Stroller Strides

Being a mom is hard work. You seem to put everyone before yourself.: your kids, your partner, your parents. It seems as if sometimes, by the time you take care of everyone else, there isn't time for yourself. Introducing Stroller Strides. Stroller Strides is a class by the company Fit4Mom where you bring your baby with you. Each class is an hour long and they focus on cardio, strength and core training. During the workouts, you sing songs to the kids, high five them, dance around them, different things to keep them engaged.

For this session, we met at MacArthur Mall, near the H&M. We would speed walk to different parts in the mall; the kids would stay with the instructor while we ran up and down the stairs or shuffled around in circles, and we paused at each side of the mall to do cardio, strength, and core work.

I've heard people say that a class like this is just "walking with other moms." Wrong, and I know because this class kicks your butt. The instructors are trained in pre and postnatal fitness. I also like that the class sizes are small, so you have a lot of personal attention if you need it. Not only are the instructors trained, but they are also super encouraging. My favorite part is the community of moms. There is also a monthly mom's night out.

(R giving Mama a high five for hard work!)

The classes are held Monday-Saturday. They start promptly at 9:30 outside of H&M. On Wednesdays, the class is more of a barre workout and they have a play group with a craft after class. If you're interested in trying any of their classes, click here. There are a couple different ones (I posted about the MacArthur 360 studio here.) There are different payment options also.

Things that I assumed about this class:

• R would fuss in the stroller: Eh, he was interested in watching the moms, high-fiving me, and eating his snack. At the end of the class the kids got out of the strollers for a dance.
• The moms would be too fit for my out of shape self: It was hard, but the other moms were super encouraging and you can make it harder or easier.
• I'd feel silly singing songs and doing a workout in the mall in front of random people. False! When I arrived at the mall, there were quite a few people walking. The stores opened while we were working out and some shoppers were around, but it wasn't a ton. I didn't even notice them honestly. 

At the end, the kids got out to do a little dancing. You can see R's interpretation of my stretching. Perhaps he was trying yoga, or to work out himself?