Fit Whangarei mums to feature in swimsuit calendar

Healthy Whangarei mums Courtney Morgan (left), Charlotte Hufschmidt-McAulay, Terri Logan and Jeanine Rossouw have made the cut for an international swimsuit calendar. PHOTO/LITTLE LASHES PHOTOGRAPHY

Whangarei's new pin-ups are a group of mums who chose to get out there, babies in tow, with a "no excuses" approach to fitness.

The women will feature in the "Fit Mom and Dad Swimsuit Calendar" in 2017, scoring a month against hundreds of other fitness groups from around the world.

"There are women of all walks of fitness, from extremely buff to medically obese showcased in this international calendar, all who are striving to become a better version of themselves," said the Whangarei group's leader, Courtney Morgan.

When her son was just a couple of months old, Ms Morgan was feeling a bit down about her body and decided to take action.

"I struggled to find mother support groups that wanted to exercise. I really wanted to do something with my child that I didn't have to pay for," she said.

She'd heard about an international movement called No Excuse Mom, so about a year ago decided to start an offshoot in Whangarei, which spawned an online community of more than 100, some of whom meet for weekly workouts in parks around Whangarei.

"I've had a background in sports ... but no formal training," Ms Morgan said. "I took some formal advice [on how to run the group], and then you get in there and do it yourself."

Ms Morgan said the workouts range from a simple run to using toddlers as weights.

"We're just good mums who want to grow our confidence, self-esteem and we get out there and do it."

Mr Morgan said the women made a pact to enter a competition to get in the calendar, which involved 12 weeks of intensive training and setting up a photo with Little Lashes Photography, which donated the shoot. The best photos are selected by the calendar's organisers in the US, with the top 50 subject to online voting.

"It's pretty exciting, we never thought we'd actually get in there," Ms Morgan said. "We kind of used it as a motivation for the group to work towards."