Yanyah Milutinović, 34, has been into fitness and weightlifting for years, and set herself fitness goals to reach after giving birth – and she wants women to appreciate their bodies for the amazing things they can do.
A fitness addict and mum who loves bodybuilding says she pushed her 9lb baby out in one push – after a gruelling seven hours of labour. Yanyah Milutinović, 34, from New York, gave birth to youngest child Vuk in June last year – and exercised throughout the pregnancy to stay as fit as possilble.
“I was in labor for a total of seven hours, but I pushed my 9lbs son out in one single push – and in less than 30 seconds,” she said. It’s absolutely remarkable! And I am so proud of myself, and my body.”
After giving birth, Yanyah struggled to get off the sofa without help, but she was keen to start exercising again to push her body to even greater limits. To get herself moving again, the influencer started doing breathing exercises and pelvic floor workouts to get herself ready for the gym.
Two-and-a-half weeks postpartum, she was back to exercising and working on her strength.
She said: “My focus was on my healing, and on my physical performance and not so much on the aesthetics in postpartum. In these last four months, I have safely rebuilt my strength after giving birth. I have even surpassed my strength in many lifts, lifting a lot heavier than what I ever have in my life.”
Five weeks after giving birth, she was squatting with more than 100kg – and six months after giving birth, she’s now squatting nearly 200kg. Yanyah, who also lives with husband Risel Martinez, 31, and their older daughter Smiljana, three, has now beaten her pre-pregnancy record.
“From not being able to pick anything off the floor, I am now dead lifting 315lbs (142kg) for 10 repetitions with ease,” she said.
She added: “My goal was to squat 225lbs, which I reached at five weeks postpartum. And my second goal was 315lbs, which I reached at nine weeks postpartum. Then at five months postpartum, I squatted 405lbs for one rep; and had my big total, which was squat, deadlift and chest press within 60 minutes, at 920lbs.”
After giving birth to two children, Yanyah’s message to new mums is that working on your pelvic floor throughout pregnancy will help with incontinence. She said: “I have never leaked, not even a little bit, ever. I have listened to my body and worked on my pelvic floor strength/health long before I decided to ever become pregnant.”
“My pelvic floor is equally as strong as the rest of my body and with the proper exercises I have been able to heal myself from two pregnancies without any complications.”
In terms of diet, Yanyah doesn’t restrict any foods, but focuses on eating protein-rich meals to fuel her body for heavy lifting.
“There is no ‘right vs wrong’ time to eat,” she said.
“It’s not like you will lose weight just because you stop eating after 6pm, and the more you obsess about something, and restrict yourself, the more likely it will all fail and not be sustainable for the long run. We need to be able to enjoy birthdays, holidays and business dinners too.”
For new mums, she encourages them not to rush to lose weight after pregnancy.
“The truth is that most women lose muscle mass in pregnancy and the overall body composition changes like never before,” she said. Instead of focusing on weight loss, be patient, and accepting of your current physique and circumstances, focus on rebuilding your body, and on the overall bigger picture, get your functional strength back safely.”
Despite her incredibly physique and impressive fitness levels, Yanyah has still been the victim of cruel trolls after sharing her fitness journey on Instagram.
She said: “I have got comments like ‘You’re fat’, ‘You are disgusting’, ‘Oh you gained a lot of weight’, ‘You shouldn’t had worked out while pregnant, but this is the time to focus on it, look at how hideous you look now’, ‘She is too big’, ‘You look like a man’, ‘Don’t forget you are a woman’ and throw up emojis just to mention a few things.
“But I’ve had a lot of positive, uplifting and kind comments – a lot of women, and mothers who find inspiration, motivation, encouragement and empowerment in what I do, it makes me very happy!
“I think it’s important to remind yourself of how amazing your body is and what it has accomplished. Be kind to yourself, and try to fall in love with the journey rather than the goal. And just like that, you will always find happiness in the process of change!”
Source: mirror.co.uk
