Peloton star Robin Arzon says she isn't trying to 'bounce back' to her pre-pregnancy body — that would be like going 'backward'

• Peloton's Robin Arzon said after her daughter was born, she didn't focus on getting back her pre-pregnancy body.
• She said the idea of "bouncing back" isn't helpful for new moms, and creates unnecessary pressure.

Robin Arzon, instructor and vice president of fitness programming at Peloton, said she's been prioritizing how her body feels, not how it looks, after giving birth to her daughter in March.

It's unrealistic to expect moms to "bounce back" or attain their pre-pregnancy body after giving birth, she told Insider in an interview through her partnership with Gvoke HypoPen, a diabetes medication for very low blood sugar events.

"There's this idea that the bounce back is the objective. I have just created a whole human and now they exist in the world. I'm not going to allow the external gaze to make me feel like I need to be a certain size or weigh a certain amount," she said.

Arzon said she's focused on consistency and building strength, not regressing to a previous version of herself.

"I really focused on how my body was feeling, what my body can do, rather than what it looks like," she said. "Little by little, I found myself in a strong place, but I'm not reaching back. I don't go backward for anything in life. Why would I go backward now that I'm a parent?"

The pressure on moms at any stage can be challenging, though — to combat anxiety about not bouncing back, it's important to focus on your own goals and pace, according to Arzon.

"Postpartum is tough enough, we don't need arbitrary phantom deadlines to look a certain way," she said. "Caregivers of all kinds should remember we're defining success, it's our finish line we're going toward, not this other, sometimes very harmful standard."

Don't try to 'balance' life as a new mom, Arzon said — prioritize instead

One of the misguided ideals new moms face is that they should be balancing their lives, making room for everything with the addition of a child, according to Arzon.

"I think balance is kind of harmful because it implies that everything is going to get an equal piece of the pie and the reality is that not everything does," she said. "There are plenty of things that I say no to to protect my yeses."

She said she feels most balanced when she focuses on her priorities, like her health and her family, instead of trying to fit every opportunity into her schedule. It can take time to learn how to advocate for yourself and be firm about saying "no" when you don't have time or energy for something, Arzon said, but it's worth it to create a lifestyle you can sustain.

"Slowing down can be a strength. The postpartum period really required me to learn that," she said.