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How does Angela Jones balance work, family and training?
You’d be hard-pressed to believe Angela Jones grew up as a tomboy, knocking about with her brother, playing cricket in the streets and soccer at NSW state league level. If it involved being outdoors, she loved it and still describes herself as fitness crazy.
It seemed like a natural progression to move into a career in the exercise industry. At the tender age of sweet 16, Angela secured an apprenticeship at a Sydney gym and started on the road of personal training and competitive bodybuilding. “I’ve always liked the look of the Wrestling WWF girls, the action heroes like Wonder Woman and Greek Goddess look—athletic while still being feminine.”
You only need to see the photos to see that she’s already ticked that off her to-do list.
It was while Angela was training to compete in her first figure competition at City Gym, that she was introduced to Nick.
“I noticed Nick because he looked different from other bodybuilders. It takes a lot for me to notice a guy, but he caught my eye while I was running a Body Attack group fitness class. Body Attack takes a lot of concentration as it’s very fast-paced, so for me to notice him while instructing meant there was something about him. He was very good looking.”
“Our first date was breakfast at the Marriott...I think. It’s all a bit of a blur.”
With Nick living in Adelaide at the time and Angela being based in Sydney, they developed a strong friendship.
“He used to visit quite a bit and we’d catch up. There wasn’t any real official "will you go round?" It was a natural progression.”
Fast forward 11 years later and they’re a happy family with three children—Elektra, aged 8, Mariah, aged 6 and Xander, aged 3.
“Everything changed when I got pregnant,” she recalls, “My energy levels changed. My physique changed and it was quite a shock how weak I felt even though I’d always been so fit, into recreational bush walks and working out at the gym, however, I trained through it.”
And that’s the attitude Angela takes into every area of her life. Celebrities seem to have babies and before you can blink, they’re creating headlines with their teeny, tiny and toned mummy-bods. Society places pressure on normal women to do the same. It certainly didn’t happen overnight for Angela.
“For me, getting back into shape took 18 months. I wanted to enjoy spending time with my new baby and enjoy being a mum so when I finally got back on the for, it was such an empowering moment”
Balancing motherhood, married life, kids, business and still staying in shape takes work.
“I’ll be the first to admit it’s not easy,” Angela says. “The key is trying to stay flexible. Obviously the kids come first. I want to be a normal mum that encourages a healthy lifestyle, so it takes flexibility with working out and diet. If someone is sick or there are school projects, then the gym gets put off. I don’t want my kids to become obsessive about exercise or diet, so while I encourage a healthy lifestyle, I’ll still eat chicken nuggets and hot chips with them—unless I’m competing. Generally, we have one cheat meal a week, and it’s usually the weekends.”
When you’re looking for advice to get back into shape after birth it can help to talk to a fitness instructor who’s been where you’ve been, who knows what it’s like to be sleep-deprived, still look after your partner, wrangle kids and find time to take care of yourself.
So what is the secret? Angela Jones believes in addition to flexibility you need to be kind to yourself. The last thing you need is more pressure. Don’t expect results straight away.
According to a poll conducted by Babycenter.com, 87% of mums still aren’t back to their pre-baby body by the time their child’s second birthday comes around, and that’s completely okay.
It can be hard to get motivated to exercise when there’s so much else going on in your life. Angela recommends picking an activity you enjoy. If you choose something you love you will be more inclined to keep doing it. It can be your way of having some time-out.
“Power walking is a great way to get back into exercise. It’s not overly strenuous and you can involve bubby."
Angela says. “If you’re struggling to get organised, Food4fitness are ready-made, healthy meals to reduce meal time preparation. Nutrition is also really important, which is why you need supplements that work. My favourite Gen-Tec supplement is Amino Lean. It’s a blend you can sip on if you are sleep deprived. It can be used as a pick me up, sipped while you’re working out or you can make it ice blocks or Slushies.”
You can follow Angela on Instagram.
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