Fitness classes for new mums and their children are launched throughout the Highlands
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A FITNESS business aimed at new mums has been launched in the north Highlands with hopes it will expand to cover the whole region.
Sweaty Mama Highlands is run by Amanda Bannerman, a 32-year-old pre and post natal fitness instructor from Tain, with exercise sessions aimed at mothers with children aged between six weeks and four years old.
She said a completely new fitness venture was far from what she thought she would be doing but she had worked her way through her gym instructor qualification during the first lockdown.
She added: “I went on to buy the franchise for the Highland area, completed all my training and launched in July.”
Ms Bannerman said she is also a mother and had struggled with her mental health due to the changes in her body after pregnancy and birth.
She said: “I decided to start working out at home as we had just gone into lockdown. It was there my passion for health and wellness was ignited.
“Having felt first hand how positive movement can be for the mind, especially for new mums, I decided this was a career I wanted to pursue.
“As new mums it’s tough to find time for yourself or time to work on yourself because we often need childcare to be able to do it, so I thought wouldn’t it be amazing if there were classes where mums could do a workout and not have to find babysitters – and that’s when I came across Sweaty Mama.
“I instantly knew this is what this area needed – fun, effective workouts where mums didn’t need sitters, met other mums and could work on themselves.”
Currently her classes are based in Tain, Strathpeffer and Alness with new classes launching in Inverness at the end of October. She said: “As well as Sweaty Mama sessions I also take ladies bootcamp classes in Tain on a Monday evening.
“Sweaty Mama is a national company with classes all over the UK. We also offer mamilaties and sweaty gym sessions which I’m looking to do my training for and launch early next year.”
Ms Bannerman is also a qualified hairdresser and barber and had her own shop in Tain.
However her new venture fits around looking after her daughter. She said: “You will often find my little girl at sessions with me as this business was all about fitting it in and around being a mum. She’s due to start nursery in January so I’ll feel a little lost without my little sidekick tagging along.
“Little ones can be in carriers, mum’s arms or just playing on the mat while mama works out. We work through eight tracks of upbeat, feel good music with a mixture of cardio, resistance and core training.”
She said she has been overwhelmed by all the interest in her sessions and added: “It really doesn’t feel like a job to me. I just love meeting new mamas and their little ones and it’s a joy to watch new friendships form and the growing confidence of some mamas that were reluctant at the start.”
Her franchise is for the entire Highland region and she said: “It’s my dream now to expand and form a team to cover as many areas as possible so we can reach as many mamas as possible that need something like this.
“I’m currently on the hunt for instructors in this area. Like me you don’t need to be from the fitness industry to join, you can be a mama who maybe just wants to do something they love with their little one by their side.”
