A new mom reclaims control over her health through EQX ARC.
Forged at Equinox is a series highlighting an Equinox member’s foray into a new workout regimen, with help from an expert coach. The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
When Leyna Figliozzi learned she was pregnant with her first child, her Equinox COACH was the third person she told.
Leyna had been working with Robin Werner, a Coach+ at Equinox Scarsdale, for just three months. But at their first meeting, Leyna remembers the gym intimidation she had previously experienced fade away. “She made me very calm, and I felt like I left that day excited — probably the first time ever being at a gym and being excited,” Leyna recalls. “She immediately made me feel very welcome.” Welcome enough that Leyna felt comfortable sharing during her Equifit that she was hoping to become pregnant soon.
The duo got right to work, focusing on consistency, which Leyna had struggled with in the past. They met twice a week for training, keeping progressive overload in mind. “We kept doing the same thing but kept moving up,” says Leyna. “I love that, because I felt like in the past, I've never been put together enough or organized enough to even do anything like that.” Soon enough, she committed to a third day of training each week.
By the time she became pregnant in February 2024, their routine was down pat. “It was a great place for her to start this pregnancy journey,” says Robin. “She had a baseline for fitness and knew how to adapt. And thankfully, she had an amazing pregnancy, too, so she was able to train with me three times a week through all of it.” At 5 a.m. nonetheless.
Under Robin’s watchful eye, Leyna continued to hit new PRs. They focused on functional movement patterns, pelvic floor engagement, and stability work, paired with breathing exercises in their warm-ups. The goal: to prepare her body for “the big show” and beyond, says Leyna. They made adaptations for her growing belly and adjusted to make some moves more comfortable (think: sitting on a stability ball). But with Leyna having full medical clearance, they didn’t slow down. “The day I gave birth, I actually woke up with my gym bag to go to the gym, and then I was like, ‘Something doesn't feel right,’” Leyna recalls. “I told Robin, ‘I actually think I should go to the hospital.’”
She made her return to the Club after her six-week postpartum check-up and, throughout 2025, continued training with Robin, albeit less consistently. When EQX ARC launched, Robin knew Leyna would benefit. “It was exactly what she needed at that time,” the Coach says. The program is designed to support women's physiological needs across every life stage; enrolled members receive personal training with expert Coaches, Bodywork sessions, consultations with a registered dietitian, and biometric insights via partnerships with Function and ŌURA.
“It's gotten her back in the fitness aspect, but also mentally,” says Robin. “It's been a roller coaster of emotions — all the hormones, figuring out who you are now as a mom. She stayed home, quit going back to work for the better part of a year, and that was hard, too. The benefits of exercise extend far beyond just the aesthetics and the physical. So now, to be able to be in a place where she can be consistent and benefit from all the other add-ons of the program, she was the ideal candidate for this.”
Here, Robin and Leyna share more about their training journey and the transformative power of EQX ARC.
After training with a Coach for a few months, what was your mindset around working out while pregnant?
Leyna: “I felt very, very prepared — and that was only in three months of doing personal training…When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't scared to continue working out because I already had so much knowledge around [exercise]. I think also emotionally, it made me feel much calmer being pregnant for the first time and being like, ‘OK, I can be that person who works out throughout their whole pregnancy and doesn't get scared or worried that I'm doing something wrong.'
“I think it was so beneficial for me that Robin had the experience, obviously as a personal trainer, but also as a mom. She would be like, ‘The first six weeks are really tough, but don't forget that you have this foundation now. You will be able to come back and feel this way again.' She harps on the mind-body connection, and even while I was giving birth, that is really what helped me through it all.”
Robin: “I have three kids of my own. Having been through motherhood, having been through pregnancy, having worked out during pregnancy three times, I have my own experience to draw on to help give her confidence. I understood physiologically what was going on, and when you can relate your own personal experience, I'd like to think she would feel more comfortable. Not that she wouldn't trust another trainer who was just experienced, but it adds another layer.”
RELATED: How Equinox Member Annie Rapaport Takes Charge of Her Health
How did you feel coming back to the Club after giving birth?
Leyna: “I was definitely struggling a little bit, not going to lie. I had some postpartum anxiety for sure, so it was tough to come back and be like, ‘I need to do this for myself.’ Robin is so gentle with me, especially in the beginning, because your full lower half is completely different. But it was really nice to come back, and it was nice to see somebody who really knew me throughout the whole process, and now could see me in this new role that I had a hard time seeing myself in.
“Right after I came back, it was a little bit of a struggle just to get that consistency again. But it felt good to be back in a place where I knew I could grow again.”
What has your experience with EQX ARC been like?
Leyna: “I did the Function test in mid-December. It's the push you need to really take control of your health, honestly. I'm 38, turning 39 in a couple of months, and now have a small child depending on me. I do want to make sure all of these different parts of my health are being looked at.
“I actually went to my standard doctor in September, and I was showing Robin that bloodwork, and then all of a sudden, I do the Function [test] in December, and it's pages and pages and pages. This really is so much more in-depth than what you would get at the doctor's office. That experience was really seamless…Once I sent [my results] over to Robin and to Jillian [O’Neil, the Equinox dietitian consulting for EQX ARC], I felt like they broke it down much more for me. I'm excited to go again in a couple of months to see the change.
“I think having that add-on is really great, and it makes you feel more in control of decisions that you'll make for your health in the future, which I really appreciate. It gives you a much more well-rounded picture of everything. I definitely didn't realize how high my cortisol was.”
Robin: “As soon as she got the information, she sent it to me, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is so thorough.’ It's very specific to women's health and all the hormones, the biomarkers that you don't get with regular bloodwork. Most [of her Function biomarkers] came back pretty normal, so there was really no need to adapt, other than for her to continue doing what she's doing. But, you know, we talk about stress management — just being here and exercising, in and of itself, is stress management.”
EQX ARC made me really appreciate how layered we are as women but also [think of] the things I can still work on to be better.
What has surprised you most about EQX ARC?
Leyna: “It's definitely making me think about being a woman a little differently. Especially with the Function [service], and the Oura Ring is such a wild tool; I feel like I just look at the data all the time. It's made me really appreciate how layered we are as women but also [think of] the things I can still work on to be better. There really is no ‘top,’ right? I can keep improving.
“I'm going into my 40s. I think that, a lot of the time, is when you start forgetting about yourself; you don't take the time, or you don't get all the bloodwork done. You’re like, ‘Whatever, I'll do another time,’ and it never happens. This program is like, ‘No, you're doing it. You're doing it now, and then this is how we're going to use it to help you improve.’ I just think that's so special. It’s a fuller picture than I've ever gotten in my entire life, even when I was pregnant.”
Robin: “Healthcare is more than just one thing, right? Women especially are complex, and we have these different stages. So I love that this ARC program addresses the movement [with personal training sessions], the nutrition [with dietitian support], the regeneration [with Bodywork]. It’s not just like, ‘OK, work out and go.’ You have to do all of it to really maximize your own overall health and wellness.”
RELATED: How to Balance Self-Discipline with Self-Compassion
What goals are you eyeing next?
Leyna: “Take more control of my nutrition and take more control of being able to do certain things. Robin has definitely helped with my negative self-talk. I think that's always been a goal of mine: to be more kind to myself but also push myself.
“Stack on that next plate. Let go of the gym intimidation. Just keep going. Keep loading. Keep going for those PRs.”
Photos Courtesy of Jared Ryder