dad podcast. The show where we interview interesting parents doing interesting

things. This could be anything from a super duper

tech dad to busy business mommy blogger.

Today on the show we have the amazing Zara Dawson. Who is Zara Dawson? She is

competitive female bodybuilder, two times Northern Ireland competition winner,

she's a fitness biomechanics trainer, she has setup and run her own fitness

club but most importantly she's a mum. So Zara, thanks for joining us on the show.

Can you first of all start off by telling us how many kids you have and how

old are they? So I am the mum to one gorgeous little ginger princess.

She is called Amber and she is four years old.

Okay, I think I saw on your

profile you refer to her as a bit firey. She is, definitely. I know people say it comes, it's all

wee girls but definitely I think it's in the the redhead and there's definitely

like a crazy temperament. I have a redhead as well. Well, how's yours?

They can be angry. Very, very.

When your kids grow up, how do you want to tell them what you've done and what

you've done with your life? Well I know like myself I've, the last few years, been

very challenging you know so managing your own business and being a mom at the

same time and I think that like when Amber's older I'll be able to tell her that you

know that I worked very very hard to ensure that we got to the point that we

are at now and it's actually really kind of rewarding at times that Amber, now

with her being four that she's actually nearly in the understanding

that you go to work to make money or you know and that's why we have nice

nice things or you know that we've got you know a lovely home and she can have

nice clothes and I want her you know to truly appreciate that's everything

that we done was for her and even at times that you know she's maybe been

awk mummy, you know don't we go back to work again. Let's just stay with me

that I know that deep down she's saying look I know you have to go and you

know even though she only is four and I think with her having that mindset

now that when she gets a bit older she'll say look you

know, I know yous done what you did and that she will be

grateful for it. Yeah, I mean for me like I always kind of see that you

kind of have to lead by example because you have to make yourself happy as well

and show that to your kids so that when they grew up I mean they have to be

happy too. Yeah. That's important you know. I'd agree with you on that because

even, like, my actual past I actually graduated as environmental health

officer, not anything to do with fitness but I, you know what I mean, I wasn't actually

I thought I was thinking this is what I want to do you know and I think that's

you know as you're saying lead by example that when Amber grows up she'll be

like do you know what you changed and you're doing something that you're

really passionate about and yet was challenging but you did it for a

reason and it all panned out okay. Brilliant, and I mean how did that

transition happen from environmental health officer to fitness. Um started with

a degree environment health, got my first job - was working up in Newry and Mourne

district council, was there for a couple of years and during that

timeframe I started getting really into the gym and then that's when the

bodybuilding started to happen so while I was working I was an officer I was

like competing and loving being in the gym but then when I went off for

maternity leave with all the council's amalgamating together so they were

making the super councils and any temporary workers got let go and I

unfortunately was one of them and when I was all for her I'm

trying to leave I was like what am I going to do is I don't really want to go

back to environmental health. I don't want a nine-to-five job and at that

point I had done my Fitness Instructing in the year before and and I thought you

know I'm just gonna work in the gym. I'm gonna you know do a few hours

and you know means I'm gonna be at home more and and then I wasn't

expecting it to kind of kick off the way it did and I was very very fortunate

that my bodybuilding background kind of gave me the extra edge that we push that

all of a sudden I was just flat out and here I am for nearly four years later.

Brilliant, Brilliant. Can you kind of explain to me how that how that journey went

from bodybuilding to where you are now. I remember seeing

on one of your posts it was like year one. Yeah. What was that, how did that go?

Year one and was my husband actually, well it wasn't my husband at the time, took me

for a date and we went to the Ulster Hall to watch

one of the shows and I'm remember sitting in the audience thinkin what are these

people have got no clothes on but at the same time I was thinking that's amazing.

The following year we went to support a friend and Italy who was competing in

the same show but it was at the world level and that's when he proposed to me

then. Then the following year we're background in Northern Ireland and

I actually was competing and that's the first year that I won

and then we got married. Next thing you know 12 days later, we were having a

baby and it just kind of went quick so then I had her and then within nine

months later I was back on stage again and I regained my Northern Ireland

title. Where were we after that, I competed that whole year and it was a

hard year like I don't know I think it just felt like I wanted to prove it to

myself and I've done the few shows that year but she was small and then all of a

sudden I was like I'm done with this but lucky enough they kind of said they

actually like you know we'd really be interested in you coming aboard as a judge

so kind of the last few years I've been doing that. Awesome, brilliant. I'm like

what was it like going from yeah I mean when you're pregnant obviously your body

the way it goes I mean how difficult was it going from like from the first time

you want to the second time you may be one very to different experiences and

obviously like pre baby and your I was younger my body hadn't gone through as

much and even like things for like for a bodybuilding show it's about

obviously it's your physique, you know it's how you I well the bass that can be

and I had had a baby you know and my skin and everything had changed and you know

that, trying to get into the same shape again, even though my body had changed

was was so much harder but it was really strange because

I had never intended to compete again you know when she was I suppose she was

for six or seven months old. I kinda was my new found PT business

that like I started getting into really good shape really quickly but it was

because I had that on the sideline and it kinda just happened and I never, I

think that anyone who is trying to get into shape after having a baby it

wouldn't be as quicker as as natural as that because that was my job and that's

why I made it easier so any other lady who's maybe be thinking well how did you

do that so quick you know it was it was hard but I was doing you know exercise

and then my PT business on the side so there was like, I was doing

double and nearly which isn't normal or recommended really but yeah. I mean

no it's great to see because and for me get up and dad is almost like your

whole life changes in you have a baby but and you almost kind of lose

something but yeah for me get up and dad is kinda like you still want to keep

everything and still keep parts of yourself and it's great to see you've been able to do that.

Yeah I think people do lose identity very quickly you know so you have to like keep those wee

interests that you had and that's why I think I felt like I had something to prove to

myself and I'm glad I did it but it's behind me now. So what would you say is

your favourite get up and mum thing to do with the kids? What's the one

thing where you go you know what, tough day I'm away here. So what's funny, and

I look at my sister's one of those people who gets up when like

they're like right what are we doing? We're going for this big drive, we're doing

this and I go that actually just makes me tired thinking about that. We have

quite hectic lives, you know like I work long hours and unsociable ones and my

husband is self-employed as well so our house was very, you know, the business is

like a big drive, we actually just love how to do nothing you know so see on a

morning that I can say Amber is always asking right what are we doing today or

where am I going you know and she's checking to say well I'm going to

nursery today or I'm going to see nanny and I love being able to say nothing.

It's just me and you and she'd be like you know what are we going to do and I

love just being able to not have to rush out the door you know just to be able to

sit in our jammies you know and I can

sit with my coffee I me and her can sit and snuggle on the sofa while she's

watching one of her youtube channels that she's addicted to and I love that

and then if we think well she she loves going swimming

you know wee things like that, nothing too far away just kind of staying

round the house. Just spending like good quality time with like

the stressful push of having it right you know. I know it can be stressful

sometimes just trying to get somewhere on queues just this is put me over the

edge. So what are you highly interested in right now? What are you,

what's kind of interesting you're right now with like hobbies or business? Hobbies,

business, life, kids, anything. You know what, like it's really sad that I don't

actually really have any other hobbies apart from kind of work and like family.

There's never really a smooth there's not really a lot of time and to kind of

fit anything else in. I'm quite like simple that I just quite like the

relaxing side of things but with myself is that, I have through my whole like

fitness journey and with work and that going from the bodybuilding side of

things to where I am now, what I would be interested in mostly in is like keeping

myself fit and mobile you know. Being a bodybuilder I wasn't really that mobile

like you're really stiff and rigid. What do you mean mobile, trying to get out of the house? No, so like you lose your

flexibility. Okay. You know so we talk about how mobile body are around your

joints and like been able to comfortably do something with like something feeling

oh it's really tight. So I have like my body's changed and yeah I'm not in

the same good shape that I was in then, but I feel so much better and that would

be a real interest of me and I love that's why I went and done the

biomechanics diploma and clear because it's all like assessment of your

shoulders, hips, knees and feet and it's made me, like it's kind of like rebirthed

my ideas. Well what is exercise again what is movement and I'm always

sitting thinking of weird and quirky ways that like I can get people moving

without realising and that they're actually helping themselves, you know,

it's like a more fun way to do things. What do you mean like the getting them

to exercise without exercising? Yeah like you know like it's silly

things like you know getting them to rotate in a certain way or picking up

a ball and move it to certain places and they'll be like what's this doing it's like

well you're using all the functional movements that you would during the day

like you know when you're reaching into a cupboard or doing this and it's

those kind of things that we should be doing you know so before when I was doing

body building you were doing, you know, strict movements in a pattern that

probably doesn't mimic everyday life, you know, if you're pressing something up

above your head constantly that's not really what you do every day you kind of