Fitness guru Kayla Itsines on post-natal anxiety and fitness
She’s one of the fittest women on the planet, but becoming a mum has made Kayla Itsines rethink what it means to be strong. She opens up about post-natal anxiety, discovering her inner strength and why she’ll never stop empowering other women.
Fitness
Don't miss out on the headlines from Fitness. Followed categories will be added to My News.
As one of the most famous fitness trainers in the world, Kayla Itsines is used to packing more into her day than most of us do in a week.
Take the day of our interview, for example — not only did the fitness influencer (who boasts 30 million fans on Facebook and Instagram combined) lead 100 women through a workout at body+soul’s 20th birthday event in Sydney, she also stopped to take selfies with every single attendee, recorded an episode of the b+s Healthy-ish podcast and then raced across the city to the set of our b+s cover shoot.
Considering she only flew in from Adelaide the night before, you’d think she’d be feeling a little flat this afternoon. Instead, she’s bouncing around the studio, laughing with the crew.
ENTERING MOTHERHOOD
Kayla’s seemingly endless supply of energy shouldn’t come as a surprise. At just 28, the personal trainer is responsible for changing the lives of millions of women across the globe with her Bikini Body Guides (a collection of workout programs), her touring bootcamps and her SWEAT fitness app, which she co-founded with her fiance Tobi Pearce.
But when I ask what she’s most proud of, without missing a beat she reveals it’s her 10-month-old daughter Arna.
“Having Arna changed my life,” she says, sinking into the hair and make-up chair.
“I thought I was mentally strong before, but becoming a mum took it to a whole new level. As a mum, on top of being physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted, you need to look after a small human and keep them alive for the rest of their life, and the pressure is so real.”
You’d be forgiven for thinking her introduction to motherhood would have been a breeze, but Kayla admits it was far from it.
Despite being in top physical form beforehand, she endured a rocky pregnancy (complete with sciatica, restless leg syndrome and reflux so intense she couldn’t sleep), and when she finally got back into the gym after recovering from her C-section, she realised that she couldn’t pick up from where she left off.
“I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other,” she says.
“Fitness is my life, it’s my career and what I do every single day, and I was like a baby deer learning to walk again — the feeling was just indescribable.”
And so after just 11 minutes of walking on the treadmill, she had to call time on her first post-pregnancy workout.
Rather than seeing it as a setback, Kayla realised that she had to re-evaluate what being strong meant to her.
“Before I had Arna, I focused on being physically strong, but after I gave birth, I just wanted to be the best mum possible and have the mental strength to get up every day and look after myself and my baby.”
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
As a fiercely independent woman, she was used to doing things for herself, but while recovering from her C-section, Kayla had no choice but to ask for help.
“Tobi had to shower me! I felt like I was wasting his time, but then he reminded me that Arna wasn’t just my baby, she was his too and he wanted to help. [I’ve learnt that] asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of self-respect.”
MORE FROM BODY+SOUL:
Best money-saving gym deals of 2020
7 of the rudest things we’ve seen at the gym
But the most confronting moments were still to come when she developed post-natal anxiety and experienced a loss of control like never before.
“When I got home from hospital, I felt like I was hit by a bus of anxiety. I knew it was hormonal, so I just let my tears flow. I love to be in control, so to not have that was unsettling, but I was lucky it only lasted a couple of weeks. I was a bit arrogant and didn’t think it would happen to me, but now I know it’s OK not to be OK.”
After sharing a video of herself unable to complete a chin-up on Instagram, she also realised that the SWEAT community she’d always provided support to were also there for her.
“I thought people might judge me and want to see me fail, but they were there cheering me on and I’d never been more grateful. They felt like sisters.”
A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE
Her recovery journey and the time it took her to get back into the gym has also changed the way Kayla trains her clients.
“I’m more emotionally open to them now,” she explains.
“My style of training will always be high intensity, and I think I am where I am because I haven’t changed that, but I’m more open to providing different options.”
Before having Arna, Kayla believed that everyone could find time to work out, but now she genuinely understands that’s not the case.
“When you don’t have kids you think you have no time, but when you’re a parent you really have no time,” she laughs. Her deeper understanding of how new mums feel when returning to the gym inspired her to create her new Post-Pregnancy program.
“I walked into the gym and thought: ‘I never want another woman to feel like I feel right now,’” she says.
So how does she feel about her body after giving birth?
“I’m so proud of my body,” Kayla says.
“When I look at myself in the mirror, do a box jump or lead a bootcamp, I’m like heck yeah, I did that! I pushed a baby out and it’s not about ‘bouncing back’ — I’m a whole new human and I want to celebrate that.”
And celebrate it she does. In fact, she loves having the opportunity to prove just how powerful women can be.
“One of my favourite moments was during one of my bootcamps. I had two bodyguards and they ignored me the whole time,” Kayla recalls, because believe it or not, there are a few people on the planet who don’t know who she is.
“I went on stage, did my thing and when I got off the stage they pulled me aside and told me I was the most powerful woman they’d ever met.”
EMPOWERING OTHER WOMEN
Empowering women and helping them love their bodies is something Kayla has been doing for 10 years, and while she acknowledges that other mums may not return to their regular routine as quickly as she did — it is her job, after all — she believes every woman has the right to feel beautiful and powerful.
“My mum and grandma never said a bad word about their bodies [when I was growing up],” Kayla reveals.
“So when I hear people putting themselves down, I find it odd. Now that I’m a mum, I want to teach Arna that it doesn’t matter what she looks like, as long as she’s happy and healthy.”
Of course, showing women what they’re capable of both physically and mentally is exactly what Kayla does best. Throughout her career, she’s only ever worked with women — and she intends to keep it that way.
“I love training women. I’m all about making them feel good and teaching them how to work together. I’m proud to be someone who empowers other women to do well.”
Some may find being a role model for so many people overwhelming, but not Kayla. “I don’t get overwhelmed; this is my life,” she says.
“And I don’t change. I don’t have to stand up every day and sell a product I don’t believe in — I get up every day and do what I’ve done for the past 10 years and I think people like that.”
After achieving so much in such a small amount of time, I ask if she has any big plans for 2020, and she doesn’t disappoint with her answer.
“I’m going to think about having another baby,” she smiles.
“Maybe not this year, but I still want to think about it, and I want to train as many community members in person as possible. I love the meet-and-greets — I don’t do an event unless I can do one, because I want to meet the women and hear their stories.”
No matter how far Kayla rises, she stays true to her community — and that’s a leader worth following.
* Tune in to our podcast for Kayla’s ‘hilarious’ baby plans at bodyandsoul.com.au
* Styling: Charlotte Stokes; Hair and make-up: Yolanda Lukowski