‘Pregnancy yoga helped with my flexibility and mobility as I got bigger’

TV and radio broadcaster Kathryn Thomas (40) runs Pure Results, a bootcamp that mixes fitness and fun. How did she adapt her exercise programme for pregnancy and beyond?

‘DURING my pregnancy I was advised not to exercise for the first 12 weeks. This was really tough mentally as I’ve always found exercise to be an amazing form of stress relief. I was already extremely anxious due to my previous miscarriages and so managing my fear through those three months was tough.

“Running has always been my way of escaping from the chaos of the day. A timeout where you can just be with yourself. But after three months with no running, when I tried to go back to it, it was like a mental block that I couldn’t get past. I’m back running now but I really only started six months after Ellie was born.

“I took up pregnancy yoga in my first

trimester. I’m not a yogi but was totally converted. While pregnant women are generally advised not to take up a new exercise, my doctor said because this was specifically adapted for pregnant women, it was an exception. I had private lessons under Miriam Kerins Hussey. It helped with my flexibility and mobility as I got bigger, but it also helped me connect with the pregnancy and really believe that it was going to happen this time.

“I posted home workout videos on Instagram throughout my pregnancy. I got quite a lot of online criticism; a few people thought I was more concerned about gaining weight than looking after my baby. Actually it was quite the opposite. I wanted to be as physically and mentally strong as possible in preparation for childbirth, and also to aid my recovery. It was very hard to find solid information online — I did a lot of research myself. That’s why I created the BumpFit guide; to have everything in one place, for the three trimesters.

“Ellie decided to come early and so I had an emergency C-section in the end. People commented that I bounced back because I lost my pregnancy weight fairly quickly, but I one-hundred per cent didn’t bounce anywhere. It took me three months to rebuild my strength and feel back to myself again, and at least five months for the C-section feeling to disappear. I thought it might never go. I’ve no doubt staying fit throughout my pregnancy helped my recovery.

“Afterwards, I found giving myself a goal or a boost helped. I did one of my Pure Results Bootcamps when Ellie was about a year old. That really helped accelerate my return to fitness. Setting yourself a goal like that is helpful — a 5km run would be another possibility.” For more from Kathryn on pregnancy and beyond, download KT BumpFit’s 40-week guide; https:// kathrynthomasofficial.com/kt-bump-fit/ In conversation with Liadan Hynes