Okay, let’s talk about those abs. Because, seriously, I saw the headline – “Her Secret: Lindsay Arnold’s 23-Week Pregnant Abs!” – and I just had to do a double take. Twenty-three weeks? And abs? Look, I’ve had a couple of kids. My “abs” at 23 weeks were, shall we say, more of a gentle, rounded slope, a testament to growing human life and, let’s be honest, an extra slice of pizza here and there. So when I see a headline like that, my first thought isn’t “Wow, goals!” it’s usually “What in the actual hell are we pushing on new moms now?”

Seriously, We’re Doing This Now?

So, here’s the deal. Lindsay Arnold, from “Dancing With the Stars” fame, you know her, she’s like, 32 years old, and she’s expecting baby number three. A boy! Which, congrats to her, truly. But she hopped on Instagram, and listen, it was February 19th, not that long ago really, to show off her progress. And by “progress,” I mean she was rocking this cherry red sports bra, some mid-rise spandex, and flexing. Her arm muscles, sure, but the main event? Those very, very visible abs. At 23 weeks pregnant.

She captioned the whole thing, “23 weeks pregnant and truly so grateful to be moving my body! Sticking to my @themovementclub morning routine throughout pregnancy has been a game changer for me!” And like, okay, great. Good for you, Lindsay. Genuinely. Staying active during pregnancy is awesome, doctors recommend it, it helps with all sorts of stuff. But I’m looking at this picture, and I’m just thinking… is this really the standard we’re setting?

The November 2025 Thing, Though…

And can we just pause for a second on this “November 2025” thing? The source context says she announced baby #3, a boy, with husband Sam Cusick, “in November 2025.” If she’s 23 weeks pregnant now (or, you know, back in February when she posted this), she’s due, like, this summer. July-ish. So either that November 2025 date is a typo and should be 2024, or she’s got some kind of superhuman gestational period going on, which, you know, wouldn’t surprise me with some of these celeb stories. I’m gonna assume it’s a typo, because otherwise, wow. That’s a long pregnancy. But it just shows you, sometimes even the basic facts get a little muddled when we’re focused on… well, abs.

Is “Game Changer” Just Code for “Already Super Fit”?

So she says her “morning routine” with “The Movement Club” has been a “game changer.” And I get it. For a professional dancer whose body is basically her business, maintaining a routine is probably essential. It’s probably been a “game changer” for her entire life. But let’s be real for a minute. Is it a “game changer” for the average person who maybe used to hit the gym three times a week, or, you know, just walked a lot, and is now dealing with morning sickness, exhaustion that feels like a lead blanket, and a pelvis that feels like it’s trying to escape her body? Probably not in the same way.

“The relentless pressure on women to ‘bounce back’ from pregnancy isn’t just about weight anymore. It’s about performing fitness, projecting an unattainable ideal even while actively growing a human.”

I mean, I’m happy for her. Truly. It’s great she feels good. But the way these things get presented, it often feels less like an encouraging message and more like a subtle jab. Like, “Look what I can do, why aren’t you doing it?” It’s not always intentional, I’m sure, but that’s how it lands for so many people scrolling through their feeds at 23 weeks, feeling like a beached whale and wondering if they’ll ever see their feet again, let alone their abs.

The “Movement” That’s Actually Not for Everyone

The thing is, “moving your body” means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For Lindsay, a professional dancer, it means a highly structured, probably intense routine that keeps her in incredible shape. She’s got the body awareness, the muscle memory, the core strength built up over decades. She probably has access to trainers, specific prenatal modifications, and the time to dedicate to it. And that’s fantastic for her.

But for someone else, “moving their body” might mean walking to the mailbox without getting winded, or doing some gentle stretches, or maybe just managing to get off the couch without grunting too loudly. And all of those are valid. All of those are “moving your body.” But they don’t get the headlines. They don’t get the cherry red sports bra and the flexed arms and the visible abs. Because, let’s face it, that’s not what sells clicks.

What’s interesting here is that this isn’t just about being “fit” during pregnancy. It’s about a specific type of fitness, a visually striking one, that’s become another layer of expectation for pregnant women, especially those in the public eye. It’s not enough to be healthy; you have to look healthy in a very particular, almost sculpted, way.

What This Actually Means

Look, I’m not here to bash Lindsay Arnold. She’s doing her thing, she looks strong, and if she feels good, then that’s awesome. My issue isn’t with her; it’s with the unspoken narrative that these kinds of posts create, whether intentionally or not. It’s the constant, low-level hum of “not enough” that so many pregnant people and new moms already feel.

We’re told to “listen to our bodies,” right? But then we see images like this, and suddenly “listening to our bodies” feels like it comes with an asterisk. An asterisk that says, “unless your body isn’t doing what that body is doing, then you’re probably doing it wrong.”

So, for what it’s worth, if you’re 23 weeks pregnant and your abs are long gone, replaced by a beautiful, soft bump, you’re not failing. You’re growing a human, and that’s the most impressive thing your body could ever do. Lindsay Arnold’s abs are impressive, sure. But your body, doing its own unique, messy, miraculous thing, is too. And maybe, just maybe, we should celebrate that a little bit more. Without the comparison, without the “game changer” rhetoric that doesn’t really apply to most of us, and definitely without the subtle pressure. Just celebrate the amazingness of it all, whatever shape it takes.