By Jen Dugard
I
n a world where women
are often pitted against
each other and in an
industry that has mostly
been driven by the
masculine influence there
is emerging a breed of
Personal Trainer that knows
there is another way.
They believe in change for
themselves and change for their
clients. They believe that they have
to do better, to BE better and to
stand together to shape the future.
They believe that the future of our
Fitness Industry is born through
education and collaboration and
they believe that the Women,
specifically the Mothers that they
serve must be better looked after.
When you look around at every
fitness environment, in the gym,
within outdoor group training or
group fitness classes the trend, time
and time again is that they are filled
with more and more women.
In 2016 it was reported that Mums
made up 77% of women aged
15 and over (www.abs.gov) so if
77% of the women in our exercise
environments are mothers, and we
know that babies are being born
every, single day, it must also make
sense that there is a huge need to
ensure these women are looked
after properly within our industry.
COLLABORATION
OVER
COMPETITION
Your average
Personal Trainer is
not fully educated
in working with
mums, prenatal,
postnatal or
beyond.
It’s not taught in your Certificate 3
& 4. It doesn’t become something
you are qualified for ‘just because
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WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - WINTER 2019
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - WINTER 2019
you are a fitness professional and
you become a mother yourself’
and it shouldn’t be a guessing
game. It must be learned and it
must be implemented well, ideally
with the support of allied health
professionals. Women are at stake;
physically and emotionally.
This is where these unique personal
trainers and fitness businesses come
in and are raising the bar; they
share the same mission ‘to ensure
that every woman is safely and
effectively looked after once she
becomes a mother’ and to lead the
way in ensuring this happens.
They are all independently owned
and operate under their own brand
running either mum-focused fitness
businesses or specific mum-focused
classes within their fitness business
but rather than competing with
each other they have chosen to
unite under the umbrella of the Body
Beyond Baby brand – as the Body
Beyond Baby affiliate team.
A team that are all Safe Return to
Exercise accredited (many hold
more than one pre/postnatal
accreditation), aligned with their
industry fitness body either in
Australia or New Zealand, hold
the correct insurance and proven
partnerships with Women’s Health
Physiotherapists to ensure the best
possible standard of care for the
mothers that they work with.
They share a unique bond in
supporting each other through
the ups and downs of running a
small fitness business, mostly single-
handily. They commit to regular
team up-skilling from allied health
professionals and they know that
when they are there for each
other they can be there for more
and more women within their
communities and beyond.
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