Jen:
Hey, Mags, welcome to the MUM Safe Movement Podcast. How are you?
Mags:
Hi, I'm very nervous. Thank you for having me. Never so excited. Yes.
Jen:
I'm excited that you're joining us today as what we've coined as the very first MumSafe trainer, not that you knew that at the time. So I'm super excited to bring this conversation to everyone that's listening, both trainers that work with mums and also mums themselves.
Mags:
Yes, very excited and very happy to have that name, that title.
Jen:
Cool, cool, cool. Okay, so let me kick off with the way that we've started to kick off with all of our guests. And I'd love for you to share with me a word that tells us, the audience, how you're showing up today and the caveat that if it's been a shit fight of a morning, it does not have to be a positive word. Then a win and then also something that you're working on.
Mags:
Nervescited, so yeah, I'm excited and nervous. My morning actually was pretty smooth today, so kids behaved, so had a great morning with clients, so still excited and still positive. Then my win for this week, so last year I injured my shoulder, and while I injured my shoulder, I was actually working on pull-ups, chin-ups, and... for a very long time my upper body was very restricted and this week I did five unassisted chin ups. So that's my win.
Jen:
Amazing. I did see that on Instagram, I have to say. And I can relate, I had a rotator cuff injury and I'm not back to the five pull-ups, but I can now hang on a bar. So that's, and what are you working on?
Mags:
I'm working on so I'm doing and then moment I'm doing nutrition course and menu I'm going to be a menu qualified nutritionist in September
Jen:
Amazing.
Mags:
fingers crossed
Jen:
How long, how long have you been doing that for?
Mags:
So the course is 13 months, so I've got free to go so 10 that's
Jen:
Yeah
Mags:
a good math
Jen:
right. And it's all online?
Mags:
Yeah, it's all online
Jen:
How do you find online learning?
Mags:
Oh, it's convenient, but you have to be very motivated and being a mom and, you know, working at the gym, being a mom, wanting to spend time with friends, running online business as well, it's, you know, it's not easy.
Jen:
Yeah, I'm one of those people that signs up for shit and doesn't do it unless I've got to turn up for it, which is one of the reasons I've resisted putting safe return to exercise fully online.
Mags:
Hmm?
Jen:
But there is a there are a few calls out for that. So maybe we'll do that. Well done for committing to that. It's massive. Yeah.
Mags:
I've been pretty good, I'm on time with everything, so I just need to find time to revise now for the exams.
Jen:
Yeah, I think that being on time for everything and if you can make that you're non-negotiable to
Mags:
Mmm,
Jen:
not be late
Mags:
yeah.
Jen:
then you've got to keep ticking over right?
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
Yep, nice.
Mags:
And even if I just watch the webinar and do the quizzes, because we have after each lecture, there's a quiz,
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
if I can just do that, I'm like, at least it's done, I can revise later. But yeah. So
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
yeah.
Jen:
good work. Nice work. Um, so tell me or tell us who you are. Like tell us tell us your story. So tell me how you got to where you are today. Like, or how what got you into working with moms? That's probably a better one, because the other one could take us like three hours.
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
And I've got lots of questions around that. But what got you first into the fitness industry and then into working with moms?
Mags:
How long we've got? It is a long story. Yeah, I tried it. I tried to make it short So I've been in fitness industry for a very long time. I got into fitness when I was in uni teaching You know exercise to music classes
Jen:
So that was only like five years ago, right? Yep. I'm going to go to bed.
Mags:
Yeah, yeah. When I did my exercise to music course, I think it was two, no, that wasn't 2003. Or even not
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
2000, oh, 20 years, there you go, 23 years.
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
And I got into fitness industry because, well, I hated my body and I wanted to become smaller.
Jen:
Uh huh, okay.
Mags:
And when I started doing exercise classes, I actually did enjoy it. I was a little bit obsessed. and my brother told me why you won't just do you know iobi cross and that's how I started I did my exercise to music and I started teaching classes then I moved to England when I also worked as a fitness instructor I actually run fitness studios in LA fitness
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and then we moved to Australia when I wanted to become a personal trainer because like for my husband is a chef like in England people go to the gym very late so it's like it's a great idea, not in Australia because in Australia people like to wake up at 5 a.m and go to the gym so
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
we worked totally opposite hours so I did my course but I didn't last as a trainer for long and I just went back to teaching classes
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and then when I had my son, my first child, so I had my son in 2013 and Got into fitness. I got very fitter very quickly got into fitness very quickly got my pre-baby body back very quickly
Jen:
I'm gonna go to bed.
Mags:
and Always always going very well. I was like wall. This is this is when I show other moms I want to show them that you know, it's not that hard And I did actually do it I didn't, for instance, train five times a week. So I did it sensibly and I kind of focused on resistance training, but.
Mags:
Yeah, okay. So in 2013, I had my son my first bump. And I got into, you know, I got my pre baby body back quite quickly.
Jen:
Hm.
Mags:
And there were stuff which I did quite sensibly actually, I my nutrition, I didn't restrict myself was actually first time when I thought all this is time when I can kind of restart like kick off like a do like a kickstart. So I'm not restricting myself too much. And I train like three four times a week and I focus more on resistance training and I got my pre-baby body back Very very quickly. I was like, this is what I want to do work with moms show them, you know, you can try smart and not harder But I was like, but there's something I'm like, but how am I different from any other trainer? How am I different from any other trainer? One and a half years later. I Found out how different I am from others trainers So when I was 18 months post birth, I found out that I've got prolapse, perfect prolapse dysfunction.
Jen:
Okay.
Mags:
And did not, even though I, when I was pregnant with Liam or maybe just after birth, I did short pre-emphasis natal course online,
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
which mentioned nothing about prolapse, nothing about women's health.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
And when I actually, when I found out about my prolapse, I went to the to the manual because I wanted to see if they mentioned anything and I just missed it back then. There was a mention at the last page that when you were working with new moms, you have to be careful because they suffer from incontinence and prolapse. That's it.
Jen:
So that
Mags:
No...
Jen:
was, so you did a course specifically in postnatal
Mags:
tree and postnatal.
Jen:
and then that was the only line in the course about
Mags:
on the last
Jen:
pelvic
Mags:
page.
Jen:
floor and prolapse.
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
We won't name that course.
Mags:
No.
Jen:
But also how cool that there was a course. Yeah, let's just say awesome that there was a course and we've obviously developed since 2013, which is
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
amazing.
Mags:
yeah. So the cost
Jen:
Tell
Mags:
focus,
Jen:
us.
Mags:
yeah.
Jen:
Just, just, let's just look back just because in case anyone's listening and doesn't know what a prolapse is, Mags, do you want to tell us what a prolapse is? And then we can go back into your story.
Mags:
So, perfect organ prolapse is when basically your pelvic floor muscles are not strong enough to hold your pelvic floor organs. So, your bowel, your bladder and your uterus. Yeah,
Jen:
You
Mags:
I was
Jen:
try,
Mags:
like,
Jen:
you try, yeah.
Mags:
oh, what's the
Jen:
Brain
Mags:
last
Jen:
blank.
Mags:
one?
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
Yeah, so then your pelvic floor organs might not be strong enough, they're going to stretch and there are different degrees of prolapse.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
And they might be mild prolapse, which you might not even have symptoms and most women actually probably have one degree prolapse stress per breath, but because they, the pelvic floor organs are strong enough they can just go back to their normal position when they rest. However,
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
if you do stuff you shouldn't be doing, your pelvic floor muscles are not strong enough, they're not going to be strong enough to hold the pelvic floor organs and the can come out of your vagina if it's really, really bad.
Jen:
Okay, so you found out that you had a prolapse
Mags:
Yes,
Jen:
at 18 months postpartum.
Mags:
18 months postpartum. And then when I've researched more and actually find out what symptoms of prolapse are,
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
I realised that I had symptoms of prolapse very early post-birth, but
Jen:
Oh
Mags:
no
Jen:
wow.
Mags:
one asked me any questions.
Jen:
What were those symptoms, Mags?
Mags:
Heavyness, heaviness.
Jen:
Okay, and what does that feel like? Because everyone talks about heaviness, but can you explain it any more than that? Or is it just a weird thing that you can't explain?
Mags:
If you're feeling heavy and as you know, it's just like a weird feeling. So for instance, I would go for a walk very early with, when I had my son, it was nice and sunny in September
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and I wanted to go for a walk. So the walk for instance, we live in Lane Cove, walk to the Lane Cove village was 10 minutes and then 10 minutes back. By the time I would go to actually Lane Cove village, I would kind of feel really, really tired in my perfect form, the perv is everything would just felt tired. And I've I just thought, you know, it's normal, I'm recovering from that. So that's just normal. And I had to go back and just, just rest. Uh, but if someone actually asked me, even my midwife, or, you know, when I went to GP to have a check, if someone asked me, no, how your pelvic floor feels, how, you know, is, is there any heaviness? Then I would be like, Oh, maybe. But no one asked that question.
Jen:
Okay, so you in hindsight knew that you had the symptoms early postpartum, but you didn't find out, how did you find out at 18 months postpartum that you even had a prolapse?
Mags:
I did a cardio class, 45 minutes of jumping and I ended up with the wet crotch. Now when that
Jen:
Okay.
Mags:
first happened, I actually took a photo of that. I was like, look how much I sweat, how good was that class? So much
Jen:
Oh gosh.
Mags:
sweat. But then in the back of my head I actually knew this is not sweat
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and that's when I realised, look I'm a trainer, I can't, this is what I love. I love exercise. This is not normal. Wetting myself after jumping, it's not normal. I even didn't know where to go. So I went to Dr. Google. Where do
Jen:
I'm
Mags:
you
Jen:
sorry.
Mags:
go? And that's when I learned about women's health physio.
Jen:
Okay, so you've leaked what yourself whatever it is
Mags:
Yep.
Jen:
when you're doing this and had you been doing high intensity classes that whole 18 months? What did your training look like until that point?
Mags:
So not to that extreme.
Jen:
Okay.
Mags:
I did probably leak before, but it wasn't that much. It would be, you know, you leak after you had a baby. It's normal, isn't it? So my training focused more on a strength training. Yes, I did a little bit of high intensity, like for instance, two weeks before birth, I was in my park doing, you know, shuttle runs because body weight exercises weren't enough. So there were... There was high intensity element, but it wasn't like 45 minutes of jumping, for instance, like that class
Jen:
Okay,
Mags:
was.
Jen:
and were you a runner? Did you run during that period?
Mags:
Uh, no, I wasn't. I'm not a runner. They
Jen:
Okay,
Mags:
didn't run
Jen:
so
Mags:
that
Jen:
this
Mags:
much.
Jen:
is just, this is really interesting to me because I mean, I know there's a lot of people out there that think that if you're just doing squats and strength training in the gym, you're not jumping, then you should
Mags:
Hmm.
Jen:
be okay.
Mags:
No.
Jen:
But clearly, clearly you weren't. Okay, carry on. So 18 months, now you found a physio, you discover you've got a prolapse, then what?
Mags:
So yeah, so even when I went to my selfies, yeah, I thought she's just going to say, you know, you've got, you've had a baby, it's normal. She's going to give me very slow exercises and that's it. And when she asked me, she first, she told me I've got, she suspects prolapse even before she did an internal checkup. And I'm like,
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
uh, and she's like, have you heard about it? I was like, um, kind of.
Jen:
Not really.
Mags:
not much, but you kind of.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
So yeah, and from then, I was just like, this is not right. I train with a trainer in a gym who never asked me any questions.
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
And that's when I thought, well, this is the missing link. Well, why I'm different than any other trainers, and I want to actually go out there and help educate other moms and help them avoid my mistakes. And I had an awesome physio.
Jen:
Just pause.
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
So we, I lost you at, this is the missing link.
Mags:
Okay, yeah. So then when I found out about prolapse, I thought, well, I wanted to work with moms and this is the missing link. This is why I'm different than other trainers because, you know, I've got prolapse and I wanted to educate other moms and help them to avoid the issues I had and the mistakes I've made. And I had amazing women's health physio, Hiba Shaheed. Some people can find mine or her as the pelvic expert.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and she recommended me. She was very supportive. She was really excited.
Jen:
What was she excited about?
Mags:
She was excited that I want to work with women and she
Jen:
Ah,
Mags:
knew that there
Jen:
awesome.
Mags:
are the trainers. So the first visit, obviously, I just find out I've got problems. In the second visit, I start asking questions. I told her what I've got in my head and that this is something I want to learn about more and I want to help other women to educate themselves. So she was really supportive, she recommended courses to do, so she recommended me to do a Jenny Barrow course
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
and that was the first course I did. And yeah, I was every physio visit, I was so excited to be able to ask questions.
Jen:
I love that, I don't love that you had a prolapse, have a prolapse. I love that you have turned it around into something amazing in working with moms and supporting them.
Mags:
Yeah, no, I think it's a blessing in disguise because I'm also very lucky because I know there are women who have, you know, majority prolapses that I have, who have symptoms all the time and that's
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
when you cannot stop thinking about it. And I'm very lucky in regard that I've got still stage two prolapse, but I'm able to deadlift more than my body weight. I'm able to chin ups. After I had my son, after I was... doing kickboxing classes. So I'm really lucky that I can do stuff I can do. But I think the prolapse in my case, it is a little bit of a blessing. Because
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
if I, for instance, after I had Liam, if I just decided I wanted to work with moms and help them to get their pre-body baby back without actually having prolapse and have that knowledge I have right now, that would look a bit differently.
Jen:
you're
Mags:
I would
Jen:
one of
Mags:
cause...
Jen:
those, you're one of those trainers that's like, I get my body back, therefore you can get your body back. You just do this, this and this. That's you without a prolapse,
Mags:
I was
Jen:
right?
Mags:
one of those trainers, yes.
Jen:
Oh, my goodness. Although I probably wasn't very far off it until I found Jo without the prolapse. Like I'm lucky that I did not have a postpartum prolapse. Um, okay, so if you, I just want to pause. If you were talking now, directly to a mum that had some symptoms of prolapse, what would you say to her?
Mags:
Go see women's health physio, first thing. Any mom post-birth should go see women's health physio. Any pregnant woman actually should go see women's health physio. If you see women's health physio in pregnancy and you know that you have any pelvic floor issues, you can have a tight pelvic floor, which is going to impact how you know how you give birth.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
If you know about any pelvic floor issues while you're pregnant, that can really save the issues for later. You can start working on your pelvic floor. You can start relaxing your pelvic floor. So definitely go and see women's health physio. Many moms feel ashamed because
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
they leak because they have, and they ashamed to talk about it, but it is normal part of motherhood. And more we talk about it, more normal it's going to be.
Jen:
Absolutely. Is it scary seeing a women's health physio? For you?
Mags:
Well, I love seeing my women's health easier.
Jen:
Yeah, I know. But like, I remember the first time I got an internal with Joe, which was kind of weird, because and I did it a little bit backwards. And I'll own this now. Like I was sending people to see a physio before I had an internal myself because I didn't have any pelvic floor.
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
I did, you know, that's and I reflect on me saying that now. It's like, Jen, you know, that you can have pelvic floor stuff without knowing that you have pelvic
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
floor stuff. So that's just a whole lot of bullshit. Anyway, I knew Joe quite well by the time that she had it, she was. you know, chatting to me with her fingers inside me, which is completely surreal situation. Like I've had dinner with this woman sitting over the table,
Mags:
Hahaha!
Jen:
drinking a glass of wine and now here we are. But I think it's important for, yeah, what was your experience before it was exciting? Can you remember that?
Mags:
Look, when I was a teenager, I had issues with my cycles. So I was seeing gynaecologists on a regular basis. So I was used to opening my legs in front of gynaecologists and being checked up. So I think I was quite used to it. But I know that there are some women that can have a trauma as well. And even if you had traumatic birth, actually doing it and allowing someone to put fingers into your vagina can be scary and no, but it's a doctor and you don't feel much. They just put the fingers in to make sure you can engage your pelvic floor to just feel what's happening inside.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
It's not painful and
Jen:
Yeah, and
Mags:
you can learn a lot.
Jen:
absolutely. And I think on that, you know, for anyone listening that wants to see a pelvic health physio, if you go into an appointment and you feel like you don't mesh with someone, it's okay to say no to that
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
internal examination and find somebody that you do feel more comfortable with. So
Mags:
Totally.
Jen:
I wanna empower women to know that they're in the right situation with the right person. And if they're not, it's like, you know what? Thanks for your time today. I'm just not feeling it today. I'm going
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
to go find someone that I am and be able to recognise the difference between slightly uncomfortable because you're apprehensive about something that you've never done before versus I've had trauma. Maybe this person's not experienced in trauma. I need to find somebody else. And that is absolutely OK.
Mags:
Yeah, and also where you can do first visit you can do also the ultrasound first and then see what's happening You know how the ultrasound work out and then the second visit you might do internal It doesn't have to be on a first
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
visit first visit can be just like
Jen:
that's...
Mags:
meeting your physio and then doing Ultrasound first and then second visit you might be like, okay. I'm you know Warmed
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
up
Jen:
you're
Mags:
more.
Jen:
ready.
Mags:
I know how more I know. Yeah, I'm ready more
Jen:
I really like that, Mags. Like this is what a tangible tool someone can take away and go, you know what, I'm
Mags:
Hmm.
Jen:
not ready for an internal examination yet. Let's do real-time ultrasound. And then if I feel comfortable with you, I'm very happy to move to the next stage. But it's like a relationship. Well, it is
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
a relationship, and it's a very intimate relationship at the end of the day, even though it is a health professional. Okay, so.
Mags:
And a good physio actually is going to know that. So
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
they might even say, you know, today we can just do ultrasound if you don't feel comfortable.
Jen:
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Tell me then how you got from that to I don't know what you say you did a course with Jenny Burrell, you're working with Heba. Then what when did you launch your bit like what came next? Because I know when we met you were still working in a job like, yeah, to give us the next bit of the timeline.
Mags:
So what I wanted to create, I wanted to create like a gap. I want to really to educate women about pelvic floor and what issues they can have about, you know, diastasis and stuff like that and prolapse. So what I created was six week client pelvic floor restore program.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
And I was working full time. So I was working four days a week. I dropped one day. So I was working three days a week. And one day a week, that was my day where I create the program and I run that program. But the program was for six weeks and it was just, you know, educating it was, I couldn't run it again with the same women. It was just the education piece. Yes, there was exercise as well, but it was like after that move on. So, you know, you can't really make much money off that. Can you?
Jen:
That's a nice entry level product or lead gen for
Mags:
Yes.
Jen:
something else. Yeah.
Mags:
So when I created it and started running programs and moms loved it, I was like, well, I can't really make much money, so
Jen:
Mmm.
Mags:
I need something more. So then I thought, well, moms and bubs classes in the park. And I remember there was an ad popped out on a Facebook page that you are looking for the trainers.
Jen:
Ah,
Mags:
I was like,
Jen:
I was
Mags:
there
Jen:
trying
Mags:
you
Jen:
to
Mags:
go.
Jen:
nail this down as to how, yeah, okay, cool.
Mags:
Yes, I saw Facebook ad and then yes, I contacted you.
Jen:
Mm-hmm, but he lived like so was I looking for like trainers on the North Shore at that time? Or was I looking for Centennial Park trainers?
Mags:
No, so it was general for trainers who wants to work with moms. So
Jen:
Okay.
Mags:
I think in head you already had you know about the franchise and you wanted to because you had someone in Willoughby you had someone in Willoughby running classes for you already.
Jen:
Right. Okay, cool. And then what?
Mags:
And then so we went up, we had a chat and
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
I loved everything what you do, but I didn't want to have franchise, I wanted to have my own baby.
Jen:
Yeah, you know what? It's all coming back to me now. So I remember I had the license, the license handbook and we met a few times
Mags:
Yep.
Jen:
and I was talking to you about how it would work and all those things. And we got to that last conversation. And I remember, I'm pretty sure these were the words were Jen, like I love what you do and I want to know what you know, but I want to grow my own thing. And I was like, huh, okay, that's interesting. And it was funny because I was also going through that period of that time with contractors. So there was a part of me that wanted to do this whole licensing, whether it was going to turn into a franchise thing or not. But I was also getting the shits with contractors. And I was a little bit unsure that would licensees, not you of course, would licensees be... annoying as well like
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
managing other people it's your thing and I say that with love and you were the kind of person that I wanted to work with like you're driven to build your own thing so that really got me thinking around how can I still work with you this person and more like you that are driven to create their own thing but not in the form of a license or franchise. Yeah you were the start of this whole thing Max your fault.
Mags:
Good.
Jen:
So then what? We started mentoring, right?
Mags:
Yeah, so then we had a gap because you had a trainer in Willoughby. I started doing stuff in Langhoff, which was going very slow and your trainer in Willoughby left and then you contacted me saying with the offer like, okay, you want to do mentoring
Jen:
I gave them all
Mags:
and
Jen:
to
Mags:
take
Jen:
you,
Mags:
Willoughby,
Jen:
didn't I?
Mags:
yeah,
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
and take
Jen:
remember
Mags:
over
Jen:
that
Mags:
the
Jen:
now.
Mags:
Willoughby position,
Jen:
Yep,
Mags:
the Willoughby
Jen:
but
Mags:
location.
Jen:
give it to you as your brand,
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
right?
Mags:
yeah.
Jen:
Yep, yep.
Mags:
Because you've got the leads, I've got already some mums who go to the sessions, do you want to take over that location? And then we do mentoring together. I say, yes,
Jen:
Awesome.
Mags:
that works
Jen:
So
Mags:
for me.
Jen:
it works for you. It's my thing. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about the mentoring. Was it fun? Like, what did you get from it? Not was it fun? Who cares if it was fun? But yeah.
Mags:
No, it was fun. No, I really enjoyed mentoring. And look, having someone who already done that before and giving you advice when you can, like I had no systems in my business. I had no systems. I knew how to run classes. I never run business before, but I had no systems. So yeah, having you actually, you know, drill the systems, all the excess spreadsheets and stuff, that was, yeah, that was very helpful and it was fun.
Jen:
It was fun, I think, which
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
I'm glad it was fun for you as well.
Mags:
I was a little bit scared at the beginning.
Jen:
Yeah, so what would you say to a new PT who's starting a business now, like that wants to either run a business in a park or in a gym or what would your top three tips be to a new trainer? Let's say
Mags:
Uh
Jen:
they want to specialise in working with moms because that's who we're talking to on this podcast.
Mags:
Yeah, so definitely get someone, find someone who already done it before you. If it's,
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
you know, especially if it's special, I think, yes, someone who just knows how to run in business is great, but I think moms are, you know, different niche as well, and how to talk to moms, it's much better if you actually get someone who worked with moms before.
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
Find
Jen:
cool.
Mags:
a good
Jen:
That's
Mags:
location.
Jen:
number one.
Mags:
find a good location, because not every location, and it's funny because Lane Cove, for instance, is very family orientated. There's heaps of gyms and heaps of pilates studio and everything in Lane Cove. I was struggling to get moms into the park, but maybe that's why, because they prefer to go to, you know, to the gym or to studio.
Jen:
Mmm.
Mags:
Whereas when I moved to Willoughby, and yes, some of the moms were with you before, but. I had even some of the moms from Langham traveling to Willoughby, but most of my clients were from Willoughby, were different, even though, yeah, it's not even, is it how many, not even five kilometers away, I think. And it's
Jen:
But when
Mags:
such
Jen:
you look
Mags:
a difference.
Jen:
back at that, yeah, can you pick out, like I had two, another two locations that I can clearly see, like I didn't spend a lot, in fact, I don't even think I ever went to that Willoughby location, but I did run my sessions in Centennial Park, and then we had Birch Grove, and there was a very clear difference in Centennial Park, was high traffic, lots of young, like lots of mums, very visible location, people would go to Centennial Park. from like, they drive half an hour, 45 minutes, because you can go to the parking, you spend the whole day
Mags:
Hmm.
Jen:
there. And then Birch Grove was a beautiful location by the water, but you don't go to Birch Grove unless you need to go to Birch Grove. Like, so for me, it was very clear as to why one location worked better than the other. Do you have that insight around LancĂ´me and Willoughby, or are you just like, I've
Mags:
No,
Jen:
got
Mags:
not
Jen:
no
Mags:
necessarily.
Jen:
fucking idea why this didn't work?
Mags:
Honestly, no, because for instance, yes, I was in the park where there was a playground, but not every of my
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
clients actually came from the playground. Not that many, to be fair, actually came from the playground. There was another group of moms training as well at the same time, twice a week when we were training. So there were two groups of moms. I know that down the road they had also, I'm showing with hands, you know, down the road.
Jen:
Got it.
Mags:
they had boot camps at the netball court. So there was I wasn't the only one who was actually running boot camp from the boot camp
Jen:
And this was Willoughby?
Mags:
group session. Yeah, that was really be
Jen:
Yeah, right.
Mags:
from the same location. I wasn't the only one. And I know other trainers who try to also kick off sessions and lane curve, and it did not work out. But the thing is, if that location doesn't work out, doesn't mean the other location won't work out. So
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
it's not necessarily don't give up. If something is going slow, don't just give up. Maybe change the location. And that location might be very, very close in maybe next suburb, like was with me, was just next
Jen:
This
Mags:
suburb
Jen:
is
Mags:
pretty
Jen:
really
Mags:
much.
Jen:
good insight because so many people get frustrated with like, why is
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
my business not working? What's not, what's not right? I got a message from a trainer about 10 minutes before we jumped on actually, but there's two things I took away from that. One is don't be afraid to change something if it's not working. And two, if you're now saying to saying to us that training in Willoughby, there's like another Mums and Bubs session there and a boot camp and a lot of people go, oh I don't want to be where other people are and it's like it's that's a perfect example of there's enough for everyone to go around.
Mags:
Yeah, yeah exactly totally. And a third tip if you want to work with mums you need to build a relationship with women's health easier.
Jen:
Yeah, all over that shit. Yeah, exactly. Definitely. On that mags. Oh, no, I was gonna say how did you introduce get introduced to Heba but I know very much have you worked with you've worked with other physios since then they haven't you?
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
How did you approach them? Because I know this is something trainers often get stuck on like how do I approach a physio? What would you say?
Mags:
So Hiba was in the city and I was in Willoughby. How did you, did I start working with Vanya? I don't know, I think you gave me maybe Vanya's details.
Jen:
I did meet with Vanya as well, so maybe
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
I did.
Mags:
yeah, so you gave
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
me Vanya's details.
Jen:
Okay.
Mags:
But since then,
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
I
Jen:
cool.
Mags:
work with other with other women's health physios as well. So some of them, for instance, it was my clients who actually went to see them. And I was like, who did you see? And then I emailed them on my client seeing you asking questions. And you know, can I refer other people to you? I like to meet with the women's health physio as well. Because it's the same as you
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
know, not every trainer is the same. Not every woman's And if I've got women
Jen:
Absolutely.
Mags:
who have physio, which I know that they only prescribe Kegels and even tell trained women to stop doing certain things, I won't recommend that women have physio to someone else. So
Jen:
I'm
Mags:
yes.
Jen:
like... Yeah, no, it's good. And these are all the conversations that I wanna have on this podcast. You know what, sometimes we might upset people, but it's like
Mags:
Mm.
Jen:
if there's a physio, you know, the majority, I think the majority of pelvic health physios now, especially the newer ones, I was gonna say younger, but I shouldn't say that either. Like the newer physios coming through are very, very pro exercise. But if you've got, if a trainer is out there or if a mom is being told by a physio that... No, don't exercise, don't move. It's like, that's the complete opposite of what the message that we wanna get out there.
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
So, you know, go to the MumSafe website, put your location in, see if you can find a physio. If you can't, send us a message, reach out to Mags, do whatever you need to do to find that person that will support you on your movement journey. Because a prolapse is not the end of the road, and nor is anything else. We just gotta figure out how to work with you and how to, you know, help you to create the outcome that you wanna create in the most effective way for you.
Mags:
And don't afraid to ask for second opinion. You can go to two different women's health
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
physios. If you don't like the first opinion, go see someone else. Someone else might have different experience, different qualification, no different stuff. So, you know, it's okay to ask for second opinion as well. You're not cheating on your physio.
Jen:
Yep, absolutely. Definitely. So you were running mums and bums group exercise in Willoughby for how
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
long?
Mags:
Oh, so I started, so probably started in 2015 and then COVID happened. So five years. Wow. Over five years.
Jen:
Cool, okay, so mum's and bub's in the park, COVID happened, what did you do when COVID hit?
Mags:
We moved online thanks to you
Jen:
Mm-hmm. Ha ha.
Mags:
Thanks to being the mom safe a fiat group So we moved all online at the start. I loved it
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
And I think the first time I've actually the first lockdown in minded I actually did like it It was easy was easy for moms as well And then we went back to park after the first lockdowns because I had nannies looking after the babies
Jen:
Yeah. Yep.
Mags:
many moms were scared to bring babies and or if the baby has sniffle they couldn't bring it so they left it with partners there was lots of partners working from home as well so they would just leave the baby with the partner when they come to the park and I still had two nannies and I had to pay for them and it just wasn't working out that great so
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
after the first lockdown um the second the second lockdown I didn't enjoy online classes that much anymore and I told them after the second lockdown that I won't be having nannies because I don't want to have the same issues after I had a first lockdown and then many moms they're like oh I'll come on Saturdays and then no one wanted to train during the week because all they had nannies before they didn't want to have that taken away and then I was like look I think it's time to get out of the park because that's not what I wanted to do really I want to always
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
have my own studio and you know my own business like in an indoor And I got out of the park and I work in a gym now.
Jen:
So that's brave, right? So you
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
went from, you know, and I know a lot of businesses changed during COVID, but you could have gone back to the park. You could have had the same model. You could have moved through all of those things. And I have no doubt that if you decided to do that, you would have been incredibly successful doing it, but there was something in you that wasn't feeling fulfilled by the way that you were doing that anymore. And I actually remember some backwards and forwards of messages. And it's like, you know, what am I going to do? Or not, not you saying what am I going to do? But it's like, what is the next step? Like I don't.
Mags:
Hmm.
Jen:
Yeah. So then you told all your mums that you weren't going to do that anymore. How is that?
Mags:
Oh, look, they were disappointed, but they also kind of understood. I mean, they understood the 90s situation.
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
So that was the
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
main reason. If they said, yeah, we're going to go back without the 90s, I probably would go back. But because they said they wanted 90s, I was like, well, I don't want to deal with 90s anymore because everyone's canceling. The
Jen:
Todd.
Mags:
Nannies are expensive, especially when you want a good nannies. And I wanted to have good nannies, the nanniess I can count on. And if... I can count on them, they need to be able to count on me. So I can't just cancel them last minute because I don't have enough arms. So it was just basically, yeah.
Jen:
Yeah, I think this is a good time to kind of throw in for those trainers that are listening around costs and expenses and stuff like that in your business. So we also had nannies in Centennial Park when I was running Body Beyond Baby and you have to be watching your finances and you have to make sure that you know the money coming in and you know the money coming out. And those nannies have to be paid. on the books, not in cash because they are the biggest or one of the biggest, probably the biggest actually, if you're a trainer working outside with no overheads, the nannies, the childcare is the biggest expense you will have in your business. So, and also obviously your insurance goes up when you've got a contractor working for you. So you need to make sure that you're paying the right level insurance. You're paying your nannies on the books. They're sending you an invoice and you can afford them because otherwise you end up in a dumbass situation like me where you're paying everyone else and you have no money left at the end of the year which feels a bit shit but okay so we've moved out of the park we're not with the nannies anymore what are we doing?
Mags:
So first I created online course 12 big online course I start
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
doing their online training, which I really enjoyed But there's lots of you know online if everyone thinks online is so easy not that easy because there's more competition and you know You don't have this conversation like in the park You can have conversation with women and people even though it was logged down. Not everyone is used to training online
Jen:
Hmm.
Mags:
So I decided to work at the gym, which is next door to my son's school. So very convenient, which got crash. So there are lots of months as well, but it also opens me to different ages. And that's what I also love working with older women and really women at any age and trying to help them to get strong and fit and capable and confident. So yeah, that's open possibilities to working with more diverse women, not just new moms.
Jen:
Which is interesting, right? Cause we say niche down, niche down, niche down. And you were like, no, what I do? Like, I want to widen. But do you think that you have a niche within that? Like there's a certain type of woman, no matter what her age is your type of woman. Do you want
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
to share
Mags:
and
Jen:
with us more about that?
Mags:
I mean
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
most of my clients are moms anyway, so I specialise in training mums I still say specialise in training moms Um, I don't I don't even know if at the moment I have someone who is not a mom No,
Jen:
Well, that
Mags:
I
Jen:
says it all, right? Yeah.
Mags:
Yeah, they're still mums. It's just one you post nail. You're always posting a health many women You know, especially if they have kids 20 years ago, they might not know they have a perfect floor issues Till they start working with you They might not know how to engage the core. I've had clients who've been doing pilates classes for I don't know how long. I had no idea how to engage the core. So.
Jen:
Let's talk about that for a second. Let's piss off the Pilates people for a minute. What's with that?
Mags:
Yeah, so Ampulad is qualified as well,
Jen:
So am
Mags:
by
Jen:
I.
Mags:
the way.
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
Yeah, exactly.
Jen:
yeah. And I love Pilates people. That was a very big, I
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
love Pilates done well. I love yoga done well. I love CrossFit done well. But tell me about the Pilates not done super well.
Mags:
So what really annoys me when I, for instance, when you go on Facebook pages, mom Facebook pages, and someone's asking, you know, I had a baby, what do I do? And everyone says, go into Pilates class. Not everyone who, not every Pilates instructor is going to know how to work with moms, this first thing. I even, I had qualifications how to work with moms. I went Pilates classes and if I had just one mom there, new mom, I had to change every, like most of the core exercises for her. Because when you've got a Pilates class, nothing stays basics. It's very generic and you've got people who want to work harder, who want to work, you know, less hard, who know that it's advanced. But for a new mom... who doesn't know how to engage her pelvic floor, who doesn't know how to engage their core muscles, they need to learn from, they need to start from basics. And if they are on the floor for 30 minutes, first 30 minutes of the class doing core, they
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
just going to be very, very bored. So no, Pilates is not for everyone, not for new moms, unless it's a postnatal Pilates, unless instructors know how to train new moms, then yes. But going just to the generic class, Pilates class, because I had a baby, is not a great idea. And if you do not know how to actually engage your baby, so you're going to make more harm than good.
Jen:
Yeah, and I guess if we dive a little bit deeper into that, like if you think about what happens when people brace their abdominal wall like external, so they're doing external oblique rectus, maybe internal oblique, and they're, you know, they've spent their whole life sucking in. So they're now bracing their core. If you have a weak pelvic floor, that intra-abdomal pressure is going down through your pelvic floor. And that's what Mags is talking about when she's saying, if you don't know how to activate your pelvic floor, that's what's happening. Or maybe their abdominals doming, if they've got abdominal separation
Mags:
Hmm.
Jen:
or, you know, all of these things. And I think what you said there was really good. Like if you know, if you have someone who knows how to adapt, who knows how to teach, it's a great environment for a new mom, but it's not, no environment is good for a new mom or any mom that's never been taught that stuff.
Mags:
And even for me as a positive trainer, when I had a new mum, I had like with a first, when the mom came to my class first time, I was hands on her tummy. So then
Jen:
Mmm
Mags:
when I had someone coming to my Pilates class, when everyone else was doing other exercises, I was trying to have my hands on her tummy as well to make sure, you know, she's doing the right thing. And it's so much harder when you've got people on another level.
Jen:
Yeah, yes.
Mags:
And it's not fair to her, it's not fair to them either.
Jen:
Yeah, there needs to be a level of education before they get into the room, right? So I think I pride ourselves as, you know, a lot of our Mumsafe trainers, especially the really experienced ones, or what we try and do is offer as individualised as session as possible inside of a group environment. It's it's our superpower, right?
Mags:
Mm.
Jen:
But if you don't know how to do that, it is very hard. And if your clients have not been given the basics on how to do a pelvic floor activation, TA, do they have abdominal separation? do they have pelvic floor symptoms? Are they aware of what we're looking out for? Then it's very hard to offer those adaptions inside a group training environment, which again is where a pelvic health physio comes in, right? Make sure, at minimum, if you're listening to this and you run classes for big numbers of moms and you don't know who they've seen and what's going on, get anyone that's a mom, if your message to that class is, hey, I think it'd be a really great idea if you saw a pelvic health physio. That's like taking responsibility for the people in your room, in the room.
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
definitely, yes.
Jen:
Okay. So you're running your online program, working with moms of lots of different ages and stages inside the gym. Um, if you could wave your magic wand, mags, and change anything about the fitness industry and how we do things, what would it be or an in specifically in the space of moms?
Mags:
more education and making sure every trainer is trained how to educate how to train mums because we are not special population we are not even though we are being called special populations we're actually not
Jen:
Well,
Mags:
anymore
Jen:
we're not because we're a mass number of
Mags:
yes
Jen:
people.
Mags:
exactly
Jen:
We are
Mags:
yeah
Jen:
a special population in the definition of special population in that
Mags:
Yes.
Jen:
we need special. We need, well, actually I'm questioning myself now because we could say men are a special population because they're not the whole population, but we all train women like men. So, now I'm questioning myself in that maybe if we're calling mums a special population because we are 42.7% of the amount of people that walk through the doors of the gym, that means that men are actually. less of a population than there are women going into the gym. So really, men should be the special population and everything should be tailored around a woman's body. Like,
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
fuck,
Mags:
that's
Jen:
that seems
Mags:
a good
Jen:
so
Mags:
point.
Jen:
simple. Ha ha.
Mags:
Yeah. So true. Definitely,
Jen:
All right,
Mags:
yeah.
Jen:
we got to reframe this in the marketplace. Hey, Mags, what I did want to just go back to if it's okay with you is you talked right at the beginning about get your pre-baby body back.
Mags:
Aw yeah.
Jen:
Now, tell me where you sit on that now.
Mags:
You can't get your pre-baby body back. Your body has changed. That doesn't mean it's worse. That doesn't mean it's better, but it's changed. And the changes are you can't take those changes back. And you have to work with what you had. You just had to get used to your new body and it's going to work. Especially if you've got pelvic floor issues, if you've got abdominal separation, it's going to be working differently. I'm not talking about stretch marks. I'm not talking about body fat, but the internal changes. So it's not about getting pre-body body back. Yes, you wanna be strong, you wanna be confident, you wanna be capable. Running after kids, it's not easy. You wanna make sure you've got muscle mass for when you get older. You wanna be able to be capable to run after your grandkids. It's not about getting your pre-baby body back anymore. You can't get it back.
Jen:
Well, I mean, you look pretty good on a daily basis, I have to say. So, and I say that from an aesthetic perspective, like whenever we catch up, I'm like, yeah, Mags looks good. But how do you get over the change in the way your body looks externally, even if you know that you can't change the internal stuff?
Mags:
So it's, so I think, so for me, my body image journey has been very, very long, because this is how I got into fitness industry,
Jen:
Hmm...
Mags:
you know, trying to be smaller,
Jen:
yeah.
Mags:
trying to be smaller, at the moment trying to get bigger. And I struggled with that.
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
But when I, another blessing in disguise with my prolapse was that that's when I kind of was, oh, it doesn't matter how I look like. Because I looked, if you look at me, I had a six pack. I was the fittest I've ever been when I found out about my prolapse.
Jen:
Yep.
Mags:
So he would look at me, I was like, oh my God, she's sweet, she looks good. But yeah, my pelvic floor organs were trying, falling out of my vagina. So that was not healthy. My core wasn't strong, my pelvic floor wasn't strong. So that's when I kind of was like, hmm, it's not about how my body looks like, it's how functional I am, what I can do, what I'm capable of.
Jen:
Yeah, our industry's got a lot to answer for, doesn't it? Because
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
that, you know, that image of what fitness or the perfect body or the pre-baby body or whatever you wanna call it is, just messes with our heads so much as women.
Mags:
And there's so many women who would tell you that, you know, I don't care if I've got a prolapse, I want it to look certain way.
Jen:
Yeah, that's tough.
Mags:
And I even remember at the first when I found out about prolapse I was like I'm not changing anything I just I'm the fittest I'm the strongest like if I stop doing what I'm doing now I'm just going to put on weight on I'm just going to lose my body But then I was like shit do I want my pelvic floor organs to fall out? Mmm, that's not that good scenario. So I maybe I need to change the way I think
Jen:
It's such a dichotomy, isn't it? Because even though we say, we talk over and over again about the fact that we need to listen to our bodies and all of those things, we've got this constant bombardment of, especially women of our age. So I'm 42, I think you're similar, similar especially for women of our kind of age, and I think you're a similar age to me. So I'm 42. You're similar.
Mags:
Yep, yep.
Jen:
Yeah. And
Mags:
Same
Jen:
we
Mags:
age.
Jen:
grew up in that size zero culture. So we've got ingrained into our brain that smaller is better. And it's all we saw. Like I love now on social media where we are seeing different shapes. That's one. So social media is shit, right? From one perspective, but on another perspective, we only got fed to us what we saw in a magazine. Yeah,
Mags:
Magazine
Jen:
we only
Mags:
TV.
Jen:
got Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton in a magazine telling us how small it was better. And it wasn't until social media came along and fed us more about that, but then started to evolve into now seeing like different body shapes.
Mags:
Yes, definitely. I actually think that women older than us are even worse than us. I have to say when I started working with older women and I've got women who are 70 years old and they're like I don't want to put on weight and they're trying to lose weight and they totally they're very small and I'm like you losing muscle and at that age then one of the most important part is your muscle. and they don't want to eat
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
certain things because they think, I don't want to put weight on.
Jen:
I think you're right, I can think of two women, older
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
women in my life that fit that category definitely. Yeah,
Mags:
Yes, but that's
Jen:
now.
Mags:
what we've been fed. And like our generation, they are on social media. So they kind of seeing more of that. But when you are 70 and you're not seeing, you know, the body diversity, that's even harder.
Jen:
Yeah, interesting, interesting. With the food stuff, because I know that you're going down, like you're doing nutrition, and I again can say that I don't even know how to eat sometimes. And I eat pretty well, I eat too much sugar, I know that, but I'm almost in this head space now of, so I've... done the whole 49 kilos when I got married, no carbohydrates will ever enter my mouth, to now going, I don't obsess about food. I eat what I enjoy. I probably eat too much of what I enjoy sometimes, but I have this fear of if I stop eating the things I enjoy, then it becomes a problem again. So how do you sort that shit out? Like...
Mags:
Yeah, the mindset around nutrition and our body is the hardest it is the hardest part. And it is look being in a situation like you're actually enjoying a bit too much then not enjoying it at all. It's probably better but it is not healthy mind and being kind of scared or if I stop eating it then I'll go the other way. So
Jen:
Yeah.
Mags:
look it is that's the hardest.
Jen:
What would you say to me if I was your client? Because you do some of this stuff, right?
Mags:
Yeah, I do.
Jen:
Show us your nutrition bit now.
Mags:
If you were my client, look, I will first thing, I would make sure you're eating enough proteins and that's what we'll be focusing on. And if you feel guilty about eating certain stuff, why you feel guilty and taking notes and journal about it as well. And that might help you to go deeper into actually inside your head. And if you for instance want to eat certain thing. because you're afraid of eating it, is that the only reason? What if you want to eat it though, this time?
Jen:
No,
Mags:
What's going
Jen:
I don't
Mags:
to happen?
Jen:
have a problem with eating the things anymore. That's not my problem. My problem is if I start restricting myself,
Mags:
Hmm?
Jen:
will I go back to the other way?
Mags:
But why is it restricting or is it just stopping eating for
Jen:
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Mags:
half reason? Why do you think you restrict? It's the same one, for instance, so I teach a lot of about calories and proteins and non-necessary
Jen:
Mm.
Mags:
macros. And often people say, but if I count calories restrict, was like, but how do you, why are you restricting if I, for instance, asking you just to check how much you're eating? Because you might be eating too little and that is often what happened to women. I just want you to... for instance, track your calories so you know how much you eat. And then if you, for instance, doing all that activity and you're not eating enough, but you're trying to lose weight, for instance, you can't lose weight because you're not eating enough. So you inhibition cycle. But it just is that mindset, but if I track, I'm restricted. But why are you restricted?
Jen:
Yeah, it's just
Mags:
What
Jen:
a
Mags:
if
Jen:
fact,
Mags:
you actually
Jen:
right? It's
Mags:
need
Jen:
just...
Mags:
to increase eating?
Jen:
I love that. It's like, because it is like, and I struggle with this too, like with trainers and people saying, we're not going to weigh people, we're not going to track anything. And there's part of me that says that this is a really, really positive thing. And then there's another part of me that says, well, why is it bad? And I think you've just kind of relayed it back to me and going it's not bad. It's what you then it's information. It's what you then do with that information makes
Mags:
Yes.
Jen:
it good or bad. And
Mags:
Yeah.
Jen:
I'm not good and bad shit anyway, but ideal or not ideal. Yeah.
Mags:
And the same with people
Jen:
son.
Mags:
who, for instance, don't want to weigh themselves because they don't like the number. But why do you not like the number? What does it say? What if
Jen:
Hmm
Mags:
you start, for instance, weighing yourself every day and you actually see that number fluctuates every day? That number fluctuates when you get your period. That number fluctuates if you have a big weekend out. It's not about number, it's about how you feel about the number. It's about the feeling, it's not about the number itself.
Jen:
And it's just data, right? I was talking
Mags:
Yeah!
Jen:
to someone this morning about sleep. And it's like, I've got all these numbers on my phone now about my sleep data. I don't feel good or bad about them because society's never told me to feel good or bad about them. They're just a fucking number.
Mags:
Yes, exactly.
Jen:
this is a whole other podcast
Mags:
Mmm.
Jen:
episode. Thank you for going down that road with me. That was cool.
Mags:
Oh,
Jen:
And
Mags:
pleasure.
Jen:
I think there'll be a lot of women listening that can, moms especially, that can relate to a lot of what you just said.
Mags:
Mm.
Jen:
And that's made me start to think a little bit more. Just to start to wrap us up, Mags, like if there's a mom listening that... Yeah, that is looking for a trainer and doesn't know where to start or doesn't know the right questions to ask a trainer to find the right one for her. What would you say to her?
Mags:
And first thing, well, if you're not sure where to find a trainer, go to MAMSafe trainer website and look
Jen:
Oh
Mags:
for
Jen:
my
Mags:
a
Jen:
god,
Mags:
trainer.
Jen:
I did not mean that to be one in a...
Mags:
But if not, if
Jen:
But
Mags:
there
Jen:
well
Mags:
is no
Jen:
done,
Mags:
trainer,
Jen:
well played.
Mags:
but if there is no MAMSafe trainer in your area, the question to ask the trainer what qualifications they have.
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
Even if they're a mum, because there are trainers who think, you know, I'm a mum, I'm a mum, I've had two kids and I had no issues, so I can train you. If they if they are mom what qualifications they have are they working with women's health physio There there would be two main questions to ask and if no one if you've got it If you've seen a trainer who not asking you a question about your birth history, how did you give birth? Were there any issues? Have you got any pelvic floor issues if they not asking those questions? They're not the right trainer for my
Jen:
Yeah nice and then if you're talking to a trainer that wants to get, I guess, grow their business. And let's do a different direction because I don't want you to just say, mom, safe. That's not the whole point. That is running a business that is not fulfilling them right now. What would you say to that person?
Mags:
What do you want to do? What brings you passion? So for instance, when we went, when we went go back to, you know, I wanted to help moms to keep feel confident and strong, train smart and not harder. But even if I didn't know about prolapse, if I didn't have prolapse, I would be doing it very dangerous way. So I came back in cycle and I work now with women, not only new moms, but I'm helping women to feel confident and strong in their bodies. I went back to that my first what I wanted to do, just with more knowledge and more experience. And
Jen:
Yeah,
Mags:
now
Jen:
I love
Mags:
I know
Jen:
it.
Mags:
I can help women.
Jen:
Yeah, and don't be afraid to make a change if that's
Mags:
Don't
Jen:
what you
Mags:
afraid
Jen:
need to
Mags:
to
Jen:
do.
Mags:
make a change. Yeah, like for instance I remember when I first made a change and I saw in our mum safe group all the trainers discussing with you know mums in the park and they groups and I was like Did I make the wrong decision? Did I make the wrong decision? And then I was like, but that's not what I want to do
Jen:
Mm-hmm.
Mags:
That shiny that shiny thing on the other side. It looks shiny, but it's not what I want to do
Jen:
It's only shiny if it's your kind of shine. Ha
Mags:
Yeah,
Jen:
ha ha!
Mags:
exactly.
Jen:
Tell us Mags, if someone's been listening, they wanna find out, you know, what to work, they can work with you online, which is awesome. Tell us where they can find you.
Mags:
They can find me on Facebook and Instagram under Magdalena Holly or they can find me on my website www.magdalenaholly.com dot com dot com. I don't even know my email address
Jen:
and tell us just a little snapshot of the kind of offerings that you put out into the world.
Mags:
So
Jen:
So
Mags:
I
Jen:
how
Mags:
do
Jen:
can
Mags:
work,
Jen:
they work with you?
Mags:
I work with clients online. So I've got 12 week online coaching program where we cover exercise, both exercise and nutrition. And I work also face to face from gym and Lane Cove. So if you're local, you can work with me at the gym. And I also do very small amount of mobile training. So I actually go to see my clients in their homes,
Jen:
Amazing.
Mags:
but that's very limited. So if
Jen:
Fantastic.
Mags:
you're offering that.
Jen:
Cool. And she comes highly recommended. Mags, I want to say thank, take this opportunity to say thank you one for your time and energy today. We've gone all into all these different directions. I had a bunch of questions and then it's been like, oh, this is cool. And also because you have really shaped what MumSafe is today and had you not, there's a couple of key people. along my journey that have said, oh, but what about this? Or, you know, I've listened to them say something, Molly Gallbraith is one of them, and you came kind of before Molly in saying, I wanna know what you know and do what you do, but I wanna do my own thing. And I'm just so fucking excited that we're still in each other's orbit and we're still
Mags:
I know.
Jen:
working, you're still part of Mumsafe. Like, how cool is that? Like you were, it was Body Beyond Baby affiliate, and then you've watched the evolution, and yeah, massive thank you for being. part of the journey, for shaping the journey, and yeah, for all that amazing work that you do in the space of working with women and mums. I love it. I appreciate you.
Mags:
Thank you, it's been a pleasure and I'm really glad to be still here and be the part of the journey and be the first trainer.
Jen:
Yay, I'm gonna send you like a badge or something.
Mags:
Hahaha!
Jen:
All right, Mags
Mags:
Yes!
Jen:
have a beautiful rest of your afternoon and
Mags:
Thank you.
Jen:
take care.
Mags:
You too. Bye.
