Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/101127
���change is inevitable. What���s not inevitable is losing your athleticism because of it. much as possible. I wanted to stay active throughout pregnancy and gain only the recommended amount of weight.��� She worked out five days a week throughout her pregnancy, focusing on the elliptical machines and a modified strength-training routine while giving up running. Now she���s focusing on the things she cut back on during pregnancy, like running and core strengthening. ���Your abdominal muscles kind of go during pregnancy,��� she says. ���I���m enjoying getting back to the things I couldn���t do or chose not to do.��� Pregnancy was also the impetus of evolution for 35-year-old Laura McCann. Before kids, she ran regularly, completed a marathon, and did many 5Ks and 10Ks. ���It was a pretty big part of my life,��� says the lawyer turned stay-at-home mom. After she found out she was expecting, however, Laura decided to stop running and switch to other types of cardio. ���I started using this amazing ski machine,��� she says. ���It���s perfect because it���s low impact for your knees. When you���re carrying an extra 30 pounds on your belly, that���s great.��� She also switched to an elliptical machine and moved her strength training to low-impact equipment. The changes helped her stay fit and active during two pregnancies. ���I rebounded quickly from both of my pregnancies,��� says Laura, who now has a 2-year-old and a 6-monthold baby. ���I was even at the gym on both mornings before I went into labor. It was kind of like a spa for me.��� These days she does cardio two to three times a week���usually on the ski machine, an elliptical, or a stair climber she���s nicknamed ���Death Machine.��� Along with her workouts, her goals also have morphed. ���Before, it was all about being a certain size,��� she says. ���Now it���s just about trying to be healthy.��� Exercising for two C h r i s J o s e p h Tay l o r ( 2 ) WAC trainer Amy Schumacher was instrumental in helping Lauren Wilson get fit again. Consider the story of Lauren Wilson. At only 27 years old, she already has experienced dramatic changes in her fitness and approach to athletic endeavors. In college, she trained and competed with the cross-country team. After graduating, she stopped working out and took up some less-than-healthy habits. Over time, she gained weight and couldn���t muster the willpower to tackle weight loss on her own. Eventually, Lauren began working with WAC Nutritionist Shana Hopkins and with personal trainer Amy Schumacher. ���Everything changed,��� she says now. ���I did strength training with Amy, and she helped me put together a running calendar. I went to the nutritionist and learned how to eat. I didn���t know anything about sugar and protein and carbs and all that.��� Thanks to weight lifting, a steadfast cardio routine, and better nutrition, Lauren dropped 50 pounds in a year. Oh yeah, and she also quit smoking. Before she knew it, she was running half marathons and feeling a renewed selfesteem. Today, she has five half marathons under her belt���she recently shaved 45 minutes off her time���and says she���s stronger and faster than she was in high school. ���I have more self-confidence and more motivation to do things that will keep me healthy,��� she says. ���It���s been a fun little journey. I feel like I could do anything now.��� Geneva Williams, who joined the WAC with her husband about a year and a half ago, changed her approach to fitness when she became pregnant with daughter Hathaway (Hattie), now 6 months old. ���When I joined the WAC, I was just looking to maintain my level of fitness,��� says the 27-yearold stay-at-home mom. ���After getting pregnant, I wanted to keep up with my routine as Breakdown to breakthrough Staying healthy is what it���s all about, says physical therapist Stuart���especially for people who���ve had to reconfigure their workouts because of illness or injury. ���It���s the whole breakdown-breakthrough thing,��� he says. ���An injury would be a breakdown. Your routines change, your mobility decreases, you���re in pain. But with a breakdown comes an opportunity for a breakthrough. It challenges who you are and what you do. It gives you an opportunity to evaluate and make a different choice. People will come out of an experience like that and say, ���Wait a minute. I realize how inactive I am or how unhealthy I am.��� It gets people out of their rut.��� Kathy Williams, 66, a banker and longtime WAC