lessons From The Chrysalis
Referenced reading / resources:
Moon Omens: Solar Eclipse in Aquarius 2026: A New Timeline (link)
Moon Omens: Lunar New Year 2026: Year of the Fire Horse (link)
Daniel Gould (Substack): Navigating a Crumbling World: Lessons from the Chrysalis (link)
If you’re an athlete mom navigating burnout, motivation dips, pregnancy/postpartum identity shifts, or you’re trying to build strength and endurance without breaking your nervous system — this one will land.
🎧 Listen now, and then choose one grounding tool to practice today.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
🫁 Start The Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
40 min
February 10#54 - Why Lifting Weights Through Motherhood Changes How You Live, Not Just How You Look
The episode's theme - capacity over burnout: Strength training, nervous system health, and motherhood
If you’re an athlete mom trying to juggle strength training, endurance performance, weight loss, and motherhood, this episode will change how you think about fitness—and yourself.
In this deeply honest conversation, Chandler sits down with longtime client Lauren to unpack their 15-month coaching journey and the mindset shift that changed everything. What began as a goal to lose weight and improve endurance performance evolved into something far more sustainable: nervous system regulation, strength training for moms, food freedom, and living in alignment with capacity—not burnout.
Lauren shares how under-eating and overtraining fueled anxiety, exhaustion, and chronic stress—and how learning to fuel properly, lift weights, rest without guilt, and choose the right training season helped her feel stronger, calmer, and more present as a mom, partner, and entrepreneur.
In this episode, we explore:
Why trying to lose weight and improve endurance at the same time often backfires for moms
How strength training can regulate the nervous system and reduce burnout
The difference between pushing through vs. building capacity
Why rest, food, and recovery are productivity tools, not weaknesses
How releasing external validation leads to more confidence, energy, and joy
If you’re an athlete mom who feels tired, stuck, or caught between ambition and burnout, this episode will feel like a deep exhale—and a permission slip to do things differently.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
📖 Read the full breakdown of this Podcast episode on my Substack
👉 [Read it Here]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
1 hr 18 min
February 09 #53 - You want to be a present mom, a great partner, and have a successful career - is that possible?
🫁 Join the Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
If you feel like you’re doing everything “right” but you’re still exhausted, sore, wired, or stuck in a constant go-go-go loop… this episode is for you. In today’s Athlete Mom Project Podcast, I’m breaking down outcome attachment—the sneaky way high-achieving, Type A moms grip tighter to weight loss, performance goals, business growth, or “getting back to who I was”… and accidentally keep their nervous system in a low-grade state of threat.
We’ll talk about why more discipline isn’t the answer, how urgency creates burnout (even when you love your goals), and the shift that changed everything for me: letting go of urgency without letting go of ambition. You’ll learn how outcome attachment shows up in training, nutrition, pregnancy/postpartum, and motherhood—and why your body can’t adapt, recover, or feel safe when you’re constantly asking “Is this working?” and “Am I doing enough?”
I also share 3 powerful questions to help you detach without quitting, rest without guilt, and rebuild trust in your body—so you can make progress from a place of safety, consistency, and capacity, not pressure.
If this resonates, you’ll love The Capacity Project—my 6-week program that rebuilds your foundation through breath, nervous system regulation, and intentional movement so you can train, live, and mother with more peace (and better results). Link below.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
📖 Read the full breakdown of this Podcast episode on my Substack
👉 [Read it Here]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
44 min
February 05#52 - Why You’re Still Anxious and Stressed Even If You Exercise and Eat Well
🫁 Join the Capacity Project
A 6-week program designed to improve stress tolerance, recovery, sleep, and performance through breath and nervous system training. This is where you "build your base."
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
You exercise, eat well, and try to take care of yourself—so why do you still feel anxious, exhausted, and constantly “on edge”?
In this episode, we break down why so many active moms struggle with stress, poor sleep, burnout, stubborn fatigue, and slow recovery even when they’re doing everything right.
The problem usually isn’t motivation or discipline.
It’s capacity—and how you breathe.
Breathing patterns directly affect your nervous system, stress response, recovery, and energy. Many moms unknowingly breathe too fast, too shallow, or through the mouth, keeping the body stuck in survival mode and making stress feel constant.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why exercise alone doesn’t fix anxiety or burnout
How stress blocks recovery, sleep, and fat loss
Why breath is one of the fastest tools to calm the nervous system
How breathing mechanics affect tension, movement, and pain
The role carbon dioxide tolerance plays in stress and endurance
Breath isn’t a recovery add-on—it’s the foundation of resilience, energy, and sustainable performance.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
📖 Read the full breakdown of this Podcast episode on my Substack
👉 [Read it Here]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
33 min
January 16#51 - How to Train Through Pregnancy, Postpartum, Injury, and Pain (Without Stopping Your Life)
Training during pregnancy, postpartum, injury, or chronic pain doesn’t mean stopping — it means understanding how your body actually adapts.
In this episode, movement and nutrition coach Chandler Sommerfeldt breaks down how to train safely and effectively through pregnancy, postpartum, injury, and pain using the same science-based framework professionals use in injury rehab and performance training.
This episode challenges the fear-based advice many women receive — like “do less,” “rest until it goes away,” or “just wait it out” — and explains why those recommendations often keep people stuck in pain longer.
You’ll learn:
The difference between pain and injury (and why confusing the two keeps you fearful)
The 4 pain rules that allow you to keep training safely
Why pregnancy and postpartum follow injury-based training principles
How reactive vs degenerative tendinopathy show up during pregnancy and postpartum
Why doing nothing often makes tendon pain and joint pain worse
How Heavy Slow Resistance (HSR) and intelligent loading rebuild tissue resilience
The role of the nervous system, breath, and stress in chronic pain
How to train below threshold to increase capacity over time
Why capacity vs load is the real issue behind most pregnancy and postpartum pain
How fear, beliefs, and environment influence pain perception
Why choosing the right community and provider matters for healing
This episode is especially helpful if you are:
Pregnant and unsure how to keep exercising safely
Postpartum and dealing with lingering pain or fear of movement
Experiencing pelvic pain, SPD pain, knee pain, Achilles pain, or tendon pain
Returning to training after injury or surgery
Living with chronic pain and tired of being told to “just rest”
An athlete mom who wants to train without compromising your body or your life
Chandler also shares her personal experiences with SPD pain during pregnancy, multiple knee surgeries, and chronic pain — and how learning to regulate the nervous system and train within capacity completely changed her relationship with movement.
This is not about pushing through pain.
It’s about understanding your body, rebuilding trust, and training intelligently through every season of life.
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
🔗 Resources & Links
📖 Read the full breakdown of this Podcast episode on my Substack
👉 [Read it Here]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
54 min
January 07#50 - Kids Strength Training: When to Start, What’s Safe, and How to Lift With Your Kids
Your kid is already strength training. They climb. They jump. They carry heavy things. They explore their body in space every single day.

So the real question isn’t should kids get strong? It’s how do we introduce strength training safely, progressively, and without turning movement into a chore?
In this episode, I cover:
🧠 What the science actually says about kids lifting weights
Why the idea that lifting stunts growth is a myth
How poor coaching and excessive load—not strength training itself—create injury risk
Why properly supervised, age-appropriate resistance training is not only safe, but beneficial
🧒 When kids should start strength training (age-by-age)
Ages 3–5: play-based strength (crawling, climbing, jumping, carrying)
Ages 6–8: introducing structure if maturity allows
Ages 7–12: technique-first strength training
Teens: progressive loading with proper recovery and coaching
🏋️‍♀️ Kids strength training dosage made simple
How many days per week kids should lift
How long sessions should be
Sets, reps, and effort guidelines
Why “pretty reps” beat fatigue every time
🦴 Bone development, impact, and long-term health
Why adolescence is a critical window for bone density
How strength training + jumping, landing, and sprinting support lifelong skeletal health
Why movement should never disappear as kids get older
👶 How I train with my 3-year-old (real life)
Obstacle courses
Short interval “missions”
Carries, hangs, jumps, and imagination-based play
How curiosity—not forcing—builds confidence
👩‍👧 Training with kids without losing yourself
Creating “together time” and “my time”
Setting clear boundaries for safety
Micro-dosing kid involvement so you can still train
Why modeling self-care matters more than perfect workouts
❤️ The bigger picture
If you don’t teach your kids that their body is capable, someone else will teach them that their body is a problem.
This episode is about raising kids who believe:
movement is normal
strength is normal
effort is normal
boundaries are normal
🔗 Resources & Links
📖 Read the full breakdown on Substack (with visuals + dosage charts):
Kids Strength Training: When to Start, What’s Safe, and How to Lift With Your Kids
👉 [Read it Here]
🏔️ Join the Athlete Mom Project Course
Training that fits motherhood — without burnout, all-or-nothing, or sacrificing family life.
👉 [ Learn More Here ]
📲 Learn More About Coaching Programs
👉 Inquire About Coaching Programs Here
💪🏻 Connect with me on Instagram
👉 [@withchanyoucan]
🎙️ Subscribe to the podcast
If this episode helped you, please rate, review, and share it with a mom who’s trying to lift while raising kids.
45 min

About The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips

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Are you an active mom who wants to keep exercising during pregnancy, recover fully postpartum, and move your body without pain — but feels overwhelmed by conflicting advice, limited time, and a body that doesn’t feel the same anymore?

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The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips

The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips episodes

About The Athlete Mom Project | Pregnancy Workouts, Postpartum Exercises, Meal Plans, Diastasis Recti, Back Pain, and Mindset Tips