A trainer who coaches postpartum mums has claimed being at home is no reason to "let yourself go".
Niki Zoumpouli, 28, pockets up to six figures a month where she teaches women, including mums, how to get back into shape.
The fitness guru, who has more than 100,000 users on her fitness app, is originally from Greece but now lives in Florida, US.
She has a two-year-old daughter as she makes it clear she understands the struggles of becoming a new mum.
But while entering the world of parenthood can often be tricky, Niki believes it's not an excuse women should make.
Instead the mum-of-one says they should incorporate their baby into their workouts – and even use their kids as "free weights".
She said: "Home workouts will save you a ton of time and stress getting a babysitter.
"I have built a home gym because this is my career but all you really need is some dumbbells and a resistance band to get started.
"I want my daughter to watch me make the time to train and eat right.
"Your kids will do what you do so lead by example, start where you are and use what you have at home.
"Being an at-home mum with a newborn is no reason to let yourself go."
The fitness influencer struggled with her own weight after giving birth in May 2019.
During her pregnancy, she gained 30lbs (just over 2st) as she claims it was the most out of shape she's ever been.
Niki found it tough with "all day sickness" in the first trimester and deep pelvic pain as the pregnancy progressed.
Now she regularly shares videos and pictures of herself working out with Aria on her Instagram where she has 175,000 followers.
And Niki founded her business, the GoodFitness app, with her partner in 2018.
She said: "I returned to training six weeks after birth and I never imagined I'd be so out of shape.
"My body felt foreign – I couldn't move or perform the same. It was heartbreaking to see years and years of hard work vanish.
"I remember laughing in the middle of my workout because I felt weak. It was one of those moments where you had to laugh or cry.
"Looking back, I'm so glad I had that hard experience because it made me understand my clients a lot more and cater to their needs.
"Aria has been around me through the whole journey of growing my business and while I worked on my postpartum body goals."
While Niki believes in getting back into the gym after a pregnancy, she wants more women to embrace their "imperfections".
She added: "I resent women being told that having babies ruins their body.
"I have stretched skin, stretch marks and don't get me started on the eye bags but I'm not ruined and neither are the women I help.
"My body is powerful, it made me a mother and in fact I feel the sexiest, strongest, most confident and most healthy I have ever felt."
Niki takes her clients through a two-stage process to reach their fitness goals, a fat loss phase, followed by a muscle building phase.
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She explained: "Our bodies can't lose fat and build muscle at the same time so we have to focus on each goal separately.
"When my own postpartum fitness journey began I focused on dropping body fat first.
"I used my own program to drop fat and it took me about four months to drop the weight.
"It is hard but mums shouldn't give up because they are in a season of life that makes them feel their goals are too hard to achieve.
"If you have lost hope, then remember your dreams, your passions, your lifestyle, it is all your responsibility. You decide."
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