Thank you for reading...

I've shared my personal story of actively embracing motherhood, and the story of developing a unique new approach to pre and postnatal exercise over the past 3 years.

Since March 2010 my body has been either growing or feeding babies. But now I'm almost done with breast-feeding my youngest baby boy. No more babies are planned. My body is back to normal and I'm loving exercise.

Now I'm turning my full focus onto building the Ready Steady Mums community.

The Ready Steady Mums approach to pre and postnatal exercise has been tested and refined by me and thousands of other mums. We have extensive endorsement from the medical professionals and support from community groups. So now it's time grow, to reach millions of mums, to transform the experience of motherhood, and help mums be fit, healthy and happy.

Thank you for reading my blog, this is the final entry. Over and out. Come and join me now at www.readysteadymums.com.

Thanks everyone,
Katy xx

How Quickly Should You Lose Your Baby Weight?

Here is the hard data - the record of how my vital measurements changed as a result of my postnatal exercise. I'm sharing my results, as promised, and it would be really interesting to hear if anyone else has made such extensive measurements of how their vital statistics changed since giving birth. I know there must be some other geeky mums out there!

In both my pregnancies I grew A LOT.  My babies were big (3.9kg/8lb10oz and 4.6kg/10lb2oz). I'm 174cm tall and I went from 62kg to 83kg - at my peak just before giving birth. You can see it took me about 6 months to get back to normal. This is about how quickly experts recommend you should safely lose your baby weight.

I wrote an earlier blog about how I did got back in shape through exercise by following my own Ready Steady Mums programme, and another about how long it should take to safely recover from childbirth, so check those out for the details.

Today though, I'm just having a little celebration. I'm glad I bothered to do the measurements so I can smile at my chart now :) And more generally, it makes me so proud to have grown and given birth to each of my two baby sons... to have worked my way back to full fitness each time... and to be actively embracing motherhood with them.

• I feel really great – confident with my body and energetic
• I can do the things I want to physically, I have functional strength and a strong core to play with my babies
• I’m back playing sport
• I'm healthy!

I wish you all the same. Let's be fit, healthy, happy mums!

PS For my very observant readers you'll notice I shared similar chart for my first pregnancy almost two years ago. The lines are very similar, although interestingly I have bigger boobs now!

Somersaults

Rather excited to discover I can still do forward and backward somersaults on the trampoline. 

You can also watch the somersaulting video here.


Wanna try it? I recommend a fair bit of pre-work on the pelvic floor ;) You can get fit safely and effectively in pregnancy and beyond. I'm fit, healthy and happy as a new mum thanks to Ready Steady Mums. Try "Proper Exercise in Pregnancy" and "Virtual Personal Training for mums".

Next week I will be sharing my weight-loss and vital measurements RESULTS from my fitness journey following my second baby, watch this space...

Recruiting New Team Members

We are searching for brilliant, passionate people to join our small and dedicated team during a phase of rapid growth for Ready Steady Mums.

Flexible, part-time work, mainly from home, vacancies include (click for more info):
PR & Social Media Engagement Manager
Volunteer Support Manager
Programmer (java) 

We want to grow our community and help more mums to actively embrace motherhood. With our new team members over the coming months we will build our local RSM exercise groups and support more volunteer mums in communities. We will use social media and PR to reach a more mums on-line. And we will continue to develop our free virtual personal training service, tailoring it to precisely what mums need to get fit with us.

We are passionate about exercise and motherhood. We are looking for team members to be part of something amazing, to help us grow an innovative concept and community, and make a difference for mums everywhere. We'll give you space to innovate, and bring your own ideas and personal style in our exciting, diverse team.

We are totally dedicated to helping mums to exercise safely and effectively, by having thousands more mums experience Ready Steady Mums this year.

Time Management for Busy Mums

How do I manage my time as a busy working mum? 

I promised to write about my time management techniques before I finish my "exercise and motherhood" blog. So for all the mums who have asked me "how do you fit it all in?", I shall be very un-British and toss aside modesty. I'm going to describe three things about me that I believe help me get the most out of every day.

1. I'm the queen of de-prioritisation and I'm dealing with the guilt!
2. I never procrastinate and my to-do list works for me
3. I recognise what I'm slow or rubbish at and I take action

Before I carry on, let me declare that I don't have it perfect. I am hoping to get a whole raft of helpful advice in the comments bit after this blog entry :) 

But here goes, this is what I know about managing time well. 

1. I'm the queen of de-prioritisation and I'm dealing with the guilt!

What are your real goals?

Have you ever played that game with kids where you all stack your hands one on top of the other and the person with the hand at the bottom pulls it out and puts it on top, then the new bottom-hand-person does the same, and so on... 

People talk about prioritisation all the time, and sometimes what they mean is adding an urgent label to everything. I sat through a meeting about a year or so ago where someone began by explaining that "everything is a priority". What??! A priority means something that is regarded or treated as more important than something else. So we need the "something else" that gets deprioritised in order to make the priority mean anything.

We have to decide what to stop spending time on. Then we make time for what matters more than that. 

I spend most of my time (1) Earning Money/Developing My Career - I'm an independent management consultant; (2) Being Mummy, Wife and Fun Person; (3) Helping Mums Get Fit, Healthy, Happy with Ready Steady Mums. In a given week it's about a third of each right now.

Since I got pregnant with my eldest son in March 2010 I have tried so many different ways of balancing my time. My biggest lesson? "decide what you want, and bin the guilt".

- I love working because it makes me feel valued and recognised. I have expertise that other people benefit from - in a big way, and I make a difference for them.  

- I also personally believe that my babies will benefit from having a decent amount of time with a parent (as well as weekends with both parents) and my babies are great fun to be with. 

- And the fulfillment I get from supporting mums getting fit, healthy and happy is awesome. I am passionate about Ready Steady Mums. 

I still want a big career and I struggle to "rest on my laurels" while I spend time with my young babies and other new mums, but there are some things I have agonisingly had to give up in order to get the balanced life I want. And I won't be a FTSE 100 Director before I'm 35 neither an MP in the near future. OK.

Before motherhood hit me I think I imagined I'd be a full time mum. (I hadn't really thought this through had I?!). Gosh, it hit me when I suddenly realised you can't have two full-time jobs! Luckily, I feel very confident now that the best thing for my babies isn't always me. Some of the stuff they do at nursery is amazing and so great for them (more on that later).

If you, like me, feel you have too many things on your plate and you're not doing anything properly, try this. 

• Write down all the things you spend a significant chunk of your week doing now on a big piece of paper (commuting, writing your blog, exercising, cleaning, public-speaking, networking, changing nappies, going out for dinner, etc). 
• Draw a green circle around what you love and value doing. 
• Draw a red circle around what you dislike doing. 
• Sit down (with your partner if you can) and commit to doing more green-circle-things and fewer red-circle-things. 
• Come up with 3-4 immediate actions to get more green time!

Be creative, and remember, no guilt. 

2. I never procrastinate my to-do list works for me

I'm willing to bet that most procrastination happens when you don't really know what you're meant to be doing. Or at least you're not sure how to start something. Right?

I've combined the best advice from the world of management consulting, with the practical experience from the world of motherhood. The result is a "to-do list" system that works. I don't get stressed trying to remember what needs doing at any given time, and I'm pretty efficient at getting the important things done. 

This is already a really long blog so I won't share all the detail, but here are my best few tips. 

If you have a to-do list right now, have a look at it and circle any tasks that you can't start right now. Why? Do you first need to work something out, make a decision, or get more info?

These things stop you from taking action, and can lead to procrastination. 

My solution? Only put things on your to-do list that are "next actions". 

Let's take an example "to do" 
[] Recruit a new team member to Ready Steady Mums to help support volunteers

If I were to translate this onto a next actions list I might write down
[] Ask 5 Ready Steady Mums volunteers to comment on a draft job description for the new team member
[] Research grants available for supporting volunteer mums 

A perfect to-do list is one comprising "next actions" that you can pick up and start work on without getting stuck. Every action on the list moves you forward, and is the ideal next thing for you to work on. You might decide to keep a project list elsewhere, but don't confuse it with "next actions" on your to-do list.

Here are some other ideas for making your to-do list work well.

Cross things off the list that you will never do. And be ok with that!

I don't put actions on the list that will take less than 2 mins. I do them immediately as they arise. 

Lastly, keep your list somewhere that works for you - on your phone, a piece of paper, lap-top etc. - but only have one, and include everything on it. There is no need to separate work/fun/household chores etc. Keep it simple.  

3. I recognise what I'm slow or rubbish at and I take action

I thought about listing all the things I'm rubbish at on this blog, but then decided if it goes viral then potential future clients might read it so that will never do ;)

Needless to say, I am rubbish at some things and I am reasonably aware of what they are!

When we spend time doing things we're rubbish at bad things can happen. Here are a few possible bad things:

The task takes ages or doesn't get done
We resent the task and don't enjoy ourselves
Our self-esteem is not happy with the experience
Other people who are good at the task might miss out

I've tried denial. "Just try harder Katy, or spend longer, this can be done." 
And I've tried despair. "This whole task is pointless and I should give up completely". 
And I've realised that neither denial nor despair is very helpful. 

In the business world, if you can't do a task, and you need the task doing, the options are to up-skill or outsource. 

I personally love "up-skilling" (= "learning" in the old fashioned lingo). And in only the past year alone I've learnt from experts a range of new skills from writing a social-media agency support brief (thanks Alice from pd3) to sewing wings back onto cuddly toys (thanks Grandma). 

I've also enjoyed some "out-sourcing". Recently I directed the Ready Steady Mums programming team to build the new Local RSM postcode search function using java coding. And I regularly collect my smiling babies from a day of painting, cooking and other educational fun at nursery.

The main point is, if if matters and you can't do it well yourself - find someone who can teach you or do it for you.

THANKS FOR READING!

So there you go. Please let me know whether this works for you, and if not what does.

Here's to spending every moment doing exactly what we feel we should be spending that moment doing.

Katy x

Healthy Smoothie Recipe for Mothers

Healthy mothers eat the right amount of good, proper, food. One of my top diet tips is to plan healthy snacks.

This week, Kendra Thorton and I have been discussing what works best. "When we're hungry we make bad food choices" Laura Clark tells us. We need alternatives to the tempting biscuit/doughnut/cake/chocolate bar/creamy hot-chocolate/other nutritionally-empty-snack. Kendra has been to 28 countries and seeks out authentic cuisine from around the world, and she told me about a recent gem she's discovered: the Shamrock Shake.

We thought you might like to try it. So just in time for St Patrick's Day, Kendra offered to share her recipe.

Kendra:
Who would think a trip to Miami and all of it's Cuban influence would inspire me to share a recipe for St. Patrick's Day? I ordered this fabulous concoction during my recent stay at the Fontainebleau, ranked amongst some of the top hotels in Miami Beach*.  As you can imagine, this place offers every bit of upscale-chic luxury you would expect, and it's located right on the beach.

Though they had me from the moment I stepped inside, it was this captivating smoothie served on the pools cape (no, not poolside -- "pools cape" -- this was the Fontainebleau after all) that truly won me over. Made from avocado and coconut milk, it's a taste of Miami I will be happy to relive again and again.  

I can't wait to make this Shamrock Shake for my friends and family back in Chicago.  With natural ingredients and healthy fats, it's a way better alternative to that "other" green shake we see hanging out of drive thru windows every March.  This Shamrock Shake is fit for leprechaun's young and old alike!

Here is the recipe so you can whip up your own signature Shamrock Shake just in time for St. Patty's Day.  Although this decadent treat already has a green tint, add some green food coloring to make it even more festive!  Also, be sure the avocados are super-ripe for best flavor -- they should yield easily to gentle pressure.  Well, what are you waiting for?  Gather your favorite lads and lasses and throw on some lucky green socks for a taste of Miami with an Irish twist.

Shamrock Shake Made Healthy

Makes 4 servings (1 cup each)

Ingredients:

- 1 14oz can coconut milk (or other kind of milk)
- 3 tablespoons honey, (or other sweetener, to taste)
- 1 ripe avocado, quartered
- 1 cup of crushed ice
- 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- 1 T. peppermint extract

DIRECTIONS:
Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor.  Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick’s Day ☺

*Those of us less accustomed to exotic travel than Kendra, let's get a bit of the Miami Beach chic in our own kitchens!

Making Exercise Irresistible - For New Mums

What's the secret to overcoming the barriers to exercise for new mums? What is the best way to make sure we stick with our exercise plans? How can we beat the excuses not to exercise?

After three years of research and working with new mums... and having two babies of my own... I have repeatedly found it comes down to one thing: MAKE EXERCISE IRRESISTIBLE.

The secret is to give up trying to knock down the barriers one by one. Most of the reasons that we don't exercise will go away when the exercise itself becomes the most appealing thing to do, at the very moment we plan to do it.

Once we transform our mindsets and make exercise irresistible, then anything is possible.

Exercise scientists and psychologists have discovered that, in the medium to long term, our minds usually respond better to positive drivers (like celebration, fun and the social side of things) than negative drivers (like avoiding being fat, unhealthy or lonely etc). Here are some of the best ways I've found work for new mums to make it easy to stick with their plans. To make exercise irresistible, and get back in shape after baby arrives.

Capture the "feel-good" If only we could get some of the exercise feel-good hormones (endorphins) before each exercise session started... OK so there are all sorts of dodgy things we could eat or inject to get us racing out the door for fitness sessions, but I have something far more wholesome to suggest.

We can keep a reminder of how we felt after the last great session to help with motivation next time round. There are lots of ways to do this. One excellent gym I have worked with introduced a facility for members to film themselves describing how they feel after a workout. The gym sends the video to the member a few days later for a personalised boost for the next workout. For a simpler and cheaper option, many mums I've worked with just write down 5 words to describe how they feel after working out. Or you could even just tell someone in your family and ask them to remind you two days later.

Make an effort with your kit. It IS possible to be sweaty and out of breath AND look great. It's all the rage in fact, check out Jess Ennis, what a hero! So find some sports kit you really enjoy wearing, and get ready for exercise with some of the gusto you apply for a night out.

Make a proper plan and keep it realistic. Make sure your plan is effective and safe for you. When I was pregnant I realised how it's even more important to have a tailored and safe plan while you're growing a baby and then recovering from birth. My subsequent research and consultation with experts led to what is now a free virtual personal training service just for mums. You are all welcome to use it for free and I highly recommend it.

Your plan will be realistic and effective, and you need to celebrate EVERY bit of it you achieve.

Set up a local exercise group. There is nothing more effective than a commitment to someone else to make sure you turn up for your training session. One of the lovely things about working out with other new mums is that you are all in the same boat. We've all been there: "I had a bad night last night"... "my boobs hurt"... "I forgot my pelvic floor exercises again".

My own group of new mum exercise buddies still train together every week, and what we started is spreading! Ready Steady Mums provides lots of free help to mums wanting to set up their own weekly exercise group around the UK (and soon the rest of the world we hope). Organising my own weekly exercise group was one of the most fulfilling things I did as a new mum.  

Drop "all or nothing" as a slogan. I am talking about those moments where we feel completely off the rails with exercise so that "there's no point started until I can really tackle this properly". Hundreds of brand new mums have shared this sentiment with me. And we know it's rubbish. Something beats nothing every time. I'm doing my pelvic floor exercises right now, and so can you. It's the bite-sized chunks of activity that get you started and before you know it you will be "an exercise person"!

Mad Mum On A Trampoline

Pelvic floor vs. Trampoline!


I've heard the story: first time a mum goes on a trampoline with her kids she realises the old pelvic floor isn't quite as "recovered" as she'd hoped.

And I admit, even after properly following my Ready Steady Mums programme, "boinging" up and down on a trampoline is not something I'm comfortable with.

So I decided to improvise.

This is a video of the main exercise involved in "Katy Tuncer's trampoline training for mums". Quite hard work actually - although I do look a little bit deranged :)

A good way to entertain two babies and get fit - without trashing the pelvic floor...

Tips:

• go to the loo before you go on the trampoline
• don't stand on your babies (in fact I should probably say "don't do this at all")
• keep your upper body poised while you do knee lifts
• use your arms too
• have fun!

My two year old thinks it's hilarious and is obsessed with going outside "on the boing". My 9 month-old at least enjoys the fresh-air and giggles along.

Anyone else tried it?

Happy weekend everyone
xx

PS PLEASE buy/review our Pregnancy Exercise DVD on Amazon if you live in the USA or Canada. We're raising funds to grow our volunteer programme. A million thanks.

The humble cup of tea

My favourite mug

I love tea. A wise person once told me that people who often make and drink tea are generally more effective in the workplace and more successful in life. I took it to heart. I am serious about my tea!

And now that I am a mum of two, I appreciate even more what a tea break is really for.  My life involves: enjoying time with my two babies and trying to bring them up well; quality time with my husband; working to earn money; a small bit of charity work; working to build the Ready Steady Mums community; some academic research; exercising; socialising; household tasks etc....

Busy, yes. Even more important to drink tea I say.

My babies are sleeping now. I've got my cup of tea next to me. So here we go with:

What does it mean to me to be someone who makes and drinks tea?

1. I am realistic about what I can achieve with my time.
2. I don't lose perspective in life, I can see both the woods and the trees properly. 
3. Committing to a tea break, and having integrity to stick with it, means I'm making the best job of every task I do, in the time I have to do it. 
4. If someone else made the tea for me, they are a really great person I'm lucky to know.
5. The nice warm feeling of holding and drinking the tea gives me a nice warm feeling.
6. I am hydrating myself and that makes me (and my breast-fed baby) more healthy (I drink my tea weak so not too much diuretic effect).
7. I can have meaningful, fun, interesting conversations over a cup of tea.
8. Tea time gives my mind a break to do some prioritisation - and more importantly, some de-prioritisation.

....OK, so it's not actually the tea is it? It's wanting to be the kind of person that drinks tea!

For me, I'm a tea person if I spend every moment in life doing what I feel I should be doing at that very moment.

Right now, I'm going to get the babies up from their afternoon sleep - time for a play.

Happy weekend everyone!
Katy

PS Last night I got back home, freezing cold, having missed one train, had one cancelled and the last one very delayed and walked home in the dark. My husband and 2 year old son greeted me at the door with a cup of tea (tea is one of the word's he knows - my son that is, well my husband knows it too actually). Anyway, "mummy's tea" made "mummy happy" (quote) so I decided to write a blog entry about tea today.

Pregnancy Exercise DVD - for moms-to-be

Mums-to-be! Or should I say Moms-to-be?

The much-loved pregnancy exercise DVD "Proper Exercise in Pregnancy" by Ready Steady Mums is now available in the USA and Canada. Hurray!

You can read about it here
And watch the trailer here


BUY DVD ON AMAZON.COM for US/Canada

(BUY DVD ON AMAZON.CO.UK for UK/Europe)


So how do you exercise safely during pregnancy?


First, decide you are going to be active and act on it. While you're reading this article, work the pelvic floor. Squeeze and hold for ten, relax, pulse and count to ten.



Second, enjoy having a good posture. Shoulders back, back and neck have a gentle curve. Breathe deeply and smell the roses (gosh I'm being all English today).

I was asked recently how exercise can work for pregnant ladies with different levels of fitness. My experience is that most pregnant women fit into one of two groups.

1. The "Fit, but now what?" group: Before you were pregnant you used to exercise a lot, and you'd like to know how much and what type of exercise to carry on with.

2. The "How can I be fitter?" group: You haven't really done as much exercise as you think you should have in the past.  Now you want to get active safely, and do the best thing for your growing baby and pregnant body.

For either group, gentle to moderate activity works, and listen to your body.

In pregnancy, DO: 
Swim and walk, if you have no complications, right up to birth
Continue with sport/exercise/activity you did before if you feel comfortable (just not contact, impact or dangerous sports)
Reduce how hard you push yourself as your bump grows

DON'T 
Do sit-ups (you need to take care of your stretched deep core tummy muscles)
Lie flat on your front or your back (can restrict blood-flow)
Twist at the waist
Hold your breath (avoid breath retention during breathing exercises)
Risk bumping your bump into things

That's my general advice.... but if you have pelvic pain or you are worried about any other health problems, ask your doctor!

When I was pregnant with my first son in 2010, I was exhausted with morning sickness early on. I was a "Fit but now what?" mum-to-be, playing netball and training for a marathon when I fell pregnant, and I was a bit shocked by how bad my body felt. However, I used to go out for a very slow jog every other day - often for only about 7 minutes - and every single time I made the effort to drag myself out I felt better afterwards. I had used to be an all-or-nothing exerciser, so moderation didn't come naturally, but I knew it was the right thing for my body and my baby.

A fellow mum-to-be who I worked with found moderate exercise a challenge for the opposite reason. If you've never really bothered about exercise you might find a sudden motivation to get active for the sake of your baby but want to know how. I would not recommend starting a jogging regime if you have never had one pre-pregnancy... But do start walking, and try some Yoga, Pilates or specially modified strength, tone or cardiovascular workouts for pregnancy.


Right, so why do mums love the Ready Steady Mums pregnancy exercise DVD? (And why will all the moms too?)


BUY DVD ON AMAZON.COM for US/Canada
BUY DVD ON AMAZON.CO.UK for UK/Europe


Safe exercise during pregnancy helps you to:
- Have a happy, healthy, active pregnancy
- Prepare for birth and have a good recovery afterwards
- Look after your pregnant body and growing baby
- Get ready to get active and fit post-baby


Want to know more?

If you want to hear more, you might also enjoy my interview as a guest on BBC Radio Northampton last year where I talked about pregnancy exercise.

First Exercise After Having A Baby

That first exercise session for new mums, when we start to get fit again after having a baby, is really important.

Here is an example exercise session for mums to do with buggies in the park. 

(The gorgeous film-stars are the Queen's Park local Ready Steady Mums group from north London!)

I am often asked when should mums start exercise after giving birth? And the first thing to consider is how well you are recovering from pregnancy and birth. In the UK your GP will tell you at your 6 week check if you can safely exercise. S/he will check things like how well your uterus is contracting, whether your tummy muscles are coming back together, are any stitches healing. (You can read my own GP's advice on postnatal exercise here.) 

Don't wait and be put off getting active early on though. Get out for a walk, and even better, get out for a walk with a fellow mum. You might arrange a weekly walking date with friends, it really helps to have someone to meet up with to help make sure it actually happens. 

As well asking your doctor for advice, listen to your body to decide when you feel ready for proper exercise. You should feel comfortable walking at a brisk pace. You should also make sure you have "found" your pelvic floor and core tummy muscles. (Check level 1 with your RSM virtual personal trainer if you're not sure). 

Then, once you feel ready, you can gently get started with exercise. The example exercise session here for new mums is a good one to begin with. You need to watch your posture, especially in those early weeks when the hormone relaxin is still making your ligaments and tendons loose. Take it easy and build up week after week. You and your friends can also register as a new Local RSM group and get support from Ready Steady Mums with your exercise sessions.

Last question. How many exercise sessions a week should new mums do? My answer: more than zero. Have fun and celebrate what exercise you do!

Mums Choosing a Personal Trainer

How does a mum choose the right Personal Trainer?

Start with the basic requirements. Is your trainer an expert in how to recover safely from pregnancy and birth? Your trainer must know how to rebuild your core muscles, and what the most important areas are for mums to work on for maximum benefit. Familiarity with the common health risks for new mums doing exercise is also vital, to ensure you don't damage yourself (some helpful info is here). Also, does your trainer appreciate the extra exercise challenges mums may have? Sore boobs? Exhaustion? Lack of childcare? Can they advise you on diet? 

The best Personal Trainers for mums have all the basics - AND they are clear about EXACTLY what they offer in terms of style.

Let me share a couple of case studies.

Here are two trainers who DO know what they're about. Both provide amazing services for clients, but they couldn't really be more different:

What style of Personal Training works for you mums?

1. Lucy Howlett has a degree in the performing arts and is creative, poised and balletic. She is very sensitive to her client's needs, she really gets the confidence and body image issues felt by many of her clients. She believes in a whole-life approach - focusing on diet and lifestyle as well as fitness. 

   
   

   Steve Walker is tough but he smiles a lot and enjoys banter. Fun but firm, he pushes himself and his clients hard. He is an expert in using weights and brings them into his workouts often. He offers diet advice and sports massage as well as training. He believes in sweat to get results.

   
   

   I'm willing to bet my readers are split 50:50 on who they'd like to work with. But I also bet one or other of them sounds really appealing. Yes?

   
   

   Now what if all you knew about Lucy was that she provides fun, varied workouts to set you on the path towards a fitter, healthier, stronger body?

   
   

   And you knew Steve would help you to lose body fat, increase muscle or just feel more energetic, and achieve your target?

   
   

   Not enough info!
   
   Great trainers will tell you what they're about, confidently covering the basics and quickly getting to "why I am a special Personal Trainer just for you". Look for the trainers that connect with you on a personal level. 

   
   

   Steve, Lucy, thanks for being featured. You're both amazing :)
   
   Readers, if you'd like to be in touch you can email: Lucy or Steve. You can also get free virtual personal training and join a local weekly exercise group with Ready Steady Mums.

   
   

   PS Ready Steady Mums has been trialling a Licensed Instructor Scheme with carefully selected class instructors and personal trainers like Lucy and Steve over the course of 2012. We will be ready to grant full licenses in late 2013. You'll need to be on the Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS) and fully insured. To register your interest in becoming a Licensed Ready Steady Mums Instructor please email your name, qualifications, location, and any specialisms to instructors@readysteadymums.com. 

How Do I Get Fit As A Mum? (I can't get started!)

You can be a fit, balanced, healthy, loving mum.

BUT you do need to shake things up a bit, and take the challenges full on.

I can't go to the gym after work any more! I have no money! Childcare is impossible! I'm so unfit after pregnancy! I don't know what exercise to do! I have no time!

No one says it's easy.


I have shared the experience of early motherhood with hundreds of other mums. And I believe all of us can be wonderful mothers - as active, happy people ourselves.

How can I get started with exercise as a mum?

Kick-off your postnatal exercise plan in 5 minutes!
1. Do your pelvic floor exercises right now
2. Call a friend and arrange a time to go for a walk this week
3. Write down your fitness goal, share it far a wide (e.g. Facebook)

Done that? Now go to www.readysteadymums.com and meet your free virtual personal trainer.

You're on your way!

A Sponsor For Ready Steady Mums

The search is on for the 2013 Ready Steady Mums Sponsor.

Can you help us choose the right one?

What Needs Sponsoring?

We want all mums to feel good, be healthy, and have fun - by actively embracing motherhood. We believe it is possible to overcome barriers to exercise like lack of credible guidance, childcare, money, self-confidence and physical pain.

So, Ready Steady Mums helps mums get fit with two innovative, and totally free, services.
1. The Virtual Personal Trainer – on-line, tailored guidance on safe exercises for new mums
2. Local Ready Steady Mums – volunteer-led groups meeting weekly to exercise together

What Will Our Sponsor Do?

Our sponsor will help us reach more mums: by supporting more volunteers to set up Local RSM groups and rewarding them for their amazing contribution to local communities. Our sponsor will also help extend our virtual personal training service for mums everywhere.

How Can You Help?

Thanks readers, for being part of Ready Steady Mums so far. You've already helped us develop what we do, and thanks for telling us when we're getting it right.

If you want to help us find our sponsor, you can -
1. Suggest who you would like to sponsor us (by commenting on this post)
2. Introduce me to someone who could make the decision to sponsor us on behalf of their company (by emailing sponsors@readysteadymums.com).

FYI I have written a pitch for our potential sponsors, which is at this link.

THANK YOU!


Info for potential sponsors

Our support is carefully designed to meet the practical and medical needs of new mums. It has been refined and developed over three years by medical and fitness professionals working with new mums. 

We help mums around the world get fit, precisely on their terms, through our on-line support. Virtual personal training delivered through our website is enhanced by content in our newsletter, on this blog, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. 

Mums around the UK also get fit together through Local RSM. Our volunteers are strong social influencers, and Sport England supports our work in communities.