Campaign to empower mums

LOCAL mums are being encouraged to step in front of the camera as part of a local empowerment campaign.

Called #DontHideMamma, the effort is run in Bendigo by Strathfieldsaye-based personal trainer Alycia Hatzi.

This year, Ms Hatzi connected with 10 mums for a photoshoot designed to help shed the idea of a “perfect” body.

She said many women miss out on opportunities to make memories with their children, choosing to be behind the camera rather than in front of it.

“When I first did this in my last campaign, I thought I’d have hundreds of women put their hands up and I got eight,” she said.

“It was really confronting and just to get those eight in front of the camera was very hard, but once they all did it and they stood together they felt really empowered and confident, and I saw the changes in them.

“It helps other women to realise everyone looks different and that’s normal and beautiful.”

Ms Hatzi said after the birth of her three-year-old son, changed her training focus to incorporate more post-natal care.

“Before I had my son, all of my sessions were very fast-paced, high intensity,” she said.

“Once I had my son and I didn’t know what to do for my own training I sought those further education courses and I learned there’s a whole lot more support that post-partem women need, so I started to incorporate that more into my training.”

Ms Hatzi runs her PT business StrongestUFitness from her home studio and at Snap Fitness’ Bendigo and Epsom locations. Through her personal training sessions she created the Strongest Mum program.

“It’s designed to help bridge the gap between pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy exercise. It’s about helping women to understand their body, how to use it,” she said.

As a certified MumSafe trainer, Ms Hatzi advocates for a safe return to exercise for new mums and helps them understand what changes have happened to their bodies in terms of pelvic floor health and abdominal separation.

She said while the exercise and training is great, the connection and support for mums is even better.

“It’s more about the referrals, the women’s health physio, the post-natal care, also about connecting mums to other mums,” she said.

“If we have strong healthy women, we’ve got strong healthy mums and healthier, happier children as well.”