Read Wendy’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. Before becoming pregnant I exercised regularly. I enjoyed a good workout doing a mix of Spinning, Jogging, Cycling, Swimming or Yoga most weeks getting both benefits for my physical and mental health. But when I became pregnant I wasn’t sure which of these activities I could keep up. I’d heard that you have to be extra cautious with physical exercise while pregnant so I thought most of these activities would be off-limits. This was a daunting prospect for me as having a good exercise routine was especially important for my mental well-being. I usually work from home and so exercise generally provided some structure to my days. To allay some of these worries my midwife suggested I attend a Mamafit Pregnancy course at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. During each session of the course the leader offered healthy lifestyle tips. Then we went through various series of exercises that were safe to do in pregnancy and that could be easily replicated at home. I thought that as I progressed through my pregnancy I would gradually be able to exercise less and less. After starting with Mamafit I found as the course went on I grew in confidence. I felt more able to exercise than I’d anticipated. Once the big day came and I went into labour, I felt really healthy and was able to have a water birth. I’m absolutely certain that a lot of this was down to keeping active during pregnancy and having the confidence to know I was exercising safely. My ability to do both of these things was undoubtedly in large part down to the Mamafit classes I attended. Post-birth, once I had passed the 6-week period of recovery I was looking for some gentle exercise to ease me back into a healthy routine. Mamafit were offering a buggy running class on Otterspool prom. Then once the class started and we ran along the prom, the babies would invariably be sound asleep within minutes. Magic! Even on the odd occasion if it rained or was windy the babies all looked so snug wrapped up and sleeping in their prams. Following buggy running, I tried the indoor Mamafit Mums Fitness class at the Arncliffe Centre which welcomes mums and babies. I was, once again, a bit unsure about how I would manage to do an exercise class with my little boy coming along, but when I arrived I saw that everyone there had a baby too! With a few cleverly selected toys and a soft blanket to lie on (for the baby!) I soon found that it was absolutely possible to keep my son happy whilst I had a good workout next to him. Once my son was a little older and I was able to get out in the evening for an hour, I tried the Mamafit Circuits class at Otterspool. I had never done a circuits class before, but all equipment was provided. Even for a novice like me by the end of the first class I was able to pick up the exercises fairly easily. I felt like I was getting a good workout. Getting to these Mamafit classes as a new mum, while on maternity leave, once again gave me invaluable mental health benefits as well as ensuring my physical well-being. It can be so hard to get out as a new mum. But every time I attended a Mamafit class, it was so worth it. I felt a great sense of achievement and brought structure to my days. More recently with the Covid-19 outbreak, I was so excited when Mamafit quickly reconfigured and started Mamafit@Home classes. Once again, in a new situation of uncertainty, taking part in Mamafit’s new online HIIT sessions brought some structure and a sense of well-being to my days. The online classes are great! You can take part live or on playback if you can’t get the kids (or yourself) sorted in time. I’ve found my little boy loves bouncing along in his jumperoo laughing at me getting completely puffed out doing HIIT! At 30 minutes, the sessions are long enough to be challenging but short enough that my 11-month old doesn’t get too restless. Perfect! All in all, my experience with Mamafit has been great. It’s had both physical and mental health benefits for me all the way through. I’ve also met a lovely group of mums-to-be. They are now new mums too with babies the same age. We go for coffee together and swap tips about breastfeeding, weaning or whatever the current new challenge is! Of course, in these new and challenging times of the Coronavirus pandemic, it hasn’t always been possible to meet up physically and grab those much-needed coffees. But we’ve all kept in touch. It’s been great to be able to join in with online classes and still feel part of the Mamafit community.
My midwife suggested I attend Mamafit®
In fact, once the course at the Women’s hospital finished I started the Mamafit Pregnancy Fitness class at St Nicholas’ Academy. I managed to keep that up alongside swimming and yoga until I was 39 weeks pregnant!The atmosphere in the class was really friendly
I wasn’t sure I would be up to the challenge… and at that point, I also had all kinds of new mum worries too. Would the baby be too cold in his pram on Otterspool if it was windy? What if it rained? And what would I do if he wouldn’t stop crying? But I needn’t have worried. The atmosphere in the class was really friendly and the instructor had pitched the class just right.
It was really gentle at first with options to stop and walk when needed and then gradually built up over 6 weeks. By the end it was challenging, but manageable. My little boy was absolutely fine too – he would routinely cry through the warm-up, like most of the other babies. But the instructor was so helpful and gently rocked each of the prams while we jogged around doing warm-up exercises.
It was absolutely possible to keep my son happy whilst I had a good workout next to him
Of course, if he did get a little restless everyone else at the class was in the same boat. It wasn’t a problem I could just sit at the side for a short time and feed him or settle him. It was easy to join in again once I was able.
The sessions are long enough to be challenging but short enough that my 11-month old doesn’t get too restless
