Recently I had the privilege of meeting up with some pretty great women to partake in the fitness phenomenon for moms, know as Stroller Strides. I was nervous when I arrived. A friend of mine who had taken a class told me it was one heck of a workout, and I had not done any form of exercise in close to seventeen months. Shocking I know, but nine months of pregnancy and then raising my two kids has left little time for me to work out and I felt my low flexibility and muscle tone was about to be challenged.

Rushing so as not to be late, pushing my stroller with one wobbly wheel, I arrived on a sparkling sunny day, at a park with a collection of moms happily preparing to get sweaty. Why do they look so cheerful I thought to myself, as I envisioned cramped calves, aching thighs and a stitch in my side as the fitness queen/instructor shouted for me to move my mommy butt.

Of course emerging form the group came a delightful and normal looking mom, gung-ho and kindly encouraging as we began warming up and introducing ourselves and our little ones. Within minutes we were off, the keeners up front, the regulars in the middle and me straggling begin as I my keys fell from my stroller, my daughter sweater got caught in my wheels and my water bottle precariously rocked out of its holder.

Getting my stride as they say, I soon was back with the pack as we stopped for some lunges, more stretching and the beginnings of a few side conversations with other moms welcoming me and my daughter to the group. A bit more walking, followed by arm exercises and lunges got me feeling pretty good. By the time I noticed I was sweaty I had made a new friend, when my feet seemed tangled and I felt out of breath, there were smiles, encouragement and others who admitted they had felt the same. When my daughter got fussy, the other mothers made her laugh, and soon the fact that I was exercising, became second to the fact I was having a great time.

Here see for yourself.

I’m the goofy one in the blue, all pumped at the end and proud of the work that I did. It was fun to be honest and when I asked the other moms what drew them into the program… They all said, fun, fitness and friends. Just what a new mom needs.

Many of us need to juggle our kids, our household, and our jobs, pushing our personal needs to last on the list. Finding the time for our own heath requirements often gets put to the side or forgotten. What I observed that day was that everyone was enjoying themselves. Being outdoors, breathing in fresh air, making friends, having our kids close by, and exercising our bodies was a truly winning combination.

Susan Enslen & Anne-Louise Parry are BCRPA certified group fitness instructors who have a stroller strides franchise, offer a wealth of information about post natal fitness on their site at http://www.strollerstrides.net/richmondbc. They also have a great networking group and a serious following of moms who love the program and swear by the results. It is a great place to see how two moms have made doing what they love, a business and a community at the same time. Thanks to both of them for letting me come by and make this video, I had a lot of fun and felt so much better when I left, wobbly wheel and all.

At http://www.strollerstrides.com/ you can get even more information about this amazing program and find a class near you. I truly encourage you to try it. I am not the most coordinated person and a heavy, serious workout is just not my style. This was something that made me feel comfortable, relaxed, and even normal again. I even met a few moms I’d like to see another time, and maybe plan a play date. That’s worth its weight in gold.

Standing on my soapbox,

JB