Chasing your dream of becoming a bodybuilder by training day and night would not be that easy with a baby bump in tow. Vipitha Santhosh, a mother of two, came out on stage and with her graceful and powerful performance, won the title of Miss Thrissur Fitness 2018 on Sunday. What makes it so special is that she is nine months pregnant. Waiting for her delivery due date, March 5, this 29-year-old woman from Chalakudy isn’t worried at all.
Training for the last seven years, Vipitha spends two hours lifting, without any compromise. Stepping onto the stage in front of a packed house at the district body building competition in this shape was a different experience for her and raised many eyebrows. “Normally, women remain in bed during pregnancy and they are not supposed to do anything other than ‘keep calm and get pampered’. But I was not ready for it as I was very confident and adamant that I needed to carry on with my workouts. And my biggest inspiration is Continued from page 17
“In our culture, pregnant women are not supposed to do anything like this. But I was very confident in her. She was ready and so was I,” shares Santhosh. Workouts for a pregnant woman and a normal person are totally different. We need to be careful, especially about the abdomen. So after getting a nod from her doctor, we started workouts from the first month of her pregnancy like any normal day,” he added. Vipitha won the championship in model physique category. But more than the medal, she says going to the gym everyday has changed her life forever. “I feel strong! I feel capable. It’s amazing! More than anything, I feel more empowered as a mom and as a woman during this pregnancy!” Along with her husband, she also works at their gym as a trainer and they own six gyms.
“There are many taboos in our culture. Especially in a period like pregnancy, these taboos may affect the pregnant women. Many women are led to believe that it is unsafe to exercise during pregnancy. After asking my doctor, I understood that our bodies are capable of doing during pregnancy whatever they were used to doing earlier. We would send my training videos to my doctor and to our families. At first, our families were not quite happy with the idea. Now, they are supportive. I train at one of our gyms near Chalakudy. Usually, I go to the gym on my two-wheeler and being pregnant, I had no problem with that,” she says. Vipitha believes the training has done lot of good things for her. She feels it has really helped her in becoming a good parent too.
“I’m a better mother because I run after my dreams and I’m able to take that time for myself and go after something that’s important to me. I’m a better bodybuilder and trainer as well. At the end of the day, I have a bunch of people at home who will love me regardless of what happens at the gym,” she says, adding, “I’m showing my children that it’s important to go after what you want.” Vipitha and Santhosh want to have seven children. The couple is very confident that Vipitha will be able to come back to the gym at least two weeks after the delivery.my husband and my trainer Santhosh. If it wasn’t for him I don’t think I would have achieved this,” says Vipitha.
