7 days ago
Prams in the Park Aberdeen: 'Buggy bootcamp has been the best thing I've done on maternity leave'
Being a new mum is wonderful but it can also be an incredibly overwhelming experience as Lynn Fogiel discovered.
But just as Lynn was struggling, she stumbled upon Rebel PT Prams in the Park, an Aberdeen-based outdoor buggy bootcamp class for new parents which changed her life.
'I struggled when I first had my daughter,' says Lynn, who is mum to Jessica, 11, and nine-year-old Harry.
'Prams in the Park was honestly my saving grace.
'I always say that it's what stopped me from being postnatally depressed.
'My husband even said to me, 'you changed when you joined Prams, you came back to your normal self and he was right.'
Lynn is just one of the many mums who told me that this inclusive bootcamp class, which runs at Hazlehead Park and Duthie Park, has been an absolute game-changer for both their mental and physical wellbeing.
Watching in awe as mums squat while pushing their babies in the pram or perform weighted sit ups lifting their toddlers in the air, I was lucky enough to spend the morning at one of their bootcamps at Hazlehead Park.
As mums with buggies gradually gather at the rugby pitches next to the park for the workout, I had a chat with Alice McAra, who runs the Rebel PT fitness brand with her brother Tom, to find out what it's all about.
'It's an outdoor fitness class where you can take your baby,' says Alice, who is mum to three-year-old Evie.
'My goal is for the mums to feel like they've had a workout.
'It doesn't matter if their little ones get upset or they have to feed the baby, they just do what they can in a workout.
'That's the thing with prams, everyone is in the same boat.
'Everyone has maybe had a lack of sleep but you just know you're in a safe space.'
Taking a break from lunging with a sandbag, Lucy Kane, a doctor from Aberdeen who attends the class with her nine-month-old son Patrick, says the bootcamp has been fantastic.
'I've been coming to prams since Patrick was six weeks old,' says Lucy, 32.
'This is the best thing I've done on maternity leave.
'Alice and Eilidh, who take the classes, are great as they tell you how to adapt exercises postpartum.
'It's also great as there's babies at different ages and stages so you can ask for advice.'
Primary school teacher Sarah Leslie, who is mum to five-year-old Hannah and one-year-old Erin, says that the buggy bootcamp is also a social outlet.
'When I had Hannah, I really struggled with anxiety as I hadn't done motherhood before and also I'm not from Aberdeen originally so I didn't know that many people up here,' she says.
'So prams in the park truly saved my mental health during that time.'
As well as the social benefits, Sarah, 32, also loves the fact that the bootcamp runs outdoors all year round.
'I know that every Wednesday, come rain, shine or snow that I'll go to the park and see all my friends,' says Sarah.
'The rainy sessions are some of the best ones.
'We've got full puddle suits for the girls and they just crawl about and have fun.'
For Lori Taylor, 34, a nurse from Aberdeen, Prams in the Park makes her feel empowered as a mum to her sons, Sonny, two, and Teddy, five.
'I've always wanted to be the strongest version of myself for the boys,' says Lori.
'So with Prams in the Park, I'm a positive example for them.
'It's about being able to say that daddy is super strong but so is mummy.'
As much as Lori loves the workout, she equally loves the coffee catch ups with the other mums afterwards.
'Even if you rock up 40 minutes late and you just come for the coffee, it's great as it's such a great group of folk,' says Lori.
Kirsty Wylie, 36, from Aberdeen, started the class with her baby boy Max in the depths of winter.
'You can start the class when your baby is six weeks old so Max was six weeks to the day when I started,' she laughs.
'This is the best thing I've done on maternity leave.
'I remember messaging when it was snowing saying 'I take it it's off' and they were like 'no the best sessions are the snow sessions'.
'I thought, these are my kind of women.'
So much more than just an exercise class for mums, Kirsty, who works for the children's charity Barnardo's, says Prams in the Park is like a community.
'I don't think Alice, who runs the classes, knows how amazing she is,' says Kirsty.
'She's created a class which is more than fitness, it's the most positive community of women who are going to be lifelong friends.
'And we're better mums because of it.'
Optometrist Laura Main, 33, who is mum to her baby daughter Lily, says the class has allowed her to do something for herself again.
'I started coming along when Lily was three months old just as a way to start doing something for myself again,' says Laura.
'I had been going to various different classes like baby sensory and music classes which were amazing for her but I felt I was always going to class as Lily's mum and never really doing something for myself.
'So I did a free taster class and I loved it.'
Taking a quick break from the workout, Suraya Ali-Cassie, 40, who has a four-year-old child, says the bootcamp has been amazing for her in so many ways.
'I moved from Trinidad and Tobago to Aberdeen so as someone from the outside, I was looking for that sense of community and it was amazing to find it here,' she says.
Finding a supportive community at the class also resonates with Karis Brookshaw-Thain, 38, who is mum to six-month-old Daphne.
'Socially it has been great,' says Karis.
'Since I've been coming, my back pain has eased, and it has reminded me that I can do things.'
Getting outside with her baby to exercise and meeting other mums has also had a positive impact on Caitlin Nolan.
'When my daughter Louisa was three to five months-old we were having loads of feeding issues and it was really hard to get out the house,' says Caitlin, 29, a primary school teacher from Aberdeen.
'When I saw there was a free trial, I came along and I have been hooked ever since.
'It's fab to get outside and exercise.'
And for Carol McRobbie, 38, the best thing about the class is that no-one is judging you.
'I just love it as I feel like nobody is judgemental, everyone is so welcoming,' says Carol who brings along her five-year-old daughter Catherine.
'It's the place where I've made the most friends on maternity leave.'
For more information about Rebel PT Prams in the Park classes check out their Facebook, Instagram @ rebel_prams or website
Rebel PT also run adult bootcamp classes too.
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