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Baby Moon offers a variety of fitness classes geared toward mommas and their little ones, including yoga and pilates. | Photo by Abby Laub
For many new mothers, the day-to-day demands of taking care of a baby might make getting to the gym seem like more of an unobtainable luxury. But thanks to a growing number of local fitness classes tailored specifically to parents and their young children, however, that luxury is more often a reality here in Lexington.
After attending Stroller Strong Moms fitness classes in Columbus, Georgia, Brooke Whitis started an affiliate group in Lexington in August after relocating here. With the motto “Sweat Like a Mother,” Stroller Strong classes incorporate children in strollers, whether it’s sprinting while pushing the stroller, doing squats while playing games with the babies or circling up the strollers and exercising around them. And these are not easy workouts –members participate in grueling exercises ranging from burpees, squat jumps, v-sits, push-ups and more, all while keeping little ones happy in their strollers.
Whitis considers her workout class a way to help women realize their potential with their children watching.
“I started going to Stroller Strong to have a place where I could be with my kids while I worked out,” Whitis explained. “I saw all these moms running in the park, and it was attractive to me to be outside and get in a good, hard workout with my kids watching. It was also a bonus that [the workout route] ended at the playground, so my kids had an incentive to come.”
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Meeting at outdoor parks during warm-weather months, the franchises Fit4Mom Stroller Strides (pictured here) and Stroller Strong both offer high impact workout routines for parents and their stroller-bound infants and toddlers. | Photo by Abby Laub
Getting fit is not only important for the sake of health and shedding weight gained during pregnancy, but it can also set a solid example for children.
“I love the opportunity to play with our kids while we work out, but mostly I love the example we are setting for the kids,” Whitis, a mother of two young boys, explained. “We are showing them that we want to live healthy, strong lives and hopefully are passing that on to them.”
Whitis noted that while women should first be cleared with their doctors to exercise, especially if they have just had a baby, the workouts are designed for all fitness levels.
“I see women make complete life changes, from seeing weight come off, to feeling confident again, to finding abs again — or healing them — after a rough pregnancy,” Whitis said. “Most of all women learn to [mentally] believe in themselves as they make goals and crush them.”
Cori Doyle, a member of Stroller Strong in Lexington, said she loves working out with her son.
“I think it sets a great example to him of how to stay healthy, and I don’t have any guilt of having to leave him in order to do something good for myself — like I used to when I worked out,” she said. “I also love being able to work out with other moms. I have made some really great friends in the group and love being able to connect with and share stories with other moms who are going through similar life situations.”
Doyle, who has been involved since the group began in August, added that having a trained, experienced instructor like Whitis is invaluable to her workouts.
“Having a trained instructor and working out with a group always pushes me to work much harder and excel further than I would working out in a gym alone,” Doyle added. “I also love the fact that our workout is never the same. I can honestly say that I feel like I am in the best shape that I have ever been in my whole life.”
Mothers in Lexington also have the opportunity to participate in Fit4Mom’s Stroller Strides program, a total fitness program that parents can do with their babies and is modifiable for all levels of exercise.
Owner Lindsay Gilvin said the group’s mission is to help moms make strides in “fitness, motherhood and life” without the constraints of gym daycare or babysitters. The program entertains and engages children as well as providing strength training and cardiovascular exercises for mamas.
“In one hour, you get a full body workout, leaving you ready and energized for the day,” noted Gilvin, who has two children and holds a master’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion.
At Baby Moon on Richmond Road, owner and yoga instructor Anne Rust shares a similar mentality: Keep mommies and babies together for the best results.
“Moms and babies really need to be together as much as possible during the ‘fourth trimester’ — the first 12 weeks after birth,” she said, adding that it is a time of major adjustment, growth and recovery. “Even though a new mom is never alone, this time can be very isolating. For most moms, returning to exercise is a process that starts very slowly and is most easily accomplished when the barriers are removed. Bringing baby along makes it that much easier to get out of the house and to nurture ourselves just a little bit without having to wait until we are comfortable leaving baby and without having to arrange childcare.”
When these obstacles are removed, Rust noted, some moms can return to gentle exercise, like mommy-baby yoga, in the early weeks postpartum.
“Moms also are able to interact with their babies in a different way than what they are used to at home, and this has major benefits,” Rust said. “Babies are stimulated by the environment and develop new skills. There are many babies who have rolled over for the first time during yoga.”
Dealing with a postpartum body can be difficult, and yoga can accommodate all stages of the journey as well as enhance mother-baby bonding.
“It is easily modified to suit all stages, all goals and all fitness levels,” Rust said. “That allows me to customize the class for all women, regardless of birth experience or the age of their babies.”
While yoga typically has a strong focus on breathing and body awareness, the classes at Baby Moon vary in that they are not as quiet and meditative.
“New motherhood is not a quiet, meditative time,” Rust quipped. “This class is all about releasing expectations and going with the flow, a proven method for reducing stress and anxiety.”
Just remember, she added, that everyone’s journey postpartum is different.
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Recognizing that moms and their babies need to be together as much as possible during the “fourth trimester” – the first 12 weeks after birth – Baby Moon provides programming to help new mothers get back into their fitness routine. | Photo by Abby Laub
Baby Moon offers a wide range of safe, effective classes, including a new Mama & Baby Pilates class. All of the classes, including Baby Musical Play; Story Time Yoga; Sign, Say & Play; and Infant Pathways are available at babymoon.com. Rust also co-owns and writes for Mama Seeds (mamaseeeds.com), an online resource with more mommy/baby video workouts and dozens of articles on motherhood topics, including returning to exercise after having a baby.
For moms who want to get their babies more involved and in on the exercising action, Legacy All Sports has a great option. The Parent-Tot gymnastics classes focus on basic gymnastics and athletic skills while allowing parents to get highly involved and sweating along with their kiddos.
Legacy owner Linice Kaiser said, “It’s a great workout for both parent and tot,” noting that the 40-minute classes include work on the bars, balance beam, trampolines and other gymnastics tools. “While developing strength, flexibility and balance with the child, moms and dads will get a great workout demonstrating and helping the tot maneuver activities in the gym. It’s an amazing, interactive experience for everyone.”
Stroller Strong
In the winter months, Stroller Strong meets at Rosemont Baptist Church and at Kirklevington Park when it’s warmer.
www.facebook.com/strollerstrongmomslex
Stroller Strides
Stroller Strides meets at East Hickman Baptist Church in the winter and Veterans Park in the summer.
www.facebook.com/FIT4MOM.Lexington
Legacy All Sports
261 Ruccio Way
Baby Moon
2891 Richmond Road
(859) 335-5949