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Helping Soldiers and Tactical AthletesTrain Through Pregnancy & Postpartum Strength, Readiness & Recovery Dr. Megan Jones

Helping Soldiers and Tactical AthletesTrain Through Pregnancy & Postpartum: Strength, Readiness & Recovery — with Dr. Megan Jones

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In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Megan Jones, a civilian physical therapist who has spent nearly her entire career working within the military system, specializing in pregnancy and postpartum performance training. She supports soldier-athletes navigating the physical demands of service while pregnant and postpartum, and outside the military she works closely with runners in the same season of life. We talk about the unique challenges women face in tactical environments, why pregnancy-specific training is essential for long-term readiness, and how the culture around women’s health in the military is evolving. 

This conversation highlights the importance of strength, recovery, and asking better questions so female service members can stay active, capable, and supported across decades of service.

We Talk About:

-Military fitness test standards and expectations

-Postpartum return to fitness for tactical athletes

-The importance of lifting during and after pregnancy

-Psychosocial components of pelvic health

-Asking the right clinical questions

-Running coaching in pregnancy and postpartum

-Helping women stay active long term

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

3:39 expectations for female service members

9:17 standardizing the Army’s pregnancy/postpartum fitness 

14:14 culture and accountability

20:09 combating outdated information

22:53 advice for working with tactical athletes

29:39 process of seeing a PT in the military

34:13 running and finding ultras

41:30 lifting early in postpartum

45:09 finding the right resources

50:18 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH MEGAN

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/reclaimfxn/

Website: www.reclaimfxn.com

The Active Mom Postpartum Podcast is A Real Moms’ Guide to Postpartum for active moms & the postpartum professionals who help them in their journey.

This show has been a long time in the making!

You can expect conversation with moms and postpartum professionals from all aspects of the industry.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of free time (heck, you’re probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!

If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Listen on Buzzsprout:

Olympic Trials Qualifier 4 Months Postpartum Racing Back After Baby 3 Carter Norbo

Olympic Trials Qualifier 4 Months Postpartum: Racing Back After Baby #3 — with Carter Norbo

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In this episode, I sit down with Carter Norbo, a home health physical therapist, lifelong runner, and mom to two-year-old twins and a five-month-old. After narrowly missing qualification for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials following the birth of her twins, Carter returned to racing postpartum and is now officially qualified for the 2028 Olympic Trials just months after welcoming her third baby. Balancing full-time work, motherhood, and elite-level training, Carter shares what it really takes to return to high-level competition after pregnancy and how her perspective on training has evolved along the way.

We Talk About:

-How her mindset around training during pregnancy has changed

-Qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials postpartum

-Life and logistics as a twin mom

-The role of strength training during pregnancy and after birth

-Learning to be flexible with training

-Fueling appropriately for long runs

-Why more training is not always better

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

2:29 going for another Olympic Trials qualification

9:23 race day experience

15:25 lessons from being a mom

18:12 differences between pregnancies

21:10 advice for her previous self

27:03 plans for the future

30:19 the Rabbit Chase Team

37:35 Lever system for treadmill

42:45 fueling and hydrating for running

47:18 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH CARTER

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/cnorbo/

The Active Mom Postpartum Podcast is A Real Moms’ Guide to Postpartum for active moms & the postpartum professionals who help them in their journey.

This show has been a long time in the making!

You can expect conversation with moms and postpartum professionals from all aspects of the industry.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of free time (heck, you’re probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!

If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Listen on Buzzsprout:

Strong as a Mother Redefining Strength & Running in Pregnancy and Postpartum Jessica Dorrington & Shannon Rowbury

Strong as a Mother: Redefining Strength & Running in Pregnancy and Postpartum — with Jessica Dorrington & Shannon Rowbury

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In this episode, I’m joined by Olympic bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury and physical therapist Jessica Dorrington for an honest, research-informed conversation about strength, running, and motherhood. Shannon is one of the most accomplished middle-distance athletes in U.S. history and an Emmy Award winner for her work with NBC’s 2024 Olympic coverage. Jessica is a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor health, orthopedics, athletics, and sports performance, and a runner herself who brings a deeply practical lens to pregnancy and postpartum fitness. Together, they co-authored Strong as a Mother and founded 4Two, a platform dedicated to empowering mothers with clear, accessible guidance from pregnancy through postpartum.

We Talk About:

-Writing a book that fills real gaps in pregnancy and postpartum care

-Searching for return-to-sport guidance, even as an elite athlete

-Why bite-sized, practical information matters

-Improving systems and conversations for the next generation

-How each pregnancy and postpartum experience can be different

-Learning to understand and trust your body

-Letting go of rigid ideas of “right” and “wrong” in pregnancy

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

5:24 Strong as a Mother book

13:50 comparison and the algorithm

19:04 busting common myths

27:40 pregnancy as a professional athlete

33:53 domino effect of progress

41:54 overcoming fear in pregnancy

46:25 filling in the gaps

52:46 getting support

56:16 favorite parts of the book

61:35 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH SHANNON AND JESSICA

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/4twomom/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessica.w.dorrington/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannonrowbury/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taibethanypt/

Website: https://4twomom.com/about-us

Website: Shannonrowbury.com

Website: https://www.therapeuticassociates.com/locations/oregon/portland-metro/bethany/

Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/787444/strong-as-a-mother-by-shannon-rowbury-and-jessica-dorrington-mpt-ocs-prpc/

The Active Mom Postpartum Podcast is A Real Moms’ Guide to Postpartum for active moms & the postpartum professionals who help them in their journey.

This show has been a long time in the making!

You can expect conversation with moms and postpartum professionals from all aspects of the industry.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of free time (heck, you’re probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!

If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Listen on Buzzsprout:

How to Return to Movement After Baby What Postpartum Research Really Shows with Dr. Jenna Schulz

How to Return to Movement After Baby: What Postpartum Research Really Shows with Dr. Jenna Schulz

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In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Jenna Schulz, MPT, PhD, a physiotherapist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia whose work bridges research and clinical practice in women’s health and sport. Her research focuses on inflammation in knee osteoarthritis, female athlete health, and longevity in sport, with a growing emphasis on how evidence can better guide movement during pregnancy and postpartum. 

As a former varsity cross-country and track athlete, Jenna brings both lived experience and scientific rigor to this conversation as we break down what returning to movement after baby really looks like, why progress is rarely linear, how to remove unnecessary barriers to exercise, and how clinicians and moms alike can use research to start where they are, not where they think they should be.

We Talk About:

-Prescribing exercise during pregnancy and postpartum

-The role of “movement snacks” and small bouts of activity

-Starting where you are, not where you think you should be

-Removing barriers to exercise for new moms

-Why progress is never linear

-Adapting research into real-world clinical practice

Time Stamps

1:00 Introduction

4:56 cardio-respiratory fitness in pregnancy & postpartum

9:15 starting exercise during pregnancy

16:50 nuance around what postpartum can look like

20:00 general guidelines rooted in evidence

24:50 return to activity graphic

30:13 return to sport guidelines in postpartum

35:00 FAIR consensus

42:10 navigating the research as a clinician

54:17 rapid fire questions

CONNECT WITH CARRIE

IG: https://www.instagram.com/carriepagliano/

Website: https://carriepagliano.com

CONNECT WITH JENNA

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/the.rungry.researcher/

Email: jenna.schulz@ubc.ca

The Active Mom Postpartum Podcast is A Real Moms’ Guide to Postpartum for active moms & the postpartum professionals who help them in their journey.

This show has been a long time in the making!

You can expect conversation with moms and postpartum professionals from all aspects of the industry.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a lot of free time (heck, you’re probably listening at 1.5x speed), so theses interviews will be quick hits to get your the pertinent information FAST!

If you love what you hear, share the podcast with a friend and leave us a 5 start rating and review. It helps us become more visible in the search algorithm! (Helps us get seen by more moms that need to hear these stories!!!!)

Listen on Buzzsprout: