A mom-of-one has revealed how pole dancing throughout her pregnancy helped her stay in shape and regain a six pack within months of giving birth.
Dakota Fox, 33, from North Carolina, gave birth to her daughter Eliana in December 2017, and explained that when she found out she was pregnant she wanted to continue leading an active lifestyle.
‘Dancing and moving is a way of life for me,’ she explained.
Fit fam: Dakota Fox, 33, from North Carolina, has revealed how pole dancing throughout her pregnancy kept her in shape
Training: Pole dancing for 10 years, Dakota approached her pregnancy like a competition and trained throughout only gaining 26 pounds in total
Mom life: Dakota gave birth to her daughter Eliana via emergency c-section in December 2017
‘When I found out we were pregnant with Eliana, I wanted to continue leading an active lifestyle to not only benefit her developmental health but also for my own physical & mental well-being.’
Pole dancing for the last decade, Dakota shared that it has ‘transformed my life tremendously’ and when she got pregnant she didn’t want to lose ‘that connection with myself and with my community of pole sisters’.
She added: ‘Being pregnant is not the time to kick our feet up and let things go… it is just as important as ever to lead a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy too!’
And she used her experience of preparing for pole dancing competitions to help her through her pregnancy, training her body so she could ‘perform’ to the best of her ability while giving birth, and making sure her nutrition was geared towards her pregnancy.
She explained: ‘So I treated being pregnant sort of how I treated preparing for a dance competition – to use those long long months of pregnancy to prepare to perform at my best on delivery day and have the best recovery I could postpartum!’
Dedicated: She believes being pregnant is ‘not the time to kick our feet up and let things go’
Before and after: Dakota pictured left at five weeks pregnant and right, four weeks postpartum, snapped back into shape quickly after the birth of her daughter
Abs: In just 12 weeks, the new mother started to see abs and now loves bringing her daughter with her to pole dancing classes
Dakota believes this mindset helped her stay motivated on low energy days and also kept her weight gain within healthy levels, only gaining 26 pounds in total.
‘It helped me respect my body as it went through all the weird pregnancy changes and be more patient with myself as I began to shift into a new life role as a mother,’ she admitted.
She also credits her approach with helping her postpartum recovery, despite undergoing an emergency c-section last minute.
‘I feel like I retained who I was throughout the pregnancy and I am still me even now afterwards.
‘It is all too easy to lose ourselves when becoming a parent… and I didn’t want to do that! I can be a mother, and a dancer, and a wife, and a fitness leader… all at the same time!’
She now feels even more motivated to get back to her old routine and even brings her daughter to classes with her.
She added: ‘I am more than excited than ever as I am easing back into dancing and fitness, because now I have a new dance and workout buddy at my side!’