At 18 weeks pregnant, fitness model Massy “Mankofit” Arias decided to post a couple of exposed-belly selfies on Instagram and ended up sharing some serious pregnancy inspo. In just six days, the post has received 54,500 likes. And it’s not just because her 2.1 million fanbase is ecstatic for the mom-to-be. It’s also because her intensely toned body does not look it’s growing a baby, but rather digesting a supersized burrito. The 27-year-old’s six-pack abs are still totally intact and her fans are in a state of shock that someone can look this ripped while carrying.“Happy Thursday loves from #DC Princess Harper turning 18 weeks today, and I got the linea negra this week. Did a quick workout at the hotel room, will edit and post tomorrow for you all. How’s everyone doing today? I can’t wait to go back home and get back to work!” Arias captioned the pair of photos. Almost 1,500 comments express emotions across the board.
Some were confused. “Um, where’s the baby belly?” one fan wrote. “Sweetheart are you pregnant?” quipped another fan. Then there were the people who had all the shock and respect. “That is the most fit 18-week belly I’ve ever seen,” one wrote. “I don’t See anything at all…. Gosh yes….body goals when I get prego,” another shared. “Her abs are so rock hard. I can’t wait to see how she looks much further along.” And, of course, some women couldn’t help but compare themselves to Arias’ enviable maternity physique. “I had no idea she was pregnant her body is still 927428468346782 times better than mine,” one person joked. “Your pregnant stomach looks like my non-pregnant stomach on a good day,” another added.So how are six-pack abs even possible during pregnancy? Shape explained the phenomenon after another pregnant woman, 30-year-old lingerie model Sarah Stage, also shared her insanely toned pregnant body on Instagram last year. “There’s no obvious explanation. This is not what normal pregnancy looks like at 34 weeks,” Alyssa Dweck, MD, and co-author of V Is for Vagina, told the publication, adding that well-defined abs are not necessarily unhealthy. “Some women don’t show. The rectus muscles might be so well-defined that they’re masking [a pregnant woman’s] growing,” Dweck explained. Other factors include a woman’s pelvic bone structure, the way the baby is facing, the size of the baby, and the amount of fluid around the baby, she added.
“The muscles I’m seeing on her are the ones that help support your growing baby, so that’s not a bad thing. That’s amazing, that’s going to help her bounce back,” added pre- and post-natal fitness expert Sara Haley in the article.
Although she’s clearly proud of her figure, Arias might be the first to admit that it’s absolutely fine to “look” pregnant, however that looks for an individual, and that no expectant mom should judge or compare her body. Alongside an Instagram photo from three months ago, Arias wrote, “You can always strive to be a better version of yourself, but never let anyone control how you feel about your body. Society holds women to very high standards, but we are the ones who can control how we feel about ourselves.”
Besides, Arias worked extra hard to get where she is, fitness-wise. In an interview with People last year, the Dominican Republic-born trainer said she’s suffered severe depression and turned to working out as a means of pulling herself out of a very dark place. In addition to being genetically predisposed to depression, Arias had endured an abusive relationship and the trauma of watching her brother battle cancer. “I spent seven months in a dark room,” she says. “I would not shower. I started losing my hair''.
Not wanting to take antidepressants, and believing that treatments like hypnosis, herbal remedies, and therapy just weren’t working, Arias turned to exercise and decided to chronicle her progress on Instagram. She didn’t expect her journey to resonate with so many people. “I posted a picture of my stomach and it just [got crazy],” she said. “All of a sudden I had 10,000 followers. People started adding me and asking me questions.” Of course, not having been formally trained, Arias wasn’t informed enough to give adequate answers. So she got informed. “I started making really good progress and got into a better state of mind,” Arias told People. “I was weight training and feeling much better, and decided to pursue personal training. I started getting all my certifications.”
Now that she’s a certified trainer, Arias is focused on helping women feel good first and have confidence in how they look second. She wrote on Instagram, “Caring less about what you look like and more about how your body performs is key. The body will come as a result of your performance.”
Now she’ll have a little girl of her own to raise into a confident woman. Just six weeks ago, Arias announced her pregnancy in an Instagram post that shows her partner, Stefan Williams — another fitness guru — kneeling down to kiss her taut belly. In the caption, she was characteristically candid. “Today marks a 3 months and a day, and if you guys were to ask me about how I am feeling, the answer is…pretty sick all the time!” Fans may be envious of her abs, but they probably aren’t coveting her morning sickness. “Morning sickness and all the changes that hormones produce in your body have been very present (constant fatigue that doesn’t dissipate unless I do some type of workout, hair loss, skin issues, dizziness, blurry vision..etc…).”
She added that despite it all, she assured fans that she and Williams are “overjoyed with happiness because God wanted it at this time"