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I absolutely hated PE at school and was very self conscious about being much shorter and stockier than my peers. The sports we did were competitive, and I hated not being good at them. Exercise made me feel rubbish because it was highlighting what I couldn't do. As an adult, exercise was always presented as a means to an end (usually weight loss) so I was always thinking I wasn't succeeding. Eventually I did find a few things I enjoyed that helped me move away from success or failure. I got into swimming alone early in the morning, which became my meditative happy place. No one was telling me how fast or far to go! COVID set back my exercise plans by closing the pools and pushing Zumba online, but finding Mumrave in 2022 helped me move for the fun of it again, and alongside pregnancy, appreciate my body regardless of what it can or can't do.

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I was devastated when my grandma passed away recently - losing her felt like losing part of myself. Going to my favourite exercise class (mumrave!) after her funeral felt kind of inappropriate, but actually it was the best thing I could've done! I felt like she was there with us 😆 she was 97 but she was such a brilliant character and I know she would have loved dancing with us all. Mumrave has seen me through so many ups and downs and I really miss it when I can't go. It's good for the soul.

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My journey with fitness has been a bumpy one....growing up I HATED PE with a passion and was definitely not sporty....in fact people still laugh if I bump into them from school and tell them I teach fitness for a living :) after I had my daughter in 2011 I suffered with severe postnatal anxiety - mostly around health. I would visit the GP several times a week with anxieties and would actively avoid raising my heart rate - convinced I would die! The feeling of my heart pounding was enough to spiral me into a panic!

This went on for a long long time until I saw a fantastic GP who really took me seriously and challenged me to take some time out to do something for myself....I saw a local hula hoop class and reluctantly (very!) I took myself off to it - I was soooo terrible but for that hour I thought of nothing but keeping that hoop up, I realised for that hour I hadn't worried about anything at all! That was it - it became my escape and slowly I found I was worrying less and less and becoming a much better Mum and partner in the process.....the rest is history, I quit my job in finance and became an instructor and teach a whole host of classes and am now an ambassador for This Girl Can Sussex!

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Like many other women, I started my fitness journey in the quest for the 'perfect body', joining an 8 week bootcamp to lose weight quick and having a go at Zumba with a friend to try something new.
What I didn't realise is that somewhere along the way I discovered how fun exercise could be, that I actually really enjoyed it and loved the fire in my belly that came after a good class.

I looked forward to my weekly fix of whooping and cheering through Zumba classes and learned that throwing kettlebells around in a rainy park made me feel fantastic afterwards.

It transformed my experience of exercise from physical to mental - whilst I was getting fitter, stronger and more skilled, I had more confidence and self belief, my self esteem improved, along with my focus and ability to get into flow state for work. I had more energy throughout the day and was more productive in every aspect of my life.

Those first Zumba classes and 8 weeks boocamp in the park kickstarted a whole new direction for me that's changed my life and attitude for the better.

Moving my body makes me happy and looks after my mental health. It's no longer about how I look or wanting to lose weight. It's about how fitness makes me FEEL. I will always be chasing that feeling to be my best self 💫

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I was an active if unsporty child. I remember spending lots of time outside with my family walking in local nature reserves or parks.

Being a particularly uncoordinated child I did not enjoy school sports. I have vivid memories of not being able to catch the ball in team sports and coming last at sports day races. I remember one PE report describing me as "ambling around"! I received a probable diagnosis of dyspraxia - a condition which affects co-ordination.

At university I realised I enjoyed non competitive exercise when I sporadically when to exercise classes with friends. There were some hilarious moments where I repeatedly went the wrong way in an aerobics class!

I am now in my late 30's and have a desk based job. When not at work I love spending time outside hiking with Brighton and Hove Ramblers or with my partner. I also enjoy running Parkruns and with Brighton GoodGym (a group which combines running and volunteering). Also doing online classes with Body Image Fitness.

I am more active than I ever have been! I am trying change my focus from what I find hard to what I enjoy.

My message is there is way more to being active than just team sports so try and find an activity you love doing! Concentrate on your own wellbeing and have fun. :)

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When I fell pregnant, due to complications and other reasons I had to stop doing my regular sport and I suddenly felt a bit lost as this was my 'go to' to help support my mental health and I wanted to stay active if I could.

I tried to walk as much as I could but due to Pelvic Gurdle Pain this also became tricky. I wasn't given much advice or what I could and shouldn't do, but as a fairly active person already I did a bit of reading and looked for something that could work, that's when I found aqua-natal exercise and it was incredible.

It allowed me to keep my body moving, as well as providing a lovely peaceful time to relax and help my body prepare for birth. I kept it going until the week before the birth and would highly recommend it to any expectant mum.

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Two important ingredients - Socialising & having fun!

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Two important ingredients - Socialising & having fun!

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More me, there is nothing better than getting sweaty and having a giggle at the same time. Sometimes with work and family commitments it can be hard to justify spending time for you (including doing some exercise), so agreeing to do it with friends who then motivate and encourage each other really helps! It can also be very cathartic - an opportunity to offload and then feel good physically and mentally.

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For almost ten years I had attended yoga classes sporadically once a week (there were many gaps while moving from Brighton to Worthing and then during pregnancies) and I thought that was enough.

I always felt amazing after doing a yoga class but sometimes I found it hard to get out to the class, often running late and missing the class altogther.

I was chatting to a chiropractor and he asked what exercise I did and I mentioned yoga which he said was great but asked what else I did apart from that once a week. I replied I did not do anything else, unless you count running after two very young children!

He suggested I should 'easily' be able to run 5k and that all adults should 'easily' be able to do that - which put my back up as I knew for a fact I could not do that (I hated running and would get out of breath running down the road). I asked around my family and I was secretly pleased neither of my brothers (who I regard as fit) would 'easily' be able to do that as well!

But that comment stayed with me so I thought I would check out the Couch to 5k app. Apparently that would get me running 5k in 9 weeks!! I started off using a gym at work but when we moved offices I realised I would have to join a local gym. This coincided with Red January, which is an initiative to do some form of exercise everyday for the whole month.

It was while I was at the new gym that I really started falling in love with exercise. I attend a dance fit class on a Monday evening, which is so much fun and always makes me smile (as well as sweat) and then I follow this with a stretching class, which includes quite a few yoga moves.

I will put my hands up and say after 9 months I still have not completed Couch to 5k but I am on my second to last week and I can now run 28 minutes straight - something I never thought I would be able to do!! - and I am hitting 5K in 37 minutes through a mixture of the run and walking either side. I still hope to one day soon be able to run 30 minutes straight and reach 5K but at least I feel I am on the right path. And I do feel better for it!