Shaming mothers an unacceptable way to promote personal training

OPINION: Another personal training service is selling itself by branding mothers “fat and lazy”. Why is this okay in Australia?

YOU know what vulnerable people love? Being told they’re “fat and lazy”.

Nothing is more refreshing, moments after your stomach muscles split in two, than being told you’re worthless for not busting out a couple hundred stomach crunches to put yourself back together.

You may find it difficult to raise yourself from a flat surface post-birth, but if you let fresh surgery get in the way of your fitness goals you’re clearly human scrap.

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Should this be a daily sight in Australia’s parks ... Mums working out with their toddlers. Picture: Facebook.

Modern maternity wards really should be full of new mothers dropping to the floor, straight out of the birthing suite, and giving their obstetricians 100 push-ups, 20 burpees, and chin-ups using only their drip stand.

Sure, old-school doctors may warn them not to drive a car for six weeks after a caesarean and physiotherapists may pooh-pooh the idea of returning to high-impact cardio for six months, but those are merely excuses pasta-munching, biscuit-hoarding, couch-dwelling, pantry trolls use to justify idle lifestyles.

What new mothers really need is the motivation of being told they are “fat and lazy,” rather than noble and heroic for bringing a child into a world in which post-pregnancy-shaming is a sport, and childcare, hot food, meal preparation time, and adequate sleep are figments of a delightful yet unattainable fantasy.

That world, by the way, also contains personal training services which promote themselves with press releases titled “NEW MUMS BRANDED “FAT AND LAZY”.

Incendiary post ... Mother-of-three and fitness fanatic Maria Kang with her infamous blog title that led to her being deemed "judgmental", a "fat-shamer" and a "bully".

That headline, in all caps, appeared in my inbox this week and, as a new mum, I found it inspirational. It inspired me to hit the delete icon with reflexes not seen since my pre-pregnancy days.

The problem is this approach is not new.

In the past year, we’ve seen an outbreak of “fit mums” and overzealous personal trainers seeking to capitalise on the fresh mother market.

Apparently there are enough new mums to make them a powerful target for the $6.6 billion-dollar shame-is-money fitness market.

Want to fill your gym? Tell new mothers they’re fat.

Want to sell home fitness equipment? Tell new mothers they’re fat.

Want to boost personal training clientele? Show off your carrot-bronzed abs with a vindictive caption about mothers who don’t look like you.

Need examples? There’s Maria Kang who not only bared her abs but went on to criticise curvy ladies for being photographed in lingerie, or Sharny Kieser who says fat people are akin to dole-bludgers and women can overcome morning sickness with their minds.

On bringing in the Baby Bonus, former federal treasurer Peter Costello told women to have “one for mum, one for dad, and one for your country”.

Pregnant ... New mothers are not advised by their doctors to head down to the gym with their newborn.

While the Baby Bonus may have been thrown out with the bathwater, surely Australia still values locally grown talent.

That talent may not appear if mothers receive the finger of shame the moment a child leaves their body.

Health and fitness are important. So is respect for mothers. No one got here without one.