Petra Horvatic is a mama on the move – and she wants to help get you moving too. A pre and postnatal fitness specialist, with a Master of Sport Science from the University of Zagreb and more than 16 years of experience in the fitness industry, Petra knows what she’s talking about. Becoming a mother brought a new focus on her own health and fitness ambitions. Celebrating women and their ability to transform their body, Petra decided to focus on pre and postnatal fitness so she can help other mums. We spoke to Petra to learn more about her business, Yum Mum Fitness.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I’ve been involved in the fitness industry working as an instructor more than 16 years now. The idea of starting pre and postnatal fitness for mums came to me two years ago while I was pregnant with my first baby.
Moving to New Zealand four years ago from Croatia, I was isolated from family and friends which specifically hit me hard during pregnancy and after. I’ve missed the support of family and friends. That feeling of emptiness and loneliness inspired me to further my education on pre and postnatal fitness which I completed with InfoFit, sitting the exam at Auckland University.
After passing, I started providing classes at the MAMA Maternity Centre in Auckland, for mums to train together in a positive environment and share their experiences.
The Launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
The beginning of my career was in Zagreb, Croatia where I studied for four years at the University of Zagreb, completing my degree Masters of Sport Science. After which I worked as a teacher in physical education and later in the fitness industry progressing to owning my own studio.
Coming to New Zealand was very challenging for me and I had that dream of achieving something big in a way of learning and improving in my career. What can be more challenging than starting my online fitness business without the support of family and friends in a foreign country with a new born baby?! But the idea was born.
I wanted to create a platform which would provide personalised healthy recipes with an emphasis on the macros that are required in breastfeeding and recovery, guided workouts (postnatal recovery and full body workouts for happy mums), customer support 24/7, members area where you can meet and chat with other mums, share your experiences, ask questions, either in parenting or recovery and have support on your fitness journey.
I realized there is a lack of postnatal recovery programs that focus more on rehabilitation after the trauma of giving birth. The body needs to gently recover before jumping back into your regular fitness routine.
The main focus of my program is to help mums to recover their deep abdominal muscles, abdominal separation if they have one, pelvic floor muscles, lengthen and strengthen all the muscles in the body that feel tight. My program will help new mums to recover faster and to feel better and energized to looking after their babies and family. And then progress to the full program FitMum Program where I’m offering a variety of cardio and strength workouts.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Decision to start online was a huge breakthrough for me.
Being a mum myself, I have realised how hard it is to plan anything, especially attending a scheduled fitness class. We all have different routines and different lifestyles, and baby also has his/her own ideas, so to offer a workout programme that can be done in your own time in the comfort of your home, with a personalised nutrition plan that will provide you and your family with healthy and nutritious meals and keep you full of energy to be able to be the best version of yourself, was my dream.
