Certified pre/post-natal specialists skilled in pelvic floor training, diastasis recti correction, and safe trimester-specific exercise.
Three proven pathways to reach your pre/post-natal fitness goals—remote, in-person, and at home.
Nationally vetted online coaching partners. Train with elite coaches anywhere.
Future
Unlimited remote personal training with a dedicated elite coach.
Caliber
Science-backed remote coaching with 1-on-1 video check-ins.
Kickoff
Text-based remote coaching that fits your schedule & budget.
915 N Sepulveda Blvd, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, USA
5 / 5.0
"Body By Design Manhattan Beach is a premium facility specializing in pre- and post-natal fitness. The training environment features specialized equipment such as stability balls, resistance bands, and prenatal support tools. Coaches hold advanced certifications in perinatal exercise science, emphasizing core recovery, pelvic floor health, and functional strength for motherhood. Programming is tailored to each trimester and postpartum stage, with a focus on safe, evidence-based progression. **Why They Stand Out:** Their dedicated focus on the unique physiological needs of expecting and new mothers, combined with individualized coaching in a supportive community."
View Featured FacilityTop-rated gear hand-picked for pre/post-natal fitness programs.
No spam, no obligation. Your info is only shared with verified Body By Design Manhattan Beach staff.
"Body By Design Manhattan Beach is a premium facility specializing in pre- and post-natal fitness. The training environment features specialized equipment such as stability balls, resistance bands, and prenatal support tools. Coaches hold advanced certifications in perinatal exercise science, emphasizing core recovery, pelvic floor health, and functional strength for motherhood. Programming is tailored to each trimester and postpartum stage, with a focus on safe, evidence-based progression. Their dedicated focus on the unique physiological needs of expecting and new mothers, combined with individualized coaching in a supportive community."
— PTC Review Team"I’ve been training with Mark at Body by design for 2 years and the results have been great; I’m in much better shape in all aspects (including shape :-)). Mark is very attentive to the health of individual clients and tunes workouts to be aggressive, but yet safe (no injuries in 2 years is a record for me!). Mark is indeed a master at weight training. The gym atmosphere is very pleasant: clean, great equipment and very welcoming. In summary, Body by design is great and it’s also a great way to support a small local business!"
Joe Marron
June 2025
"I’ve been training with Mark at Body By Design, and the experience has been transformative. Mark’s expertise and personalized approach make each session effective and motivating. He crafts tailored workouts that align with my goals and constantly pushes me to achieve more. The gym itself is well-equipped and maintains a supportive atmosphere. If you're looking for a personal trainer who combines knowledge, dedication, and a genuine commitment to your success, Mark at Body By Design is the ideal choice."
Luke Hastings
June 2025
"Mark is a great personal trainer and coach. He’s a physical fitness professional who is focused at listening to your personal fitness goals and then assisting you in developing a workout program and schedule to get you to meet those fitness goals, if you put in the work. I’ve been training with Mark for over 10 years in his semi private studio that is always sparkling clean and with great music playing for workouts. If you want to get in shape, build muscle, lose weight or maintain your current fitness level, and be held accountable for your workout performance and progress then go see Mark. Try a beginner’s session with Mark, and check it out yourself."
Gregory Peters
June 2025
Yes, Body By Design Manhattan Beach provides trimester-specific programming, including modifications for balance, joint stability, and breathing techniques during the third trimester. All exercises are adjusted to accommodate the changing body.
Body By Design specializes in postpartum recovery, addressing diastasis recti, pelvic floor dysfunction, and core reconnection. Their coaches use assessment-based protocols to safely progress clients after childbirth.
Body By Design Manhattan Beach does not offer on-site childcare, but their class schedules are designed with flexibility for new mothers, and semi-private sessions allow for feeding breaks or bringing infants when necessary.
Pre and postnatal fitness is a specialized exercise discipline that adapts programming to the profound hormonal, biomechanical, and cardiovascular changes of pregnancy and postpartum recovery, prioritizing intra-abdominal pressure management, pelvic floor rehabilitation, and diastasis recti assessment within physician-cleared safety parameters. A qualified certified specialist holds credentials beyond standard certification and follows established medical guidelines.
When searching for an certified professional for this highly specialized service, verify they hold credentials that demonstrate advanced knowledge. Look for these specific qualifications and practices:
Exercise during and after pregnancy is not simply a modified general fitness program. It is grounded in the science of profound physiological and biomechanical changes. Key principles certified specialists must understand include:
Technical Note: Intra-Abdominal Pressure (IAP) Management. This is a critical physiological concept for pre/post-natal training. Proper IAP is the balanced pressure within the torso that stabilizes the spine during movement. Pregnancy and weakened core muscles can disrupt this system. A qualified certified specialist teaches techniques (like proper breathing and bracing) to manage IAP during exercise, which is fundamental for pelvic floor training and diastasis recti correction, protecting against injury and promoting effective postnatal core recovery.
Certified coaches in our directory follow a structured, science-based approach. Their programming is phased and highly individualized.
For Prenatal Training (Pregnancy):
For Postnatal Training (Recovery):
The ultimate goal of a professional in this field is to empower clients with knowledge and safe movement strategies, supporting health and fitness through pregnancy and building a strong foundation for recovery afterward.
The most authoritative credentials include a primary certification from NASM, ACE, ACSM, or NSCA paired with a specialized pre and postnatal certification such as the NASM Women's Fitness Specialist, ACE Pre/Postnatal Exercise Specialist, or AFPA Pre & Postnatal Exercise Specialist. Additional credentials in pelvic floor rehabilitation—such as the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner certification—or training in diastasis recti assessment and correction signal advanced competency. A general personal training certification without these population-specific add-ons is insufficient for the unique physiological considerations of pregnancy and postpartum recovery.
General women's fitness follows standard progressive overload principles without accounting for the systemic physiological shifts of pregnancy—increased relaxin hormone causing ligamentous laxity, expanded blood volume altering cardiovascular response, and shifting center of gravity changing load distribution across joints. Pre and postnatal methodology is governed by intra-abdominal pressure management as the primary safety variable: a qualified expert teaches proper breathing and bracing techniques to stabilize the spine without bearing down on the pelvic floor. Programming follows trimester-specific modifications—avoiding supine positions after the first trimester, eliminating exercises that create abdominal coning or doming indicating diastasis recti stress, and substituting high-impact movements with low-impact alternatives. Postnatal programming begins with foundational pelvic floor activation and transverse abdominis recruitment long before traditional strength exercises are reintroduced.
A qualified certified specialist must verify physician clearance before initiating any exercise program and conduct ongoing check-ins regarding pregnancy status and any new symptoms. Essential assessments include diastasis recti screening—measuring inter-rectus distance and evaluating tension of the linea alba—pelvic floor function assessment, and postural evaluation to identify pregnancy-related lordotic and kyphotic deviations. Absolute contraindications requiring immediate exercise cessation and medical referral include vaginal bleeding, persistent dizziness or headache, chest pain, calf swelling, preterm labor signs, and decreased fetal movement. Relative contraindications requiring close monitoring include anemia, poorly controlled thyroid disease, and intrauterine growth restriction. The specialist must monitor exertion using the talk test rather than heart rate zones and ensure thermoregulation through adequate hydration and environmental control.
During pregnancy, the goal shifts from performance improvement to maintenance of strength, cardiovascular fitness, and pelvic floor function—measurable stability in these areas across trimesters indicates successful programming. In the immediate postpartum period, gentle pelvic floor activation and diaphragmatic breathing can begin within days of delivery with physician clearance. Structured postnatal core recovery programming typically commences at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum for uncomplicated vaginal births and 8 to 12 weeks for cesarean deliveries. Measurable improvements in diastasis recti closure and pelvic floor function commonly require 8 to 12 weeks of consistent, progressive rehabilitation. Full return to pre-pregnancy fitness levels, including high-impact activities, typically requires 4 to 6 months of phased programming. Your certified specialist should track inter-rectus distance measurements, pelvic floor strength, and functional capacity at regular intervals to objectively guide progression.
A focus on corrective physiology and long-term tissue resilience defines the personal training culture along this affluent South Bay coastline, where professionals demand results that extend beyond transient aesthetic shifts. Coaches here prioritize advanced biomechanics, seamlessly syncing workouts with the demands of executive life in the greater Los Angeles metroplex. Within Manhattan Beach’s private suites and premium health clubs, the most effective programs abandon generic circuits for autoregulated periodization models that respect an individual’s daily readiness. A coach steeped in neuromuscular science won’t simply assign sets and reps; they will assess joint centration, kinetic chain integrity, and tissue tolerance before each session, adjusting loads dynamically. This methodology is particularly vital for the corporate leaders and frequent travelers who dominate this market—people whose bodies absorb long-haul flights and marathon boardroom postures. Practitioners here blend corrective strategies like diaphragmatic breathing and hip-extension restoration with targeted force-production work, ensuring that each hour in the studio accumulates without taxing a compromised system. The result is a partnership that preserves structural health while progressively elevating metabolic capacity.
Along Rosecrans Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard, the caliber of coaching reflects an unspoken understanding: a Master’s degree in exercise science or an NSCA-CSCS credential carries weight that a viral fitness trend cannot replicate. The most respected facilities in this corridor deliberately recruit practitioners fluent in periodized programming, ensuring that a senior executive’s session addresses the rotator cuff dysfunction caused by endless Zoom calls, not just calorie burn. This level of customized care demands a clinical lens, and the standalone studios near Marine Avenue frequently outperform larger gyms precisely because their coaches maintain a steady, insurance-backed practice rooted in continual education.
The 405-Sepulveda corridor churns with morning and evening gridlock, but forward-thinking training facilities in Manhattan Beach have clustered near Rosecrans Avenue’s exit ramps and ample parking lots, transforming logistical friction into seamless pre-work or lunch-break fitness built around real daily rhythms. Top training teams along this coastline don’t view a 60-minute session as a standalone event; they intentionally sequence mobility, force production, and parasympathetic cool-downs to reverse the specific tissue creep caused by the Pacific Coast Highway’s stop-and-go tension or a cramped Alaska Airlines flight out of LAX. Facilities that have earned a consistent 4-star profile on community-driven platforms typically embed foam rolling, remedial soft-tissue work, and corrective activation drills directly into the training hour, rather than treating recovery as an afterthought. This integrated model means that even a 7 AM session before the 405 logjam can decompress spinal segments, unglue hip capsules, and spike neural drive for the day ahead, all without sidelining the client with excessive fatigue.
Rosecrans Avenue: Running parallel to the 405, Rosecrans Avenue has emerged as Manhattan Beach’s centralized fitness artery, hosting an eclectic mix of modern private studios and expansive health clubs. The street’s generous off-street parking and rapid highway access eliminate the scheduling anxiety that plagues coastal communities, allowing executives to slot a precise, autoregulated session between a morning board call and a flight from LAX.
Downtown Manhattan Beach Village: West of Sepulveda, the walkable blocks surrounding Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue form a vibrant live-work-play nucleus. Coaches operating out of private suites here leverage the village’s pedestrian flow to offer early-morning and early-evening slots that align seamlessly with residents’ beach-adjacent lifestyles, while the area’s metered lots and garage parking simplify the drive-in experience for those coming from inland South Bay neighborhoods.
Manhattan Beach’s best coaches often hold high-level certifications like NSCA-CSCS or NASM and have experience correcting the hip tightness and forward-head posture that afflict long-distance drivers and desk-centric professionals. Look for practitioners listed in facilities along Rosecrans Avenue or in the downtown Manhattan Beach cluster—these areas house the region’s premium private suites and health clubs. They will typically integrate mobility work directly into your sessions to counteract the stiffness that builds up on the 405.
Private studios along Highland Avenue or the industrial side of Manhattan Beach often provide discreet, one-on-one settings with dedicated equipment and no wait times—ideal for focused corrective work. Larger facilities, such as the health clubs on Rosecrans, offer full amenities like recovery modalities and group classes that complement personal training. Your decision should hinge on whether you need a silent, distraction-free environment for joint-specific rehabilitation or the expansive resources and social energy of a premier club.
Discerning clients should request to see current certification cards from bodies like ACSM, NSCA, or NASM, and ask for a certificate of insurance. A legitimate coach will provide these without hesitation. Additionally, check that the facility they operate from has a documented track record of positive client outcomes—spaces that have accumulated at least 10 genuine reviews and a 4-star reputation on neutral platforms tend to attract rigorously vetted professionals.
During summer weekends, Pacific Coast Highway and Manhattan Beach Boulevard become congested with beachgoers, but several private training suites located off the main strip—such as those near Marine Avenue or in the Sepulveda commercial district—provide dedicated, stress-free parking even during peak season. Many executive-focused facilities also schedule sessions to align with early-morning or late-afternoon windows, bypassing the midday crush entirely.
The following facilities have been independently mapped against our gold-standard credentialing framework for safety, equipment integrity, and evidence-based exercise science.
"Fitbumpgym specializes in prenatal and postnatal personal training and yoga in Los Angeles. Their facility features dedicated equipment a…"
"FIT4MOM BRENTWOOD is a specialized fitness studio dedicated to pre- and post-natal women in Brentwood, CA. The facility offers evidence-b…"
"ME Life Personal Training, Reform Weight Loss Coaching, and Outdoor Group Fitness: Forever Fit and Stroller Fitness in Encino, CA, offer…"
Data-driven insights from local fitness professionals
Manhattan Beach exhibits a balanced blend of home-gym culture and niche studio reliance; many affluent residents have private home setups, yet the area also supports boutique studios offering private sessions. In contrast, broader Los Angeles spans extremes from dense urban areas with premium studio clusters to residential zones more dependent on commercial gyms.
The typical 'neighbor rate' for independent coaches in Manhattan Beach ranges from $120 to $180 per session, reflecting the area's affluence and high disposable income. This aligns closely with premium downtown Los Angeles rates (e.g., Beverly Hills, West Hollywood) where top-tier trainers command $150-$250+. However, compared to the broader LA average, Manhattan Beach sits at the upper end, as many central and eastside neighborhoods have rates from $70-$120.
Neighborhood-specific coaching assets in Manhattan Beach include scenic outdoor venues like the sand dunes at Sand Dune Park, the greenbelt along The Strand, and quiet residential parks ideal for discreet sessions. Additionally, there are private training studios and high-end gyms like the Manhattan Beach Country Club or specialized wellness centers. In broader Los Angeles, outdoor options range from Runyon Canyon to Griffith Park, but Manhattan Beach offers a uniquely serene, coastal environment that contrasts with the urban grit of downtown LA's private studio pods or crowded parks.
Professional pre/post-natal fitness services available throughout the region.
Looking for a different training facility or program specialization? Update your criteria to search another region instantly.