With the help of Fluidform’s motivating challenge structures, here’s how one mother of two redefined ‘bounce back’ culture and relaunched her approach to health and fitness after the birth of her second child.
With ‘weight loss’ consistently trending in our nation’s Google search history, there’s no shortage of advice floating around. Every gym membership, workout app, recipe eBook, and ‘healthy’ snack on the market promises to whip us into shape in no time at all, prompting anyone desperate to transform their body to surrender their time (and money).
But when it comes to ‘bouncing back’, fad diets and complicated, exhausting workout schedules are entirely unrealistic for the average person. When you’ve just had a baby, they’re downright impossible.
For Imogen, ‘bouncing back’ after the birth of both her children was never about hitting a perfect number on the scale, but rather a personal challenge she embarked upon for her fitness and wellbeing. After finding a program that supported a healthy (and achievable) transformation, the 29-year-old nursing student and mother of two shares how Pilates changed not only her body but her overall mindset towards health.
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Recalling the months after giving birth to each of her children, Imogen says finding the time and energy to leave the house for anything (let alone a fitness class) was near impossible. Desperate to rediscover her pre-baby fitness level, but without a structured routine and fitness goal to guide her, Imogen found herself turning to ‘quick fixes’ and internet advice, “ it was a really sad and unsuccessful cycle that left me feeling worse than I did before I began.”
After experiencing a second pregnancy that was considerably harder than her ‘textbook easy’ first, Imogen was left feeling the most detached she’d ever felt from her best self. “After birth, I didn’t ‘bounce back’ like I had after my first baby which was really hard to overcome as well,” she recalls. “I had very little energy, everything hurt and just wanted to sleep whenever I could.”
When a family mentioned they’d joined Fluiform throughout the pandemic, the sound of an at-home, flexible program was music to Imogen’s ears. Now, with a few successful challenges under her belt, the Adelaide-based mum can’t praise the program enough.
“I had committed to the first challenge in 2021 and the transformation was absolutely phenomenal, there aren’t many other words for it,” says Imogen. “No exercise had ever made me feel or look so fit. I had abs for the first time in my life after trying almost every single ab trend the market had to offer.”
Related: ‘How I lost 13kg and got my self esteem back’
Setting herself up for success
Like any fitness transformation, achieving the best results requires more than a consistent workout plan, drawing on nutritional, sleep and recovery habits too. Being plant-based, Imogen ensured she was fuelling her body with enough protein and complex carbohydrates to support herself (and her nursing baby) throughout each challenge.
“I knew how badly I wanted to succeed in this challenge but also knew how easily I could burn out if I did it incorrectly, so I made sure I had all the resources on my side to get it done properly,” she says. “Prior to the pandemic I was working as a plant-based chef in Melbourne, so nourishing my body with delicious food has always been something I am passionate about.”
Fitting in her workouts whenever and wherever she can, Imogen has found the variety of workouts, challenges and modifications a lifesaver when it comes to juggling her day-to-day responsibilities.
“Each day is planned out for me through the Fluidform app so I can just open it up and get going,” she says. “There’s also the option to print a hard copy of the challenge calendar which I like to do and pop on my fridge to hold myself accountable and give myself that extra sense of achievement when it’s done and I can cross it off.
Flexibility remains key to her transformation
But as any new mum knows, the first year after birth can be a really overwhelming, emotional time. As Imogen recalls, allowing herself to prioritise her health and fitness after birth had an immensely positive impact on her mental well-being.
“One thing I struggled to overcome was how little time I got for myself,” she shares. “Of course, this is the beauty of having babies and I wouldn’t ever change that, but having that 20 minutes per day dedicated to bettering myself was so vital in my postpartum mental health.”
When it came to Imogen’s workout plans throughout each challenge, no two weeks looked the same, juggling the demands of her children, her studies and her post-partum health, “Some days I felt great and others I felt absolutely awful, which was usually dependent on whether I had slept or not the night before.”
Making sure to listen to her body, Imogen regularly modified her exercise plans to better support herself, swapping the higher-intensity elements of the challenge for less strenuous options such as stationary bike riding or walking. “However I was feeling that day I made sure I respected through my workout, ensuring I never overdid it,” she says.
So how does the mum of two measure her success throughout these challenges? It has nothing to do with a number on a scale or her dress size.
“I don’t really subscribe to health and fitness success through a number on a scale, because I think a healthy body image is important across all shapes and sizes,” explains Imogen. “For me, feeling strong, fit and healthy in my body is the key thing that drives my fitness journey.”
Imogen’s biggest learnings
Having (unsuccessfully) tried a myriad of workout trends and quick-fix approaches, Imogen was no strange rot restriction and over-exertion before discovering Fluidform.
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“Fluidform gave me strength, it taught me patience, the importance of modification, posture and kept me free from injury throughout the entire process,” she says. “I’ll have this body my whole life and I know that I’ll be keeping Fluidform by my side to make sure it stays this strong for as long as I am capable.”
For anyone looking to embark on a similar transformation, the mum of two has some important advice about embracing the journey.
“Focus on realistic consistency, and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t complete a workout,” she says. “Reflect on the day, have a beautiful restorative rest and get back up again the next day and try again.”
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