11:58am Monday 4th October 2010
By Richard Catton
“HERE, let me do that for you – a woman in your condition should be taking it easy.”
This, and similar sentiments, will be familiar to just about any woman who has ever been through pregnancy. Indeed, it has long been accepted that the expectant mother should put her feet up and let her partner do the housework while she gets some rest.
And why not? After all, you have to carry the ever-growing bundle of joy for nine months and then go through labour. So commandeer the sofa, grab the television controls and send the other half out to the supermarket to get a catering-sized jar of those pickled herrings you’ve suddenly got an inexplicable craving for.
Well, sorry to break this to you, ladies, but this is 2010 and attitudes are changing.
Tim Matthews is a personal fitness trainer who launched Fitness4mum after realising there was a need for exercise regimes aimed at pre and post-natal women.
What started off as a website offering useful advice on routines aimed getting women through and beyond pregnancy, now includes regular classes at Roko gym on Clifton Moor – where Tim admits he puts his students through their paces.
He said: “From the women we spoke to, we saw there was nothing for those who were pregnant – there were no specific classes.
“When I went online I tried to find some information, but all I could find was a little bit here and a little bit there and it all contradicted itself.
“That’s when I thought it would be good if there was a website for women to have the information all in one place.
“We want to educate women and tell them what is safe to attempt and how to do it. From there, we came up with the concept of the classes.”
That was two years ago, and Tim has now made a full-time job out of guiding women through their pregnancies to make sure they stay free of the common complaints related from stresses and strains on the body brought about by pregnancy and birth.
He said: “We have specifically tailored these classes to meet the needs of women pre and post-pregnancy.
“They help you avoid back pain and weight gain and things like mood swings.
“Woman who exercise before birth seem to have shorter labours and might not need as much pain relief.
“We can’t say it’s 100 per cent the reason, but women in the classes said they had a quicker birth.”
One mum-to-be we spoke to was 32-year-old Helen Davis, from the Clifton Moor area; she is six months into her first pregnancy and began attending the classes three months ago. She is in no doubt of the benefits they have brought to her health.
“I think one of the main things for me was having someone there to tell you what’s okay during pregnancy,” she said. “With your first pregnancy you are not sure what you can and can’t do. I get a lot from knowing I am in safe hands.
“Understanding the different exercises helps too. There are exercises to stop you getting back pain and ones to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
“It makes you feel so good when you have done it. You feel stronger and more able to cope with pregnancy and your posture.
“You feel it the next day – you know you have done some exercise.”
Tim backed this up, saying the old attitude that a woman should get complete rest during pregnancy was now making way to those who advocate exercise.
He said: “About 15 or 20 years ago that was the view – to rest and lay up. But now it’s widely accepted by health professionals that exercise during pregnancy is beneficial.
“We really pride ourselves in pushing the women. We use a lot of weights and the women really respond to the fact that they are working.”
For more information on classes and to download videos of different exercises you can try, visit www.fitness4mum.com
The Fitness4mum classes take place at Roko Health Club on Clifton Moor on a Saturday morning. Sessions also take place in Harrogate, Leeds and Bradford.
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