A Pre and Post Natal Fitness Instructor with Firsthand Experience

Along with the many joys of motherhood, comes unique pre and post pregnancy challenges. Above and beyond the baby weight, many moms struggle with any combination of incontinence, prolapse, weak pelvic floor, diastasis recti, reduced socialization, depression and more. With the limited sleep and jam-packed schedule, you may not be able to find the time or the motivation to turn things around.

 

That is until now!

 

I Turned Things Around—Which Is Why I Know You Can Too!

I am a mother of two and I suffered from each of these common roadblocks to health, and on top of that, my pre-pregnancy weight was 90kg (198 pounds) —but I turned things around. If I can do it, then I know you can too! You just have to find a fitness instructor who understands the unique challenges moms face pre and post baby; someone who can find creative and knowledgeable solutions to deliver results.

 

My Story

I have suffered with spine issues and back problems since I was a teenager. I have been dancing since the age of 5. From the age of about 13 I was in a professional dance group with grueling training regime. And one day my back gave up. Instead of going to school, I was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. My spine was gone. As the top vertobrologist back in my country pointed out to me, I was growing too fast too tall for my age and my spinal bones were not strong enough to handle this kind of strenuous sport regime. Others said I had spinal hernias. I had a year of rehabilitation including massages, physiotherapy, acupuncture, you name it. Tried to get back to dancing, had to give it up for good. So over the years I have been researching, trying different kinds of therapies, sports, exercises. I couldn’t give up sports. I just have to move. While I was in my last years of school, my mother would take me to have injections of novacaine like drug being injected through the front of my throat into my cervical spine as a pain relief.

Then, in my twenties, when I was pregnant with my first child I had developed back problems again. I could not move due to slipped discs, my husband had to carry me to the toilet for a month. Physiotherapy and gentle exercise put me back on my feet. But then again, after two kids, years of breastfeeding, my posture was getting worse and I started to develop flat forward neck and kyphosis. Being Pre and Post-natal fitness instructor and working on healing my own 4 finger Diastasis Recti and wrecked pelvic floor, I learned that developing correct posture was a first step to success. Spending 6 weeks in a work placement in a local hospital with physiotherapy department, covering wards such as ITU, cardiac rehabilitation, older people’s acute care, orthopaedics, neurological, amputee rehabilitation, cancer services and HIV, strengthened my belief in that. When my youngest child was just under 5, I had to carry her, 20kg worth, every day to and from school, shopping etc. on my shoulders due to her disability (we were waiting to receive her wheelchair). I have started to develop severe shoulder, neck, lower back pain and terrible headaches.

During that year, I have returned to sport and my research on how to keep my spine as healthy as I possibly can. I took up heavy lifting as in bodybuilding. I had to make my back strong enough to handle this kind of load. Today, when I have to carry a wheelchair and my daughter many times a day, up and down the stairs, without all the exercises and experience I gathered over the years, I probably would have been in a wheelchair myself.

Ok, what are the most common obstacles mothers face pre and post baby? These were mine:

• Had two kids. Born with 4.300 kg & 4 kg (over 9 pound babies);
• Diastasis Recti 4 fingers wide;
• A mess of a pelvic floor, incontinence and prolapse;
• Poor metabolism;
• Post natal weight to lose;
• Undisciplined;
• Hardly motivated;
• Love food!
• Little support from friends or family;
• Poor social life;
• Child with disability;
• Suffer with low mood;
• Binge eating bouts;
• Suffer with Sjögren’s;
• Lack of space, tiny flat;
• Get bored easily.

But I have done it! I found my way back to optimal health, and I have maintained my results. I used to be 90kg (198+ pounds) before I had kids and with the proper resources, and baby steps, my weight is healthier than pre pregnancy and I feel stronger than ever. I have closed my diastasis recti from 4 fingers wide to only a half a finger and my core is STRONG!

It takes time and commitment. I’m working everyday to maintain achieved results. But you can’t rush progress! I simply took things one day at a time, and results followed. I’m not one of those super humans who make a goal, make a plan and stick to it religiously. No, that’s not me, this kind of approach stresses me out and I get depressed. I was taking baby steps, day by day. And it worked for me, it worked for me so far. I will help you to find approach best suited for You.

I feel better, stronger, healthier and I am glad to be a positive role model for my kids. They asking questions about healthy eating choices, what food will make them stronger, faster, give them beautiful hair. They join me with my exercises and make up their own and put me through their made up drills :))))

Involve your kids, let them join you and copy you alongside. Have fun with it! Don’t take it too seriously, and it won’t feel so overwhelming!

Therefore, as you can see, these programmes I have for you to work with are an accumulation of my own experience. The collection of exercises and programmes that helped me most.

 

Baby Steps For Mom Too

 

Where most moms fail, is in expecting to achieve their pre-baby-body overnight—which only leads to frustration. While you eagerly await each new milestone in your baby’s life, you need to remind yourself that recovering your health will require a series of small wins along the way.

With the proper resources, and baby steps, I feel stronger and healthier than ever. And I am a healthy and positive role model for my kids. We engage in active family activities, and talk openly about exercise and healthy eating—as well as what food will make them stronger and faster—not that they need it! They even join me in my workouts, and cheer me on along the way.

 

 

Your Dedicated Pre and Post Natal Fitness Instructor

There is no shortage of options when it comes to workout DVDs, fitness studios, and workout equipment—so you might be wondering what makes my approach unique. For starters, I have been exactly where you are today—so I know where you are coming from. On top of that, I have invested in my area of specialty achieving the following accreditations:

• Pre & Post Natal Fitness Certification with Baby & Me Fitness in Toronto, Canada.
• Advanced CPD in Modern Post Natal Assessment, Core Restore & Functional Exercise Programming. London,UK.
• Licensed Holistic Core Restore® Coach. UK
• Gym Instructor L2. London, UK
• Sports Massage Therapist L4. London, UK
• C-Section, Hysterectomy & Abdominal Scar Soft Tissue Therapy.London, UK
• Pegnancy & Post Natal Remedial Massage Therapist. London, UK
• Breast Cancer Rehab Coach

If you are searching to take a proactive approach to pregnancy, or are a new mom in need of a personalized fitness plan to restore your body from inside out—reach out to me today at [email protected]

 

Here’s to your health!