Stroller Strides with Dads Day

My new recent obsession is Stroller Strides. Since I started the SAHM thing, it has been surprisingly hard to incorporate workouts into our daily routine. Eva throws an absolute fit every time that I take her to our gym. They have a fifteen to twenty minute limit on crying and she pretty much maxes it out just about every time we go. Imagine how hard it is to get motivated enough to go to the gym, pack up your baby, and then have them page you within fifteen minutes on the treadmill. I got more exercise walking up the stairs to drop her off! Clearly, the 24 Hour Fitness Kids' Club wasn't working for us. My next plan of attack was to work out at night when Jeff got home. That didn't work either. We get so little time together as it is. I gave it a go for a month and a half and finally called it quits after I saw how it affected our quality of life.

About that time, Eva changed her nap schedule to one midday nap, and all of my baby classes ended. This freed me to explore other options, which is when I decided to check out Stroller Strides. It's really quite the dream scenario. The group meets about a block from my house and the work out is absolutely killer. It's all the things that I would rarely do on my own like pushups, squats, crunches, sprinting, etc. I do fine running, cycling, and swimming on my own but I really need someone to push me to do this kind of work out. I love the fact that it is outside, and oftentimes we end at a park where we have an informal playdate. The women are incredibly supportive of each other and understanding of the inevitable issues that come along with this sort of hybrid workout.

Now, I know what you are probably thinking: "Oh, good, you finally found something where Eva doesn't throw a fit anymore!" Make no mistake: Eva wails the entire time that I am out of her sight. But the difference is that the women and trainer know that it's all a part of the process. They assure me that Eva will get better over time and they even share their own war stories. While I am modeling for Eva what a fit, healthy mama does, our trainer, Tracy, wheels her around to see me or sings a nursery rhyme to Eva and the other babies. I'm incredibly grateful to have finally found something that seems to be working for both of us. I look forward to more adventures with this group and the fitness dividends that will come from it.

A final note: the Dads joined us today and Jeff was shocked by the intensity of the workout. He had his heart rate monitor on and burned 600 calories. The photos above are of the moms, dads, and babies/kids enjoying the post workout high together in the sunshine.