Episode 15 of All About Fitness is about the role that community plays in promoting a healthy and fitness lifestyle. People who don’t workout tend to find any excuse to avoid getting sweaty. Those of us who enjoy fitness are the opposite, we look forward to the physical challenge of a tough workout and often we look forward to seeing the friends we’ll be sweating with as we push ourselves to perform better.   How many times have you thought about blowing off a workout or skipping an activity because you weren’t really in the mood? How many times did you suck it up and show up because you knew that others would be there waiting for you and, if nothing else, it was a chance to get out, see some friends and have a little fun?  One of the best things about the fitness lifestyle is being a part of a community of like-minded individuals. As someone who has taught group fitness classes for the better part of 20 years I can attest to the fact that many friendships are made among people who sweat together. One of the coolest things is that many people who first meet in the gym end up becoming friends, which is especially important in this day of social media when it can be easier to connect virtually than in real life. The topic of today’s episode is how fitness can create a community and why that community can be an important part of a healthy lifestyle.   You may have seen them in the park: a phalanx of women in form-fitting exercise clothes pushing strollers and stopping every so often to perform some workouts. The program is called Stroller Strides and it was created by Lisa Druxman, a fitness professional, who noticed there was a lack of exercise options for women who had just given birth. True to the phrase: necessity is the mother of invention, once Lisa decided to create a program that catered to new moms who didn’t want the let the new addition stand in the way of their exercise program. Once Lisa created the Stroller Strides workout she turned it into a franchise program so that other new moms could start their own companies promoting health and fitness.   Over the years Stroller Strides has evolved to include programs called Fit4Baby - classes for pre-natal fitness, Body Back - conditioning classes for any stage of motherhood and has become the company Fit4Mom.  Farel Hruska is the National Fitness Director responsible for educating new and existing franchise owners and instructors. Lisa and Farel have focused on helping women create a community of like-minded individuals who care about the health of both their families and themselves as individuals.    In this episode of All About Fitness, Lisa, Farel and I discuss the evolution of Fit4Mom and the role that a community of like-minded individuals plays in helping you to pursue a healthy and fit lifestyle.    Please visit the sponsors of All About Fitness:   ActivMotion Bar www.activmotionbar.com   Vicore Fitness www.vicorefitness.com   Information on Fit4Mom: www.fit4mom.com Franchise information: http://fit4momfranchise.com    

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices