How To Cross-Train Like a Badass
Knowledge every woman needs to live a strong, embodied life.
You’re not doing anything wrong and your body isn’t broken. I’m going to say something seemingly basic, but totally revolutionary for us each to hear:
Women’s bodies have different cross-training needs than men’s over the arc of our lifetime. Understanding how your female body works is how you thrive and stay strong for the long haul.
As the new year is underway and we are all hitting the fitness routines hard, a thought has occurred to me that I wanted to share with you. I hear these statements uttered in disbelief from almost every woman I’ve ever worked with and is quickly followed by her tearing up:
“I’ve never felt those muscles before—actually, I don’t think I ever knew they existed.
I definitely never felt my abs like this in a plank or sit up before.
I think I’ve been doing it wrong my whole life.”
These realizations are usually delivered with a mix of disbelief, frustration, sadness and…hope.
Hope that she finally now knows, but also, fear of what else they might not know and still be doing wrong.
My answer to those spinning mom-thoughts is simple: it’s totally normal that you never really understood how to do a plank, a sit-up or the basics of your body’s changing, cross-training needs—you are a woman and no one ever taught you how to work out and how your muscles work (or don’t!) at different points in your life.
If you’re pregnant, understanding how to modify your movement is key. The best pregnancy workout routines focus on building strength while prioritizing stability and alignment—laying the foundation for a smoother postpartum recovery.
So, let’s change that! As you harness your new year’s motivation to hit the gym, cue up your favorite videos, and lace your sneakers for those runs in the park, I want to share 5 powerful shifts you can make to prevent injury, feel better in your workouts, and get the full-body results you want and need. The bonus? A sustainable fitness habit that meets all of your mental, physical, and emotional mom-needs in less than 30 minutes a day.
1. Simple Sit-Ups Muscles activated: Your back and abdominal wall.
While doing a basic crunch, feel your lats (the large muscles under the shoulder blades) wrap you before lifting the upper body off the ground. Instead of squeezing your neck and shoulders to crunch, this will help lengthen your upper spine by pulling the back muscles down and enclosing the rib cage.
You’ll also want to feel engagement in your chest. My favorite cue is that your boobs are driving your ribs downward towards your belly button—it's a funny image, but it triggers your pecs to flex with your upper-most abs. These muscles, coupled with your lats, creates a true 360-degree sit up.
2. Powerful Planks: Muscles activated: Your entire body!
Start off by doing a few squats, so that your pelvis is mobile and your glutes and upper-thighs are lit up and ready to work. Getting planks out of your shoulders and into your core requires practicing with your knees down in “incline plank.”
Take some weight off your upper body and turn on your chest/upper back, pull your lats down while thinking about your glutes pressing your pelvis down while your abs and thighs press up—chin in neutral so that your neck is long and throat is relaxed.
If you’re in the early postpartum phase, this is where a structured approach makes all the difference. The best postpartum workout program won’t rush you into high-impact movements but will focus on gradual core strengthening—starting with deep transverse abdominal activation, breath work, and rebuilding pelvic stability.
3. Seriously Good Squats: Muscles activated: quads, glutes, inner & outer thighs.
While doing squats, your pelvis should angle back and instead of reaching your arms out in front of you (this uses your shoulders and neck), put your fingers on either side of your rib cage, engaging your rib-girdle postural muscles, to hold you up instead of gripping your arms and shoulders for balance.
If you’re not feeling your butt as much as your thighs, that’s ok, but that’s a sign that you could use some isolated glute work to help your back body wake up and get involved.
4. Back By Deadlifts: Muscles activated: entire back body; especially back & hamstrings
Your back body is essential to your fully functional, fit body and life. It gets as whacked out through pregnancy/childbirth as your abdominal wall and pelvis, but is often a forgotten or ignored part of the body. So, go gently and take your time, beginning with your pelvic corridor, abs and glutes. Then, begin working the dead-lift by hinging at the waist, wrapping your abs and squeezing your glutes, lats, and hamstrings to rotate back up. Start without weights and slowly add a few pounds once you’re feeling the full-body activation and workout.
5. Soft Roller For The Win: Muscles activated: Your entire body!
Your muscles turn on and off depending on your hormone levels, menstrual cycle, age, stress, sleep quality…I mean, the list goes on! Your body is built in layers and some layers get stuck, turn off or overcompensate when injuries are incurred. Soft-foam rolling essentially irons out these layers (also known as fascial hydration—we’ll dive into this more in the January 26th issue of The Rewrite) and allows your body to move freely, with ease and a full range of motion.
It’s absolute magic! Check out this short rolling video to try it for yourself.
Postpartum fitness isn’t just about recovery—it’s about long-term strength, balance, and confidence in movement. Your body has been through a transformation, and the way you train should honor that.
Understanding how to cross-train in ways that work with your body—not against it—ensures you stay strong, injury-free, and empowered for life. Whether you’re newly postpartum, years into motherhood, or just looking to refine how you move, these principles will help you train smarter, not harder.