New moms make strides in fitness

Exercising to music is nothing new these days, and a familiar sight would be women with wires hanging out of their ears, attached to iPods.

For the group of moms working out at Corona del Mar beach, moving to the beat of “the wheels on the bus go round and round,” a popular children’s tune, was more up their alley.

This was a Stroller Strides class, where hard-core exercise for moms goes hand-in-hand with a play day for their kids.

When those kids get restless or fussy, it’s not unusual for the instructor to lend a hand by singing a little song.

And those strollers come in very handy when the high-intensity workout these moms follow requires laps around the parking lot.

Stroller Strides was founded in 2001 by new mom Lisa Druxman, who was looking for a way to stay healthy and in shape after the birth of her son.

With hundreds of locations nationwide, the franchise has been featured on television programs including “The Today Show,” “Access Hollywood” and on CNN, and its website stresses that one of the program’s goals is to “inspire moms to reach optimal health and well being.”

Fit Pregnancy magazine reported in its February 2005 issue that Australian researchers found evidence that “among new moms who’d been diagnosed with depression, those who completed a 12-week stroller-walking class showed fewer symptoms than those in a mom/baby play group that didn’t involve exercise.”

Kristi Murray of Costa Mesa has been teaching the Stroller Strides class in Corona del Mar three times a week for the past year-and-a-half, and will be taking some time off in the next month to deliver her second child — a girl, due in October.

Stroller Strides policy requires that instructors take six weeks of maternity leave before they can resume teaching their class.

Murray said attendance in her class can range from five to 25 moms at any time, but there is a core group of six who are there consistently, and that the class is special because it is a much harder workout than others she has been a part of.

None of the moms in this class suffered from any severe forms of depression, but all reported feeling sleep-deprived, overwhelmed, anxious and isolated at times after the birth of their children.

The “baby blues” was a term all were familiar with, but getting out of the house for some exercise, being able to take their kids with them and socializing with other moms going through similar experiences made all the difference in the world, they said.

Wendy Noyes of Irvine, whose daughter, Grace, is 18 months old, started the class about a year ago, after giving birth and making the decision to be a stay-at-home mom.

For Noyes, the transition was traumatic because she was very outgoing and active, and she found it difficult to manage the daily routine of breast feeding, caring for her child and eking out a little “me” time for herself.

Surfing the Internet for a moms support group, she found the Stroller Strides class, and said the fitness aspect is what really pulled her out of the “stress of managing” that she was under.

Since joining the class, Noyes said, she has never been this active or physically fit, and “being surrounded with like-minded people that are driven, [is] inspiring because you get up, and you know everybody’s got to have the same morning — everybody’s got to struggle with the kids — they’ve got to get them fed, get them dressed, and get yourself ready.”

While the moms are working out, the kids are socializing with each other. They have chalk, bubbles or they play in the sand.

For Murray, being a part of this class meant she could be the mom she wanted to be and keep her daughter with her.

Newport Beach resident Jacqueline Siciliano had been trying to conceive for five years and worked full time before becoming pregnant with twin boys Caden and Justin, 3.

She gave up her job after the twins were born, and said even though her husband moved his office into the house and was there to help her, “the first six months were a blur.”

When the boys were about a year old she was walking on Balboa Island, saw a flier for the class, went online and signed up.

Siciliano has been in the class for about two years, and said for the cost, it’s almost like personal training, and “it’s motivating having other women to work out with.”

More than that, these women have become her best friends, she said, and the support they get from each other makes it easier to face the child rearing issues that come up for all of them.

“I agree 100% in just getting out of the house, and starting a routine of working out — the earlier you start, the better it is for your kids too. The older they get, the harder it is for them to stay in the stroller.”

For the kids, they can move around a lot, because the places they stop at for their exercises are close together, Siciliano said.

“They love getting out and running around, and it’s great for their naps, ’cause it wears them out.”

Newport Beach mom Linda D’Alessio said after having a baby, your whole life changes, and besides sharing the working out part, you need other moms in your life.

When she comes here, she said, “I have so many questions about what my daughter is doing, and I’m learning all that while I’m working out.”

For more information on Stroller Strides classes, go to www.strollerstrides.com.