Stroller Strides and more

In early January 2011, I joined Stroller Strides. For the un-initiated, it is a FABULOUS momma-baby group work-out.  Each franchise may vary, so I'll explain how ours works.  If you are pregnant/expecting/have a child in a stroller, I implore you to look up your local group.  Being a part of this wonderful group has been a life-saver for me.

Our group meets 4 times/week, at 2 area parks (alternating locations), for an hour each time.  You bring your munchkin in a stroller, and break a sweat.  We start with a warm-up, and then do a mix of cardio and strength work (using a resistance tube or body weight).  Then we "take off," either power walking or jogging to the next station.  Rinse and repeat 3-4 times (the working and running part).  Then we end up back at our starting point for ab work, followed by a cool down/stretch.  Oh, and of course, since it's a baby integrated class, we entertain the children as we work.  Sometimes it's squats to "Tick tock, tick tock, I'm a little cookoo clock", sometimes it's sprint away from the stroller, and then tickle your kiddo when you get back.  Whatever the instructors have in store, you can be sure it will be amusing. 



My daughter with her besties.  You can tell they're amused, right? :)

One of the things that I love most about Stroller Strides is that you can make it YOUR workout.  You can go all out, 110% for an hour, or you can give it your best and use the "take off" part to recover.  Either way, you're getting in some movement, and your kid is learning that fitness is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but it's an amazing organization!

In addition to Stroller Strides, I exclusively breast-fed the kid until she was 15 months old.  By April 2011, I had gotten back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 195 (on the kid's 5 month birthday).  Lucky me, I was back in my pre-preg jeans within a few weeks of giving birth (I know, I know). I stayed right around 195 until I quit pumping in Nov 2011. 



Dec 2010

At first (while on maternity leave) I went to SS as often as I could (2-4/week).  Besides walking my Monster around the block in the afternoons, SS was the only exercise I got, until March 2011.  In March, my kidlet was old enough to go in a jogging stroller, so I joined a second Stroller Strides program, called Moms on the Run.

Moms on the Run is an 8 week program to guide you to running a 5k (or 10k, if you can already run 2 miles).  In earlier posts, I mentioned that I had tried and abandoned the Couch to 5k program.  Moms on the Run gave me the boost that I needed to get over that hump, and I ran my first ever 5k in May 2011 (in 36 minutes). 


May 2011