Em’s Story

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[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]So what brought me here? From Finance to Fitness, this is my story.

Staying fit has always been quite a natural part of my life, however I never imagined it would ultimately become my true passion and career focus.

I always remember thinking when I was younger, in my late teens and early 20’s, that these were the best years and getting older just meant that my health and fitness would steadily go downhill…what was I thinking?! I had a pretty warped view of what “healthy” was…I thought if I exercise enough, the other stuff doesn’t matter. Like so many young girls and women, I had a warped view on food for along time – I ate too much, ate too little, spent days eating nothing of nutritional value or got caught up in silly food fads! I spent my early post school “freedom” years partying a little too hard (at times!) and early on at University lacked direction with my study, just barely passing – much to my parent’s horror. My parents have always and continue to be extremely supportive of me, they may have turned a blind eye in these earlier days but I guess they always knew (or hoped ;-)) that I would find my passion…I will never forget a conversation I had with mum in recent years when she said to me “as long as my children are happy in what they are doing, that’s all that matters”. Well mum, I’m really bloody happy and as a mother myself, this now resonates with me more than ever.

As far as my health goes, I write this today as a 33 year old woman and can hand on heart say that I feel better now than I did 10, even 15 years ago. My knowledge of and approach to food and nutrition is so much more comprehensive and balanced; my understanding of and approach to exercise is more efficient and realistic and I am so much more aware of looking after myself and my health than I have ever been.

In more recent years having children has of course played a huge role in my attitude towards my health and looking after myself…because now it’s not just about me. I need to be my best version, full of energy, leading by example and not only practicing but teaching healthy habits.

Along with my new and improved attitude to my general health and wellbeing there were also reasons I needed to make some big changes when it came to my approach to exercise.

I have carried two big bubs and following the birth of my first I suffered a prolapse, along with some other pelvic issues. Two things I was NOT prepared for nor did I ever imagine would be the kind of thing to happen to me…I kept thinking “but I’m so young and I’ve always been fit and doesn’t this kind of thing only happen to 70 year old women?!” I was upset, angry, embarrassed, very frustrated and perhaps a little naïve but I just felt like I was all alone and at the time didn’t know any women of my age with similar issues.

The proceeding months were a real mental battle to say the least. I was regularly seeing a post pregnancy physio who had given me the list of do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts) – exercise wise and generally day to day. It was a challenge to adapt to these new “rules” and I often felt very frustrated with the restrictions…I just kept thinking I would NEVER be able to do all the things I loved EVER again! A very extreme reaction I know, I wasn’t dying and life was otherwise pretty great, but I was caught in a moment and couldn’t see the light.

As time went on I quickly realised that I needed to get over myself and just focus on taking care of my body. I slowly began to feel stronger and more confident but I soon became pregnant with my second bub. Like most women I’m sure, this pregnancy felt MUCH harder…before I even really had a tummy, I was experiencing bad pelvic and back pain, so it was time again to scale things right back. At the same time, I returned to regular visits with my physio after having a short break. I initially voiced my concerns to her about trying to have another natural birth and what effect this would had on my existing prolapse and my pelvis in general. She explained to me that for many women their first labour is the most traumatic on the body and as such any issues experienced are most likely to occur at this time. So ultimately second time round, the body is stronger (of course due to being a far more diligent and self-aware mum!) and is more prepared for labour number 2. The truth is while I was pregnant with my first bub, I didn’t really place any emphasis on incorporating deeper core and pelvic floor strengthen in to my exercise and in hindsight probably often pushed myself too hard. Second pregnancy was the polar opposite – to start with I was sore almost from the get-go, so naturally my exercise regime was very low impact and involved mostly swimming and restricted pre-natal Pilates (mostly just a lot of stretching!)…even walking didn’t feel great. I did my pelvic floor excises like a boss and in conjunction with my physio visits I felt physically and mentally prepared for the birth.

The birth went really well, super quick and little fuss (although no time for drugs, so that was interesting to say the least!). Initial recovery was going well and I just carried on with the craziness that is life with a toddler and a new born. Of course things didn’t feel 100% ok downstairs but it was early days and I felt like I just needed to give it time. Now that I was so much more aware of how things should or shouldn’t feel, I tried to sit down and rest as much as possible (of course this is almost impossible with a toddler, but I did my best!). I wasn’t even going for walks as I was too worried about worsening my situation. So a couple of months in, I had a minor meltdown…to me things felt worse…I was devastated. Emotional, tired and (to be totally blunt) felt like my vagina was about to fall out, I shed many tears. Once again, perhaps a slight overreaction but when you’re in the newborn haze everything is magnified. AM I RIGHT?!

To keep an already lonnnng story short, I took myself to a new physio – a highly recommended woman who has continued to give me great advice for my physical and mental state – I liken our appointments to more of a counselling session 😉  She has made me feel very confident in my recovery approach and confirmed to me that my diligence between the two babies appears to have paid off…slow and steady progress. I am still so conscious of my body needing the time to heal and when you go through a physical change like pregnancy and childbirth, there is no quick fix, rather a lifetime of taking care and using caution. As someone who is inherently active and has always loved intense physical exercise, this has been somewhat hard to accept. Despite this, I have learned to approach my exercise in a new way which will take care of my body while still allowing me to keep fit and feeling good. Not such a big deal!

Through this journey and during these post natal experiences, I made my career change – I knew this is where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do! I wanted to read more, research more, ask every question and spread the word to anyone who would listen – I was a woman on a mission and so here we are!  As I look back on my journey now, I do realise that hindsight can be a wonderful thing…given my situation now as a Personal Trainer specialising in pre and post natal fitness, I do of course admit that there is so much more I could have been doing for myself pre, during and post babies. The silver lining though? Now I have the knowledge and experience to help other women through their fitness journeys by educating them on the importance of taking care of your body from the inside out. I think my greatest message to women now is that we need to appreciate what a huge impact pregnancy and child birth can have on our body and that there is no quick fix. Post-natal is forever and it’s a lifetime of taking care and using caution.

I hope to bring this awareness to women everywhere and that my story resonates with the many women in a similar position to reassure them that they are not alone, there is indeed help and so much great advice and knowledge – it is just knowing where to look.

Thanks for reading and we look forward to sharing with you our personal and professional experience, knowledge, passion and love for all things health and fitness.

Em x[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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