Becca is on a one woman mission (although I have now well and truly joined her!) to get the women of Trafford fitter, healthier and more importantly happier!
She gave me back my love for running when I joined one of her running groups after having Annalise. I was nervous and lacked confidence in myself to even run for 5 minutes but her positive and supportive nature pushed me on so that I managed to run four 10km races in a month only 9 months after joining her! To top it all off I met some fantastic running friends too.
She is a very busy woman and runs weekly post natal exercise classes as well as couch to 5k, 5-10k and Half marathon training programmes, and personal training sessions too (phew!)… but she has taken some time out to spill the beans on what she loves, running, injury prevention and the pelvic floor!
1. What’s your name and where are you from?
Becca, originally from London but a total honourary Manc now!
2. Tell me some facts about you…
I’m a mum with 2 kids – Chloe who’s almost 6 and Harry who’s almost 3. My Mum and Dad have lived in Asia for the last 16 years and are coming home at the end of the year!
I was one of the first ever girls to play football for Surrey (back in the day!) I spend far too much money on going to see bands play live – I love it! My two favourite things are running and prosecco!
3. Tell me about the business…
It’s a fitness business run by me aiming to get Mums back into fitness. I started it almost 2 years ago after being made redundant on maternity leave after having Harry, my 2nd child. I retrained and started it rather than getting a “proper job”. It’s been a crazy whirlwind and I love it – best thing I ever did. I do loads of different bits – I run Mum and Baby classes in the parks as well as ladies only fitness sessions, I do Personal or small group training and I also run a running club. We’re based in Trafford –Urmston, Sale and Altrincham.
4. What can someone expect from a session with you?
From the classes, you can expect a lot of fun. They’re a tough workout but I try to make it more of a chatty, informal class rather than an intensive bootcamp – there’s just no need to go “all-out” when you’ve got your baby with you for the rest of the day. From the personal training, it’s completely tailored plan designed specifically for your needs – we will target the areas you want to change and work together to hit your fitness goals.
5. What’s the most common injury you see in Mums & do you have any handy hints/prevention methods?
It’s not an injury as such but dealing with the “mum tum” is the main issue I see. It’s the area pretty much everyone I train with wants to focus on and it can be tough to really focus on the right muscles to engage to improve it (totally talking from experience here – my tummy is NOT as flat as I’d like!) Handy hints for recently post natal mums are:
- don’t get up using your stomach at the start – make sure you continue to roll onto your side to get up (like you did when you were pregnant)
- Don’t do any “crunches” or sit ups for at least the first 8-12 months post birth. There are a lot of much better ways of exercising your core and abdominal muscles.
- Focus on your posture (she says straightening up as she types!) Sitting correctly can hugely help – which I know is hard when you’re always holding/feeding your little ones but even if you are aware of straightening your back and pushing back your shoulders, that’s a great start.
6. What’s your top tips for new Mums who are getting back to exercise?
Give yourself a break! It’s the hardest, most mindblowing thing in the world becoming a Mum and we’re our own worst enemies. It’s easier said than done but try and take a step back and realise you’re doing an amazing job (even if you don’t feel like that everyday) Exercise helps but you’ve got to make sure you’re ready physically so don’t do too much too soon.
Once you’ve got your head round the idea of making a change, then go for it with all guns blazing. Its not easy getting fit but the benefits of it are enormous – you sleep better as your physically tired, you feel better as you’re doing something for you (not for the kids), you eat better as hopefully you don’t want to eat rubbish if you’ve done a workout. Its like the best most un-vicious (if that’s even a word) cycle . Find a group with likeminded people in it at a level right for you and you’ll love it
7. Let’s talk pelvic floor…what’s your advice to anyone who’s experiencing issues?
Pelvic Floor issues by far are the most common new Mum issue that I see – it’s this and the tummy. People that have either lived with pelvic floor issues for a long time or had no idea that they had them before they picked up a skipping rope and tried it for the first time in a long time!! My hints is to go get some professional advice. There are specially trained pelvic floor specialist physios out there who you can go and see who can create a specialised programme for you to get back to some form of normality. One great thing is that the pelvic floor can (almost) always be fixed.
Mummy MOT’s are fabulous – they’re a great all over physio assessment focusing on any issues. You get a diastasis recti (stomach muscle) check and a internal pelvic floor examination which isn’t the most pleasant of thing as you can imagine, but I cant tell you how much it has improved my pelvic floor “squeeze” technique – I’m actually doing them properly now!
8. What’s your personal favourite type of exercise and why?
Running – I run for me, for my mental health, for some headspace and thinking time. I love it. Its also one of the only things I have time for now as I don’t have the schedule available to go to a fixed class on the same day/week unfortunately – hopefully this will change soon as I really do need to mix up my training a lot more.
9. What’s your best piece of advice to new runners? And what’s your best to experienced runners?
New runners – 3 things: take it easy, build up slowly and stretch out your calves.
Experienced runners – have a goal and stick to it – whether its getting to a particular distance, improving your pace or strengthening your body. Once you’ve hit your goal, find a new one – it keeps things fresh and keeps you motivated
10. What can’t you live without?
Obviously my kids but if we’re talking things then it’s definitely my phone…god that sounds shallow but it’s got everything on it – my diary, my contacts, my social media, everything for the business as well as for my personal life
11. How would your friends describe you?
Oh tough one – probably loyal, a good laugh and someone who is always up for a good night out and natter!
12. If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things (not people!!) would you take and why?
1 – An ipod and speaker – I just cant live without music and everyone knows I’ve a ridiculously eclectic music taste!
2 – My trainers – cause you can surely run on a desert island right?
3 – photos – I love photos, I print almost all the ones off my phone and actually put them in an album – old school I know!!
Find out more about the classes and programmes that Becca runs at www.thismumcanfitness.co.uk or you can find her on Facebook and Instagram.
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