Fit Mama Friday – Meet Tammy

Meet Tammy

Tammy Spencer definitely has her hands full. She and her husband are the proud parents of twin 11 month old girls, Claire and Avery. Tammy also works full time as an Assistant Professor of Literary Education. Despite her busy schedule, Tammy makes sure she finds time to work out on a regular basis to stay strong and healthy. I first met Tammy years ago as a client, when she impressed me by wanting to strengthen and rehabilitate after a knee injury – not just to get better, but so she could go skiing again! We would often chat about our pregnancy hopes and getting in good shape to face pregnancy fit and healthy, so it was apropos that she and I had our babies only a month apart.

Tammy, what’s your motivation to workout?

Staying fit has never come easy to me, but for a long time now it has felt like a necessity. I work out to keep my stress in check, fight gravity and do my part to ensure I will be on this planet as long as possible. And I love good food, so it feels like a fair compromise. And now, I have two good reasons to stay healthy, so for them I continue on. In all aspects of my life I try to be a role model for them. For me this means being a professional mom, but also doing all I need to in order to maintain balance in their lives and my own.

Talk to me about what your workouts were like during pregnancy. I know you exercised all the way through your pregnancy – how hard was it with twins?

Well, as you know, I’ve been lucky to have worked out with some amazing trainers – most notably Ed Devine, Carly Pizzani (aww, thanks) and Dave Vargas, who is my current trainer and a dear friend. Thanks to Dave, I got through my twins pregnancy in the fittest way possible. Dave and I worked out through the first 32 weeks of my pregnancy. We continued my program of strength and endurance training, however we didn’t increase the amount of weights we were already using. With each week, I had a new ache, pain or concern and Dave modified our workout safely to fit my body’s needs and rhythms. Swimming was also very helpful, especially with all of the aches and pains I experienced.

Believe it or not, exercise was also a helpful remedy for nausea. I battled both fatigue and nausea for a good portion of my pregnancy, so along with continuing to work out I also saw an acupuncturist regularly, Susan Wallmeyer. She was also really supportive of me maintaining a healthy dose of physical activity throughout the pregnancy.

At 32 weeks, I stopped working out at the gym, but continued pre-natal yoga with Menna Olvera, who made house calls. Those last few weeks were the hardest. I began to show signs of pre-eclampsia and yoga with Menna helped me to keep my strength and calm as I listened closely to what my body and the babies were telling me. At 35 weeks I was showing no signs of labor, but with severe pre-eclampsia, I needed to have an emergency C-section. Avery and Claire were born. The rest (and sleep) is history.

Did you get a lot of positive support for your decision to exercise throughout your pregnancy?

In general, people at the gym were very supportive of my being there. However, I did have my share of people telling me I shouldn’t do anything while pregnant with twins. In fact, this idea was even touted in some baby books and websites for multiples pregnancies. Thankfully, both my doctor and my sister who is a physician, regularly disagreed with that myth and encouraged me to be as fit and active as my body and energy would allow me.

How did you feel after recovering from birth? When were you given the all-clear to exercise again?

I gained 35 pounds during my pregnancy. After I had the girls, for the first time in my life I missed working out. Due to the surgery, I had to wait 8 weeks to workout again. Beyond the initial waiting, the hardest part was and still is finding time. I went from being the person that could work out ‘at any time’ to being very specific about the time slots that made sense for my family and my work.

So, how do you fit working out into your schedule?

My husband and I try to be as supportive as possible of each other and our workout schedules. We have set times when I’m with the babies so that he can work out and vice versa. There are, of course, times that I have to cancel my workout last minute because the babies are sick or fussy. In general, I find that putting it in our calendars and sticking to the schedule is the only way to make it happen. There are absolutely also days I am so tired and I don’t feel like working out. More than ever, those are the days that I remind myself that you never regret a workout but you always regret blowing one off.

So how are you feeling now that you’ve had nearly a year to settle into motherhood, work, and working out? 

Well, I’m just 5 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, but I still feel different. The only real pressure I felt to lose the weight was so I could fit into my work wardrobe again – what new mom has the time to buy an all-new wardrobe?? I continue to workout with Dave and I have also taken up spinning at Soul Cycle during nap times. Running used to be my cardio, but my body wasn’t responding in the same way, so I needed to change it up. Life will never be the same – for all the right reasons. And prioritizing fitness has never been harder.

Tammy, you are such an inspiration! Thanks so much for being a Fit Mama!