Baildon woman's fitness business reaches one-year anniversary on International Women's Day after pandemic and pregnancy struggles

Then discovering she was pregnant with her third child shortly into that first lockdown, she later experienced a traumatic birth.

But slowly she rebuilt and celebrates one year of Lynsey Love Fitness and Wellness tomorrow.

“It isn’t easy picking yourself back up after a knock mentally or physically but with the right support network and a bit of bravery we can achieve anything we set our mind to,” says the mother-of-three.

Lynsey had been running her previous business for three years but after the country was suddenly put into lockdown in March 2020 she did not qualify for Government funding and also needed to look after her children, Willow and Jasper, now aged eight and five, while her husband Pete continued to work.

Her career “and what felt like all sense of self was lost almost overnight,” she says.

"With this and shortly into the first lockdown we then discovered I was expecting my third baby.

"From that moment on I was in a constant state of anxiety, fearing for my unborn child, worrying how we were going to cope bringing a new life into this world. Feeling absolutely horrendous with morning sickness and lack of energy, my diet was appalling. Then I went on to have crippling pelvic girdle pain and having to wear a brace led to restrictions in movement. My mental and physical health just spiralled out of control.”

When Pixie Bo was born on January 22, 2021, it had taken five days and Lynsey retained the placenta so was rushed to surgery.

Lynsey also suffered from abdominal separation – when the abdominal wall is stretched and weakened during pregnancy – and went through a “very slow healing process”.

She says that because of weight gain she was struggling with her self esteem and body image, and “felt like overnight I’d gone from being the fittest I had ever been in my life to potentially the biggest I had ever been”.

She says: “I didn’t work for two years and I’d lost all motivation. Soon my baby girl was fast approaching the age of one and I struggled at first to know where to start getting my life back on track.

“Rebuilding and starting afresh was an extremely scary and daunting prospect.

"My mind was filled with imposter syndrome thoughts such as: ‘Why on earth would anyone want to come to a fitness class delivered by me when I looked the way I did?’ However, with the encouragement of my loving family, friends and my previous clients, I took very small steps and started to rebuild and restart a business for myself, starting from scratch.”

She decided to refocus on providing “feel good fitness classes” not just for mothers but for women of all ages and sizes, offering an affordable, comfortable, non-judgemental and fun “safe space”.

"I wanted them to know that it’s okay to not feel comfortable in your own skin, something I was learning to understand day by day on this journey. I started learning to understand how incredible my body actually was, gifting me with another precious baby girl and I know I’m still on a slow and steady journey back to fitness and some days are harder than others, but that’s okay.”

She went on to qualify as a Pound fitness instructor to deliver sessions which involve using Ripstix (drumsticks) while “drumming and combining yoga postures into powerful cardio exercises”.

Other sessions she offers include the ‘Body Blast’ cardiovascular/strengthening training course, and Mummy and Me, designed for at all mothers regardless of their child’s age.

Lynsey says: “With the help of my loyal supporters and clients I have now built a wonderful fitness and wellness business doing what I love which has been an absolute joy and I am so grateful to them every single day.

"To be given the opportunity of supporting so many strong and inspirational women in their own right work towards their goals and aiding them to feel good within their own skin is a true honour.”