Love Local with The List: New Moon Fitness

In the run up to Small Business Saturday, we are supporting local small businesses by sharing their stories with you.

 

The birth of her daughter was a catalyst for change for New Moon Fitness founder Luisa, who always loved exercise but admits to having had quite an unhealthy relationship with it. She now exercises because of how it makes her feel rather than worrying about how she looks, and she wants to help empower women to feel strong and confident in their own skin.

But it's not all squats and sit ups. Read on to find out more.

 

 

'There is so much pressure on us to look a certain way… I want women to enjoy exercise and focus on the way it makes them feel rather than the way it makes them look.'

 

1.  How It All Began 

I have always loved exercising and the feeling I get afterwards, but strangely I had never thought about doing it as a career. I guess we grow up believing our jobs aren’t necessarily going to be doing something we love. Even though I have always enjoyed exercise, I used to have quite an unhealthy relationship with it and I used to push my body as hard as possible to get it to look a certain way. Having a daughter really changed my outlook. I now exercise because of the way it makes me feel and I want to encourage other women to do the same. I really want to help empower women to feel strong and confident in their own skin. There is so much pressure on us to look a certain way and fit into a certain size (especially after having children) that I wanted to change the narrative. I want women to enjoy exercise and focus on the way it makes them feel rather than the way it makes them look.  

 

2.  This Year’s Highlights

Over the summer I started running 'Move and Connect' sessions on the beach. The sessions are a mix of movement, the sea, cacao and meditation and the aim is to reconnect your body and mind. I’ve been lucky enough to experience some really special moments with people in these sessions and it is so amazing to see the difference before and after the session. This summer filled me with so many ‘I can’t believe this is my job’ moments. Being outside in the sunshine especially by the sea is just my favourite thing so being able to combine this with helping people really connect with their bodies and get moving just couldn’t be more perfect. I think the best bit has been to cross paths and work with so many wonderful people, it is definitely a perk to the job! 

 

3.  Challenges Along The Way

I've found the toughest bit so far was when I was first starting up. I was still working flexi-hours for my previous employer and the juggle between the job, running the business and looking after the children was just a bit manic (especially functioning on little sleep!). I think I have finally cracked the work life balance which has made a huge change.

 

“My guilty pleasures are completely opposite to what you would ‘expect’ of a PT…. Red wine, a bacon sandwich, coffee and a lot of drum and bass.”

 

4.  It Might Surprise You To Know... 

I actually don’t think it would be a surprise to anyone who knows me, but some of my 'guilty pleasures' are completely opposite to what you would ‘expect’ of a PT… red wine, a bacon sandwich, coffee and a lot of drum and bass. Because life is all about balance. (Editor's Note: Too true. Drop the word 'guilty', we say!) 

 

5.  Celebrating Local Life

The best bit of local life for me has got to be seaside living. To be able to get up in the morning and start the day with a sea swim and really get back to nature just fills up my cup for the day and I really notice it on the days that I don't get in the sea. My children absolutely love it too. We are on the beach all year round. It's amazing how happy they are when we are there. Pretty magical, in fact.

 

 

6.  Gratitide to The Community

I absolutely love Bright Beginnings and couldn’t thank them more for how much they have done for me. I had quite a bad time after having my second child Charlie and the support from the ladies at Bright Beginnings was incredible. They do so much to help local families and provide such a supported space for new mums. I honestly couldn’t recommend them more.

 

The List Loves...

Lu understands that it can be difficult to squeeze in time for yourself when you have young children and exercising can go way down on the list of priorities. We love that Lu invites you to get your children involved. She runs a lot of her PT sessions with small children coming along, so childcare isn’t an issue and even adapts the sessions, so you still get your full workout.