Sheta's Evolving Figure, July 10

Occupation: Mother of 2, DG (domestic goddess), Personal Trainer, Spray Tanner & Waikato Agent
for NZ Body

Family: Husband Matt (keen surfer), Lincoln (10 this August), and Lucy (11 weeks; born 2 May) 

What's the highlight of your sporting career?

Contest Achievements 2008: NABBA Waikato Champs, 4th International Figure 2007: NABBA Waikato Champs, 1st Novice Figure          NABBA NZ Champs, 3rd Novice Figure 2006: INBA All Female Classic, 2nd Novice Figure          INBA All Female Classic, Melbourne, 4th Novice Figure          NABBA Waikato, 1st Novice Figure and Best Performer          NZFBB North Island Champs, 2nd Novice Figure

Probably placing first in my class & also being awarded best performer at the Waikato show.  It felt great in front of my home town with so many supporters.  I was never involved with any sports or was interested in being active when I grew up (I used to get ‘Ds' on my report for PE at school, and didn't really start exercising till my 20's) so winning my first trophy in 2006 felt pretty darn good!

Did you let up on your exercising during pregnancy?  What did you do and what changes did you make to your exercising to accommodate.  Did you change any angles of exercises, pace, intensity of cardio etc.

I continued weight training up to around 20 weeks...still doing 1-2 body parts over 5 days with 3-4 sets of 8-10.  I kept up my usual pace as I felt so fit.  I had so much energy during my first 20 weeks it was crazy!

Cardio was walking around the gym; my pedometer was measuring 8-12 km a day so I really didn't need any extra.  Once my 20 week mark came I was started getting tired...it was the ‘xmas rush' in the gym, you know, that time when everyone panics to get in shape.  I was pretty busy passing weights to clients all day & started to rest when I could, so that's when I stopped doing my own weights programme. My blood pressure also dropped quite low to 90/50 so I had to start slowing down and really listening to my body.

How much weight did you put on during pregnancy? I gained 12.9kgs - I doubled that with Lincoln. How soon did you get back into exercise after Lucy was born? What kind of exercises did you do.  Did you go hard into it or ease yourself in.  My first day back at the gym was 6 days after Lucy was born - for a BodyBalance class.  I felt like I had been hit by a truck after the birth and the stretching class was a fantastic remedy.  I kept up with light stretching at home then I got back into cardio 2 weeks after her arrival.  I have a treadmill at home so made a plan to use it.

I also have a set of dyna bands, a swiss ball and 5kg med ball, so got into band work doing 100rep training.  I would only do 2 sets of 100 4 days a week.  An example would be doing a shoulder press: I'd do as many reps as I could to failure.  Being 100's it was about rounding numbers off. If I did 30 reps, I would have 70 seconds rest before I continued.  I had to keep going till I reached 100reps. It was tough, but a good way for me to keep challenged in a short amount of time.  I'd use the ball for squats and ab work. I was pretty buggered in the first 6 weeks so keeping my workouts short helped me keep my energy levels maintainable. 

Lucy started at the gym crèche 2 weeks ago and I've jumped right into heavy training with 6 sets of 6, 5 days per week.  The first week was one hell of a shock to the system and left me walking like a zombie, hovering down to the toilet and barely able to do my bra up!  Good old muscle memory has kicked in, and on week 2 all my weights went up and the DOMS aren't as nearly as bad.  I've also started taking creatine to help.

Do you feel the pressure to have to get back your pre baby body since you're in the fitness industry? If so how are you coping??!! I'm totally guilty of putting pressure on myself to get back into shape.  I get a lot of compliments on how I look but I see a lot of areas I want to improve.  I love the lean tight look of being in competition phase and I also loved my curves with pregnancy so it's a bit of a struggle now as I'm somewhere in the middle.

Looking after 2 children is pretty tiring. Often as soon as Lucy is going down for her morning sleep, Linc is waking so I have to help him get ready for school.  Then Lucy's up, off to the gym at 9 for ‘me time', before I have to put my Mum hat on again. While Lucy sleeps during the day I get a few hours work in before Linc gets home.  The day ends with the children by 8 and we try to get to bed by 10.

How hard was it to motivate yourself back into regime again?
Not really. I was missing weight training and the feeling of a good workout.  I have a goal to get back on stage next year so I am working towards that already.  My cardio hasn't been as much as it should be as most of my gym time is focused on weights, however I have plans to do more (HTT) when I start my next programme.

Is fitness still your number 1 priority since the birth of Lucy or has she changed how you approach it?

Spending time with my family is top of the list now, along with my health.  I'm happiest when I'm fit, strong and healthy and if I'm happy the household is happy, so it's still up there! 

Are you setting yourself little goals towards getting your body back?  How much time are you giving yourself to get to a comfy place you want to be at.

Yes, I do have goals to meet.  Little stepping stones along the way help and keep me going.  I have to tick off my 4 weeks of training boxes at the moment.  I'm not too fussed about my weight or fat percentage, as at this stage I am focused on completing my first month back in training.  In saying that, I have made this months goal to cut out sugar (goodbye to the dark cacao choc!).  Once that is done, and I'm into the swing of training again, I'll be setting myself goals that'll give me a more of a challenge.  Something like dropping my body fat by 3% with a measure up each week to keep an eye on progress.

                     

How important has your husband and son been in helping you with general household duties so you can do your ‘thing'.

Matt and Lincoln are amazing!  I can't remember the last time I used the vacuum cleaner and there are several household chores that Matt has allocated to himself.  He constantly told me throughout our pregnancy that it was important for me to ‘remember who I am' so I didn't get caught up in motherhood and lose my identity. 

He is a fantastic hands-on Dad and takes over Lucy when he gets home from work. Its no problem to him to change nappies, feed, bathe and put her to bed.  He knows I love training and on the weekends encourages me to go to the gym or catch up with a friend so he can also have some alone time with the kids.

Lincoln is an outstanding big brother and loves Lucy to bits.  He picks her up when she wakes, and is happy helping where he can. He talks to her about anything and everything and as soon as he gets in the door from school, asks me where she's at with her routine.  I have a whole new level of love and respect for him, in seeing how caring he is towards her.

I strongly believe that everyone has time to exercise!  Having a young bub in the house is very tiring and you often feel like your eyeballs are on those joker-springy glasses.  However, if you don't start to get active you can fall into the trap of day-time soap opera/chat show which is going to do nothing for your figure... and all mums I have met want to get back into shape!

I would recommend starting out with 3 or 4 exercise ‘snacks' throughout the day.  There are a multitude of exercises you can do with little or no equipment (google exercises you can do at home).  Press Ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips off a chair, bicep curls with milk/water bottles filled with water/sand - the same with shoulder presses & shoulder flyes. 

You can do wall sits, ab exercises, star jumps, mountain climbers...the list goes on.  If you have had a c-section it's a whole new ball game (I had one with Linc but managed a normal delivery with Lucy) so make sure you follow the guidelines from your LMC. 

WRITE a goal to do 3 or 4 exercises per day, around 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps to get your heart rate up a bit.  You could do 1 exercise each time baby goes to sleep.  You'll feel lot better knowing you have done something for yourself. 

Mums usually have a stroller so wrap bubs up and get out for some walks - maybe just 3 for half an hour to start off. Then start adding in a few 1 minute jogs into your walk - maybe 5 of them the first week, and increase it by 2-3 each week as your fitness improves.  As you get stronger and your fitness improves you'll be able to do a lot more!

Also, eat clean food! If it grew on the land its good for you, if it's processed, leave it.

A few simple steps to being a yummy mummy!