Woman reveals how she lost her ‘mum tum’ in just 12 WEEKS

A mother-of-two has revealed how she shed her ‘mum tum’ in just 12 weeks – and shared the seven exercises that helped her achieve the body of her dreams.

In a story familiar to mothers everywhere, Sandra Van Den Berg, 38, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, found herself struggling to make time for exercise after giving birth to sons Eddie, four, and Liam, two.

But at the start of the year Sandra, who works full time as a finance manager, signed up for an intensive personal training course in a bid to lose weight and improve her fitness. 

The incredible before and after photos reveal the dramatic transformation her figure underwent in just a matter of months.  

Sandra after her 12-week transformation

Transformation: Sandra Van Den Berg, pictured before and after her 12-week overhaul. She swapped a diet of easy snacks for wholesome home-cooked meals and started working out

Busy mother: Sandra with her sons Eddie, four, and Liam, two, after the transformation. She revealed how she now has more energy to play with her children after work

Busy mother: Sandra with her sons Eddie, four, and Liam, two, after the transformation. She revealed how she now has more energy to play with her children after work

Speaking to FEMAIL, Sandra said: ‘It’s quite amazing to get abs after having two children… It gave me so much confidence because previously I felt like a middle aged frumpy mum and then it was like: “Actually I can wear these tight clothes”. 

‘I went on a shopping spree and I felt comfortable in every single thing I wore – and that hasn’t happened since I was a teenager.’ 

Sandra, who trained with Ultimate Performance Fitness, told how ‘she had not moved for about five years’ before starting her new routine after a cycling accident left her with lasting injuries and she struggled to juggle life with two young children.

Sandra before

Dramatic change: Sandra did the total-body workout three days a week before work with incredible results. Pictured, Sandra before (left) and after the 12-week transformation

‘I used to be quite active but I was hit by a bike when I was cycling to work one day,’ she continued. ‘I struggled with a bad back and I had two children and got really lazy.’

Revealed: Sandra’s seven key exercises 

1. 60 degree dumbbell press

A benchpress, done on a 60 degree incline, targets the upper chest area.

2. Front foot elevated split squat

The dumbbell split squat is an excellent exercise to improve the strength of the quadriceps, medial hamstrings, and adductors.

3. Seated cable row 

The seated cable row is an isolated exercise that targets the middle and upper back. This movement also improves shoulder muscle balance and corrects posture.

4. Barbell hip thrust

This exercise sees the person thrust with a barbell over their hips. The move is great for working the bottom. 

5. Lying leg curl

Using a machine, the lying leg curl mainly works the hamstrings. 

6. Swiss ball ab crunch

Performing a crunch on a Swiss ball increases the challenge on the core muscles while working out. 

7. SkiErg

The SkiErg machine replicates the movements performed while skiing and is great for aerobic exercise.  

Due to her busy work and family life, Sandra was only able to commit to three hour-long gym sessions before work three times a week but her trainer was able to devise a programme that fit her abilities. 

She said: ‘My goal was to lose a bit of weight and get in shape. I spoke to my trainer James, told him I hadn’t done anything in years and he made it quite easy. He was happy to come in at 5 or 6 in the morning so I could train before work.

‘I started at three times a week. After you have not done anything for a long time I was waiting it to hit me but it didn’t happen. The first two weeks were not heavy on the weights, we didn’t do any cardio. That would have been off-putting.’

Sandra’s routine included a mixture of leg, arm and ab work, both on machines and using free weights. Sandra said she saw the biggest difference once she introduced weightlifting into her regime. 

In a blog post, she explained: ‘I’ve never done weightlifting before. But… it’s the only thing I know that makes you lose fat so quickly. 

It gives you a good shape. You don’t have to be all big and bulky, for women anyway.’

Sandra also changed her diet, swapping easy-to-make food and snacks for home-cooked meals that she would prepare on a Sunday and then freeze for the week. 

While she cut out most carbs from her diet, she was able to add them into meals for her children so the family could still eat together. 

Halfway through her 12-week course Sandra began to see the difference. 

Committed: Sandra demonstrates the seated cable row, one of her seven key exercises

Committed: Sandra demonstrates the seated cable row, one of her seven key exercises

Sandra’s diet before

Breakfast: Cereal or porridge or crumpets with butter

Snacks: Biscuits or chocolate

Lunch: Chicken salad roll with crisps and yoghurt or a subway 6″

Dinner: Pasta or pizza, anything quick

Drinks: 2-3 bottles of wine over the weekend. Lots of tea & coffee

Sandra’s diet after

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with spinach, peppers & mushrooms

Snacks: Naked bar or protein shake

Lunch: Satay chicken with vegetables; meatballs, tomato sauce with courgetti

Dinner: Steak and veg with baked sweet potato wedges or chilli and rice

Drinks: Three litres of water a day, still lots of tea and coffee

‘Face on, I couldn’t tell much of a difference, but when you look at your back halfway through and the rolls of fat are fading and it’s like “hurrah!”,’ she wrote.  

She said her husband, Brendan, and sons also noticed a difference in her figure – and her energy levels. 

She continued: ‘They were really happy because after finishing work every evening I would actually have time to take them running around the place. 

Sandra before

Sandra after

Trim and toned: Sandra credited weightlifting with making the biggest difference to her figure

‘And I had the energy to do it rather than go to work, come home, shove some pasta in my mouth and comatose on the sofa for a couple of hours.’ 

While family circumstances have meant Sandra has not had time to continue the exercise in the months since the course ended, she said it has armed her with the tools she can use whenever she does return to the gym. 

She added: ‘Try it for a fortnight and you’ll be surprised at how easy it is… It’s not just go to gym and lift weights, it is ticking all the boxes.’ 

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