Photo grabbed from Ms. Villania’s Instagram, @iyavillania
Singer-actress Iya Villania has always been among the sexiest celebrities in local show business. But even after she gave birth to her first born, she still managed to maintain a toned body – the kind every mother would keep in their list of “mom goals.”
But Villania admitted that keeping in shape post-pregnancy comes with a lot of pressure and even more dedication.
“It’s also why I have to keep on exercising kasi ‘yung pressure sa akin, ‘oh she’s a fit mom’. So, that’s like saying now I can’t stop. (laughs) That’s my image now,” she said during the recent media launch of her new endorsement Babyzen.
“I think a huge part of it is my lifestyle prior to me even getting pregnant. So it was really just something that I kept on, which is why I had the confidence to keep moving even if I was pregnant.”
“Even if here in the Philippines, ‘yung paniniwala ng karamihan na dapat kapag buntis ay nagpapahinga, hindi dapat pinapahirapan, hindi dapat napapagod. Even now I still hear comments like, ‘iniisip mo lang sarili mo, you shouldn’t be doing that. Isipin mo naman ‘yung kapakanan ng anak mo’.”
“I know that what I was doing wasn’t just for me, it was also for my baby. And ‘yun nga, I was already confident because it was already my lifestyle,” she added.
No specific exercises for pregnant women
Villania and husband Drew Arellano are pregnant with their second child. Villania is on her second trimester, but even so, her bulging baby bump juts could not stop the glowing mom from doing what she loves.
She said she does not limit herself to conservative workout moves, having witnessed other countless moms-to-be who do strenuous exercises while preparing for birth.
“I’ve seen moms still kickboxing because it’s what they were already used to doing even if you say there are articles saying hindi dapat inaalog whatever, recently I was jumping rope. Normally, kung ayaw mo ang mabuntis magja-jump rope ka para magkaroon ka ‘di ba? So, it’s really just a matter of lifestyle before getting pregnant,” Villania noted.
“But you have to consult your doctor, as long as you’re not high-risk and you don’t have any complications. As long as you have a high line placenta and you’re given a go by the doctor,” she added.
Proving that a woman’s pregnant body is still capable of active physical activities, Villania plots her workout routine well until right before she gave birth to her first child.
“I was riding my bike, stationary bike at that time,” she recalled.
Two weeks after giving birth to her eldest Primo, Villania almost immediately went back to her usual workout.
Currently, Villania is into doing cross fit. /kga