The Norwegian Helene Thorsen has three children and one passion: fitness! Or what would you call it if a woman exercises while she is pregnant – and only two days after giving birth …?
Take care of yourself, spend time with the baby, give your body as much rest as possible, slowly regain your strength and digest the stresses and strains of pregnancy and, above all, childbirth – these should be the to-dos and priorities of most mothers shortly after they gave birth to their child. No wonder, after all, you have just achieved top physical and mental performance and still have a lot to do in the coming weeks and months …
All the more astonishing what the Norwegian Helene Vabo Thorsen did after she had her daughter: The day after the birth, a Friday, she did a home workout with fitness bands, three days later, on the following Monday, she was sweating again in the gym. "It is actually exhausting for me not to train", quoted the British "Sun" the 33-year-old. Well, many others get sore muscles just watching …
Children as workout equipment
The Norwegian works as a firefighter and personal trainer, and she also looks after her three children: Milla (12), Markus (9) and Ella (almost one year old). Helene has been in love with sports since she was 16, and in recent years she has been particularly enthusiastic about Crossfit. On her Instagram account, which is followed by around 13,000 people, she mainly posts fitness content, sometimes photos of herself with her kids – and often also fitness content with kids.
"I was alone with my elders for two years and during that time I understood that I had to take them to training if I wanted to stay in shape. And so things took their course," says "Sun". Helene partly integrates her children into her workout, "uses" them as weights or does exercises with the baby on her stomach. "The best part is that I can always work out and there is never an excuse. And of course, it teaches my kids that fitness is a lifestyle."
Exercise routine during and after pregnancy
Even during her pregnancy, the fitness mom did regular training sessions, usually around 25-minute sessions of burpees, air squats, steppes and kettleball swings (no, we have no idea how something like this should work with a baby in the tummy, we can't even make it without …). Now that her last pregnancy was almost a year ago, Helene is back to her usual sports routine: at least one hour a day. "Of course, I never take the risk that my children could fall weights on their heads," says Helene, "anyway I don't train with heavy weights that could put my children at risk."
Helene's urge to move around seems to have rubbed off a bit on her two older children: According to her mom, they take great pleasure in accompanying her on her jogging laps by bike, while the mother pushes the youngest in the stroller. And as long as sport is good for mothers and children (and nobody demands that we have to imitate Helene), everything is okay …
Sources used: The Sun, Instagram