Ilaria's Story - Mamafit®

Ilaria’s Story

Team Mamafit®

Read Ilaria’s story, one of our Mamafit mums reviews. If you want more ‘mums eye views’ then you can find more Mamafit stories on our blog, or you can ask the community directly.

Hello, I am Ilaria and I am mum to Arianna who is nearly 1 year old. I started attending Mamafit when she was 7 weeks old and I am still attending some classes now that I am back in work.

During the pregnancy

I have always been into fitness and wellbeing and before becoming pregnant I regularly attended the gym and also had a personal trainer to help me get into my best shape for my wedding.

But because I have always been so diligent about my workouts and diet, when I found out I was pregnant I decided to take it easier. I slowed down with my gym sessions and loosened my rigid diet, and I enjoyed preparing for the birth without obsessing over my food choices or my lack of physical exercise. I did attend a pregnancy yoga class and I made sure I’d have long walks in the park during the weekends. But I also ate out quite a lot (my husband and I love discovering new restaurants, and we were aware that we wouldn’t have been able to do it for a while!).

After the birth

I had Arianna in December 2018 and I had a really good birth experience with no complications. After the first weeks of settling in with my baby, I was determined to do something to go back to my previous weight. I knew that I had to take it slowly, as my body had just gone through a massive change, so I knew I needed to be helped regarding the right exercises to do. Initially feeling dishearted for not being able to attend a gym, I was so excited to find out from my midwife about Mamafit and all the classes that I could attend without worrying about childcare because I could bring Arianna with me.

My first class was the outdoor Wednesday’s circuit class. I absolutely loved the class! The good thing about it was that I could choose the level of intensity of each exercise. The first time I went I started very slowly. I then increased the intensity a little bit every week.

As a way to push myself to work hard towards my objective, I purchased an “All-inclusive” pass that gave me access to all Mamafit classes for 12 weeks. To make it worth it, I started attending 2 to 3 classes a week, and because of the flexibility of the pass, every week I attended different classes. This worked much better for me rather than purchasing a single class pass because it meant that I didn’t have to miss out on any meet-up with other mums if they clashed with the class I chose. I made sure that if I couldn’t attend a class, I’d make up by attending another one during the week – there are so many to choose from!

Great choices of classes

My favourite class was the Wednesday’s circuit class in Otterspool park. I have attended this class consistently under any weather throughout the year: I did it under strong wind and rain, but also during many warm and sunny days, which made me feel so lucky to have the possibility to exercise outside on a weekday.

The other classes I attended regularly were the GO class on a Monday, outdoor HIIT on a Tuesday, indoor HIIT on a Thursday and I also tried the Family fitness class on a Saturday.

I am still attending the Thursday evening HIIT class now that I am back in work. The class only lasts half an hour: this, and the fact that it is on in the evenings, makes it easier for me to be able to leave my baby with her dad for some “me time”.

Help with mental as well as physical wellbeing

Combining a well-balanced diet, plenty of walks in the park and the Mamafit classes, in a few months I went back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Mamafit helped me come out from my isolation being a new mum at home alone and helped me make new friends. You really can catch two birds (or three!) with one stone, because you get out of the house, you exercise and you meet people. With some of the mums I met through Mamafit I started a beautiful friendship that is lasting.

I would totally recommend any pregnant woman or new mum to join one of the classes. The benefits are great for your physical and mental well-being. I am so grateful to Rob for creating Mamafit!