Boot Camp for Parents

Looking Pretty!

As I write these words, I am aware of soreness in almost every muscle of my body. A nice kind of sore, a post-workout kind if sore. An aching that I had previously been very familiar with.

Prior to Baby # 1's appearance, I used to work out daily, sometimes twice a day. During my first pregnancy, I toned down the intensity, but still exercised daily. On the eve of her appearance, I was spinning at my gym. When the instructor saw my belly, he became a little concerned. What if it pops out during the class, he asked? He followed this up by asking if there were any doctors in the class. When no one answered his query, I whispered that not only was I one, but that he needn't worry about the baby popping out quickly as it was my first pregnancy.

As it happened, Baby #1 made her appearance the morning after the aforementioned spinning class. I had every intention of staying in shape post baby, and then reality quickly settled in. Baby immediately became my top priority, and sleep deprivation was the main limiting factor to most things I was hoping to accomplish. As it happened, it would be over a year before I started getting back in shape.

Since Baby #2's appearance, I resolved to get back into shape sooner. If I thought taking care of one baby was difficult, I never imagined how taking care of two simultaneously would change my daily routine! I did however start jogging with the baby (in her stroller) at 4 months post-partum. Working out in a gym while I left the two of them with someone proved logistically difficult, but also left me feeling very guilty.

Until I discovered a new kid-oriented gym in our neigbourhood. The gym (www.gymagine.ca) opened up a few months ago, and includes two large studios and what they call a "tumble room". The floor of the Tumble Room is entirely covered in mats, and the room includes toddler-sized gymnastics equipment, as well as large mats of all shapes and sizes that you can easily arrange in an unlimited fashion as to create safe obstacle courses. The gym has a variety of classes for children and toddlers, but also offers "free-play" in the Tumble Room. We would drop in on rainy days, or very hot days. The gym charged per two-hour period in the Tumble Room. Our toddler thoroughly enjoyed jumping around, and two hours flew by.

Just last week, we went to the Tumble Room on a rainy day. The attendant behind the front desk mentioned that if ever I wanted to try Boot-Camp (one of a few classes for adults), that the kids could use the Tumble Room and would be supervised while we were in the adjacent studio. The very next week, I arranged to meet my husband after work at the gym, which is conveniently located walking distance from his work-place. He took care of the baby, our toddler happily played in the Tumble Room, and I tried Boot Camp.

The warm-up was so intense, that I was sweating within 5 minutes, and had doubts about finishing the class. "No pain, no gain" the instructor kept repeating. Somehow I made it through the 60 minute class. I felt rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready for more.

I have been to quite a few gyms that have childcare. But usually the children are relegated to a small room with a few toys and a TV. This gym was uniquely kid-oriented, but also catered to parents hoping for a work-out.

Hanging out in the Tumble Room

The Benefits of Exercise

CC gives her monkey a push

Roly-poly at 51/2 months

A friend of mine recently decided to go on a diet.  Until now, she had been extolling the benefits of exercise.  That way "I can eat anything," so long as I work it off.  With time, she came to realize the inaccuracy of her claims.  She had read a few interesting articles, and a book, and explained that although conventional wisdom had it that exercise was an essential component of a weight loss program, this was, in fact, not the case. While certainly an increase in a person's level of activity would burn more calories, the net impact over a relatively short weight-loss period (typically 12 to 24 weeks) was small. To lose just one pound of fat, she explained, a 160-pound person would have to walk briskly (4miles/hour) for 42 miles!  While my friend wasn't going to give up her exercise regimen, she decided that if she was to lose some weight, she would have to additionally watch what she ate.

CC after her self-imposed exercise regime

I agreed with her, but told her that I knew of at least one exceptional case.  At 51/2 months, our baby was roly-poly, or fat as my husband would describe it.  By 61/2 months, she was expertly crawling.  Not only was she drinking more milk compared to her pre-crawling phase, but she had also started eating semi-solids.  She did not grow significantly in height during this one-month period, but as you can see from the before and after photos, the bulge was gone!  That's just one case though, I explained to my friend, and encouraged her to embark on her diet.