"Brief background:

I had my third baby in July 2020. Following birth I ended up back in hospital critically unwell. Months later feelings of exhaustion, being physically weak and having a crazy busy life meant getting back into running felt unattainable. BUT I so badly wanted and needed this so I went to a physiotherapist and started with DediKate Postpartum Pilates. I built up to low impact and in January, (6 months postpartum) was ready to run. Finding running a real struggle the 6k challenge came at the perfect time.

The good bits:

• I achieved exercise 5-6 days a week for the 7 weeks, a routine I love and will continue
• Improved 6k time by 3 minutes
• Improved time for wall sit (+ 1 min) prone hold (+ 45 sec) and number of press up (+ 10 more). Fitter and stronger!!!
• I tried new sessions- yoga, calm, speed sessions and am loving the variety
• Getting regular exercise and prioritising some ‘me’ time feels fantastic

I want others to know it wasn’t all roses I had occurrences of getting into my exercise gear and then not exercising. One day I had to run at a slow pace and cut my run short because my three year old insisted on biking alongside me. Sometimes I would start a workout and not finish it because one or all my kids needed me and interruptions to workouts were common. These caused huge frustration. I put pressure on myself to not count these workouts and try better the next day. I learnt a lot, it wasn’t perfect but what I achieved was surprising and I feel great.

I am going to keep it up and try and make routines and habits even more solid. I return to part time work in July so this will be the next challenge. Life’s busy and I love that DediKate fits with me! All the best to others on their exercise journey x

Thank you so much Kate for reading and for your incredible DediKate programme.

Julia"