One year ago this week I took my first Baby Boot Camp class.  I remember the class well as it was my first introduction to a “moms club” of sorts that I finally related to.

Before I had a baby, I worked in an environment where I was surrounded by people like me.  I had a lot of friends at work and my job included exciting things like travel and events that kept me busy.  I wasn’t used to quiet or “alone” time.  Those first few months with a new baby were lonely compared to my previous life.  The truth is, I like being busy and enjoyed the constant hum of my old life and four months into my new role as a mom, I was itching to meet other moms like me.

Then I discovered there are moms groups out there.  Well, what a treat!  I signed up for a few of the events appropriate for a very young infant and embarked to find my new tribe, my new posse.  However, as each event passed, I became more disheartened.  I wasn’t clicking with other moms like I thought I would.  I didn’t share their passion for being a full-time, stay at home, my-world-revolves-around-little-Suzie talk they had.  I would quietly observe women at these playdates bemoan the fact they had no time to workout while giving their kids cookies to be quiet and drinking Coke to stay awake.  I know I provoke eye rolls from some people when I tell them I don’t feed my kid junk and I don’t drink soda.  I know even more that I annoy some people when I preach the virtues of exercise and including that into their routine.  After each of these events I would come home more depressed wondering where my new circle of moms would be.  I knew I wasn’t alone, I just didn’t know where these women were.

Then I joined Baby Boot Camp.  I remember feeling immediately relaxed after my first conversation with the owner.  After she put me at ease, I was even more pleased as the moms there introduced themselves to me, asked me about my baby and made conversation with me during the workout.  Up until that point, most of the moms types of events I had attended were existing cliques that, like high schoool, I needed to break into.  That wasn’t my idea of support and friendship.  At Baby Boot Camp, the conversations that took place while we exercised were open to everyone.  When a few moms want to meet after class to take the kids to the beach, everyone was invited.  This was a group I like

I cherish the group of women I have come to know as my own posse.  Each time I am struggling with something new G-love is doing to confuse or overwhelm me, I talk to another mom who immediatley puts me at ease or gives sound advice to follow.  I learn about different healthy recipes to feed my family and go running with some of the moms on the weekends.  I feel like myself when I am at boot camp, which was a more comfortable feeling than I had at other organized mom events.  Baby Boot Camp is so ingrained in our routine, that on days where I don’t teach or go to class, G-love and I both feel out of sorts- like something in our routine is missing.

The icing on the cake to all of this, besides franchise ownership and the opportunity I have had to meet so many moms is definitely the fact that I am in the best shape of my life.  I think back to those sweet days of my twenties where I worked out 2 hours per day training for triathlons (and back then I thought I had no free time!) and I am far healthier now than I ever was then.  The workouts we do are not a stroll in the park.  I can out burpee or out push-up many men and feel like I can lunge for miles.  Besides those accomplishments, I am training for a half marathon and will be linking arms with four of these fabulous boot camp moms to cross the finish line of the Camp Pendleton Mud Run in a matter of weeks.

What are you waiting for?  I know some of you reading this can relate and need this- stop making excuses!  I’ll see you in class soon!

Baby boot camp, Body after Baby, Challenge, exercise, fitness, friends, Healthy Habits, workout Blog