A pregnant personal trainer and nutritionist has come under fire after posting a picture of herself lifting weights 26 weeks into her pregnancy with twin girls.
After posting the image, Sophie Guidolin was subject to online abuse from some followers who claimed she was endangering herself and her babies.
“I had a man comment on my Facebook page saying that what I was lifting was considerably heavy – but considerably heavy to who? Him? My son is 29 kilos – if he falls asleep somewhere, I have to carry him,” she told The Daily Mail.
“To me, that’s not a heavy weight. It all comes down to what’s heavy for the individual and what they could lift prior to pregnancy.”
The gym owner told The Mail Online she didn’t exercise at all when she was pregnant with her other two sons – aged eight and six – and suffered from gestational diabetes as she gained over 28 kilograms throughout each pregnancy.
Posting the photo of herself performing a deadlift with a 30 kilogram weight on Monday, the 26-year old wrote an explanation on Instagram.
The post read:
“A lot of people express concern about women exercising in pregnancy and I 110% understand why. There are so many myths, old wives tales & opinions out there it is hard to understand what is the truth and what is made up. In my opinion, listen to no one except your qualified & trusted medical staff. This week is my 26th week of pregnancy with twins. Each pregnancy is different & exercises that I or anyone else may be doing may not be safe for your body to perform… I am very lucky my husband has 10+ years experience in the industry as a qualified dietitian and trainer so that certainly helps for me.”
The post gained more than 1900 likes and almost 150 comments.
While critics have joined in on the backlash, praise for the fit mum has also been prevalent.
Many of Guidolin’s followers dubbed her an inspiration and some commentators claimed women putting on 30 kilograms and blaming it on “eating for two” was much more dangerous than lifting a 30 kilogram weight.
