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Megan Roup, celebrity trainer and founder of The Sculpt Society (TSS), doesn’t let being pregnant slow down her workouts. Now into her second pregnancy, Roup is still teaching classes and filming tons of content for the TSS streaming platform, and will even be teaching a class at POPSUGAR Play/Ground in LA on June 1 (get your tickets here!).
“I was doing workouts up until, like, the day before I delivered Harlow,” Roup tells POPSUGAR about her first pregnancy with her daughter, who turns 2 on June 2. “For me, it was such a piece of sanity. My mental health is much better after I work out, but especially when I’m pregnant. It’s so valuable for me to get some movement in, even if it’s like a short 10-minute workout.”
Since movement has always been so important to her, Roup, a former professional dancer, is dedicated to making sure her platform offers fitness options that meet people exactly where they are at any moment in life. For example, TSS has a robust pre- and postnatal program, a beginner program, an advanced program, and a newly launched bridal program.
“We’ve had so many brides come through The Sculpt Society over the years, and I really wanted to put something together that had the same ethos of like what TSS is — which is really embracing our bodies, loving them, and not needing to change them — really leaning into the feeling rather than a lot of like the diet-culture noise that comes with being a bride,” she says.
“I know how it is. I experienced that back in 2020,” she continues. “I really wanted to put together a very positive program that helped give my community the tools to feel confident in their own skin and have conversations about body confidence, self-love, and [asking], how can we make this somewhat stressful time a little bit more positive? How can we take the pressure off to ‘shred for the wedding’? How can we look like ourselves on our wedding day, but also feel really confident?”
TSS workouts — which you can try yourself with a seven-day free trial and unlimited access for $20 a month or $180 a year — are a blend of sculpt and dance cardio and are focused on empowerment rather than aesthetic change. And that method has earned Roup an impressive list of celebrity fans, from Miranda Kerr and Shanina Shaik to Shay Mitchell.
Roup’s also collected hundreds of thousands of followers on her Instagram, where she shares plenty of fitness advice as well as relatable content about overcoming the influence of diet culture and the worthwhile struggles of motherhood. Like many of the most popular social media personalities, Roup is dedicated to keeping it real and shedding light on things we don’t always talk about. Right now, that includes her love-hate relationship with pregnancy.
“I’m just one of those women that is super grateful to be pregnant, but at the same time, I just don’t love being pregnant,” she says. “It’s [the same as] what I experienced with my first pregnancy. I think, unfortunately, not enough women talk about not enjoying it and the fact that it’s OK if you don’t enjoy it. You can be super grateful to be pregnant and excited to have a baby but just not love the experience. I’m trying to embrace it a little more and all the changes that are happening, but it’s a lot.”
Some of the things helping her weather those changes? These five products — including maternity workout wear, a pregnancy-safe retinol alternative, and supportive sneakers that make dance cardio a breeze, even with a belly. Keep reading for Roup’s must-haves, and consider joining her for POPSUGAR Play/Ground on June 1; grab your tickets here.
