J’AIME JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

H E A LT H
Move to the beat
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER AND FITNESS INSTRUCTOR NICOLA WILLIS, FROM
LICHFIELD, IS PIONEERING A NEW TYPE OF FITNESS CLASS AIMED AT PARENTS - WHERE
THEY CAN WORK OUT WITH BABY IN TOW. AMY NORBURY DISCOVERS MORE
Primary school teacher Nicola Willis has always had
a passion for fitness and exercise. Living and working
in central London, she trained as a group exercise
instructor, hoping to share her love of staying active.
And when her school lost the use of its outdoor space,
leaving the children with nowhere to run around and
let off steam, Nicola jumped at the chance of helping
to keep her pupils active.
“The school was having a new playground put in so
we lost the playground and, being in central London,
there was nowhere for the kids to play,” says Nicola,
who now lives in Lichfield.
“So I thought that if I taught aerobics, it would be an
extra active session for them.”
Rather than call the classes ‘aerobics’, Nicola wanted
something which would be more appealing to her
pupils. Inspired by her and husband John’s recent first
wedding anniversary trip to Tanzania - where they
climbed Mount Kilimanjaro - she researched Swahili,
the language spoken in Tanzania, for ideas.
“It’s such a singsong language, which fitted perfectly
with the classes, and I came across the word ‘Wimbo’,
which means rhythm.”
And so, WIMBO Fitness was born.
With the classes proving a hit with the pupils, Nicola
then started teaching aerobics classes to school staff
after school as part of staff wellbeing, before training
BABIES CAN RELAX OR PLAY WHILE
THEIR PARENTS WORK OUT
WIMBO FITNESS FOUNDER NICOLA
WILLIS WITH DAUGHTER IVY
to teach pilates.
When Nicola discovered she was pregnant with
her first child in early 2020, she didn’t want to give
up exercising, but needed to ensure she could keep
herself and bump safely active throughout her
pregnancy. So she decided to train as a pre and post
natal exercise specialist too.
But then, the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing
the whole country into lockdown. As a key worker,
Nicola continued to teach full time - but missed her
previously active lifestyle. So she decided to take her
fitness classes online.
“I was teaching pilates and aerobics online every
week, for friends and family, throughout lockdown,
just to keep everyone active, for free,” she says.
“I was teaching every day, which really helped me to
get through it because it gave me something else to
do.”
Nicola, who’s originally from Walsall and now has
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