March Member of the Month

Meet Jessika! 

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jessika Haselbauer and I have been a proud member of Stroller Strong Moms here in Savannah, Georgia since the grand opening in August.  I am so thankful that my friend, Marie Kelley (who was a part of the Columbus SSM family) gave me a heads up that Alexa was coming my way! After reviewing the website and watching the videos I was pumped, I knew this was the kick in the butt I needed to lose the extra weight I was carrying and overall to just be fit and healthy once again. SSM has not only lived up to all my expectations but has exceeded them!

I grew up all over the world as an “army brat”, from Vilseck, Germany to Fort Sill, Oklahoma.  Growing up my dad always tried to keep us active whether we were taking a family hike, bike ride, swimming, or just kicking the soccer ball around the back yard. Along with those activities I took tap, jazz, and ballet for 6 years and played 2 years of soft ball for my church league.  Looking back I believe the shift from a healthy lifestyle happened gradually and due to many reasons. Life threw me several curve balls and within a matter of two years I had went through losing a child, divorce, and then became a working single mother.  Food quickly became a comfort for me and working out took a back burner.  After putting myself through nursing school and achieving my RN I finally was ready for a change and my focus shifted back to health and fitness. I started taking spin classes, running after work, and enrolled in a 12 week boot camp.  I dropped 15 pounds in 6 months and felt strong and determined to stay fit. 

A short time later I met a wonderful man who renewed my faith in love and happiness.  We were married April 2009 and we have journeyed together from Kansas to Alabama, and then onto our present home here in Savannah.  We have a 9 year old daughter, Jayla and a 9 month old, Tristin.  After having Tristin I again found myself overweight and out of shape!! The road back to being fit has not been easy but SSM has made it possible.  All the support and encouragement from everyone has made me push harder when I wanted to quit and reach goals I never thought possible.  I could not even run a half mile when I started class back in August without feeling like I was going to die. Two weeks ago I ran a 5K at a 10 minute/mile pace and felt amazing doing it!! I could barely crank out 2 to 3 push-ups in August and now I can do 25! I have lost a total of 26 pounds over the past 6 months and have toned and trimmed up in so many areas. Both of my children enjoy attending SSM class with me especially because of all the playgroups and activities we get to be a part of.  It is so great to come to class and see everyone’s smiling faces and know we were all there for a common goal to be fit and healthy!!

I am proof that it is never too late to reengage in a fit and healthy life.   If you truly put in the effort and time SSM will change your life!

SSM February/March News

February/March News

Hey Stroller Strong Moms!

February and March have been filled with lots of awesome SSM events and happenings. We have welcomed tons of new SSMs in Columbus and in Savannah! In Columbus, we had an awesome group Valentine's Day Class and a really fun performance of the Harlem Shake thanks to Joe Paull, our SSM videographer/CPG. Savannah had a really fun Valentine themed class and Dr. Suess themed class and playgroup! Speaking of playgroup...playgroups have been going awesome thanks to Carly, our playgroup leader in Columbus, and Kim W, our playgroup leader in Savannah. Please see these ladies if you are interested in hosting a future playgroup!

Columbus SSM Valentine's Day Circuit Class!

SSM Savannah Dr. Seuss theme class and playgroup

SSM Savannah completed at big group 5k last weekend with their GLLAM shirts at the Shamrock Run in downtown Savannah. Tons of PRs happened on Friday night! SSM Columbus gets ready with their GLLAM shirts for a big group showing at the SMA 5K tomorrow morning and the St. Paddy's Day 5k as well. 

We have welcomed new instructors at both SSM Columbus and Savannah! Huge welcome to Brooke Whitis in Columbus! Her bio will be up on the website shortly! She has been an awesome Stroller Strong Moms for some time now and she fell perfectly into the role of being an instructor in the end of February. We also welcome both Kelli Berger and Cassie Cercy to the instructor team in Savannah (both are pictured above as Thing 1 and Thing 2). Kelli and Cassie have been doing an awesome job and they are ready to step right in and keep SSM going strong when Smith baby #3 decides to make an appearance! 

Farewell to Julie...

With the welcoming of new instructors often comes having to say goodbye to someone. Our awesome and loyal SSM Columbus instructor, Julie, will be PCSing to Colorado at the end of March. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Julie and family and we wish them the best of luck on their next adventure in Colorado. Please join us in celebrating Julie on Saturday, March 23rd at 5pm at the Clubhouse at Greystone at Columbus Parks Apartments with Potluck food and fun. We will also have a fun tribute class to Julie on Friday, March 22nd at Britt David Park. There will only be one class that day, so please head over to Britt David to honor Julie and all the time, commitment, fun, motivation and friendship she has given to each and every Stroller Strong Mom!!! 

Get Fit for 2013 Challenge...

ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL THE END OF GET FIT FOR 2013!!!!! THERE ARE AWESOME PRIZES FOR BOTH COLUMBUS AND SAVANNAH. KEEP WORKING HARD TO REACH THOSE GOALS AND BLOW YOUR NUMBERS OUT OF THE WATER! 

COLUMBUS PRIZES ARE AS FOLLOWS: 

Prizes will be gift cards to Big Dog Running Company!!!!

First Place: $150

Second Place: $100

Third Place: $75

Fourth Place: $50

Fifth Place: $25

$20 Prizes for most classes attended, most body fat loss, most weight loss, most fitness assessment improvement will be given out as well!!

SAVANNAH PRIZES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Prizes will be gift cards to Georgia Game Changers Running Co!!!!

First Place: $100

Second Place: $50

Third Place: $25

$15 Prizes for most classes attended, most body fat loss, most weight loss, most fitness assessment improvement will be given out as well!!

More News...

Stroller Strong Moms has recently added some new days and locations to the schedule! In Columbus, we are now Monday through Friday at both Lake Bottom and Britt David!!!! In Savannah, we have added J.F. Gregory Park in Richmond Hill on Tuesdays and Thursdays! We are still at Forsyth Park on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

We are also pleased to announce that we have added automatic draft for month unlimited members! No need to remember to pay every month anymore, it will be done for you! 

I leave you with this cute little photo to remind you that you are strong and powerful and you should hold your head high. You have achieved so much through  pushing yourself in and out of class, day in and day out to become a faster runner, a more fit mom who is able to take on daily tasks with ease, a stronger mom, a better you! Have confidence in that and believe in yourself because you are awesome! 

Keep SLAMing ladies!!!! 

~Alexa 

February Member of the Month

Meet April

Salutations everyone!

My name is April Rebecca West and I have been a member of the Stroller Strong Moms in Columbus, GA for almost 5 months. It has not been long as most, but I am so grateful that Nicky Neveau and Jamie Franco led me to the program and this great group of girls because this program is AWESOME and it truly WORKS! 

A little bit about me: I was born and raised in Rainbow City, Alabama. Growing up I took 10 years of dance, played soft ball, and was trying out for my high-school track team when a hit-and-run accident derailed all of that. I was told that I was lucky to keep my leg, but having a surgically-emplaced steel rod in my leg crushed my dreams of ever making the track team. Being on crutches for two years also slowed me down a bit but, I survived, and eventually lost my nickname of "CRUTCH". During college I tried to stay active but..... I remained more of a casual walker. After finishing my degree in Elementary Education, I began teaching Kindergarten and tried to keep up with their high-intensity levels. Kindergarten proved to be my favorite age group to teach because they are so wild and active but you can literally witness all of their accomplishments from the beginning of the school year until the end. While teaching school and trying to keep up with my husbands active life-style in the military, I tried to get back to challenging myself physically. I began with aerobics, yoga, cross-training, swimming and doing a lot of run/walk races. Over the last couple of years I have ran 5K's and 10K's wherever we are stationed and hope to complete many more when we get to Washington state (we are about to PCS to Ft. Lewis, WA).

 

Larry and I also have a sweet little girl named Lily who is 14 months old; she has also loved attending SSM and has had a wonderful time with the other SSM babies! Hopefully, our love of the outdoors and physical fitness will inspire Lily. 

 

Our upcoming PCS will be bittersweet for me because this means that I will be leaving a great group of girls who have motivated me to push myself and to try to get better every time I am around them. This move wasn't surprising as we knew our time in Columbus was short; my husband was only here to attend a course at Ft. Benning from August thru January. But, I never anticipated finding a program like Stroller Strong Moms or meeting such friendly people. Thank you all, Lily and I will miss all of you.  

 

Keep on S.L.A.M.ing!!!

 

All Smiles,

 

April R. West

Your Body is a Finely Tuned Vehicle...

Give it Good Fuel, and It Will Take You Places. 

SSM December/January News

December/January News 

Hey out there! What a busy couple of months for Stroller Strong Moms!!! We wrapped up December with two awesome MNOs. The columbus moms had a tacky sweater and ornament exchange party which included a fashion show runway and some 80s dancing to some favorites including 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'. The Savannah moms went on a Savannah Slow Ride bike ride through downtown Savannah with stops at local bars along the way. One stop included a group karaoke song/dance to, coincidentally, 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'!! Fun times!!! 

Some awesome things are happening for both SSM of Columbus and SSM of Savannah in the month of January!!!! 

Let's start with Columbus! 

PLAYGROUP
We added Playgroup! The playgroup captain is Carly Mueller and make sure to friend her on Facebook so she can add you to the group playgroup page on Facebook. This is where you can find all the info you need on future playgroups for our awesome Stroller Strong Kids! If you are interested in hosting a playgroup, please contact Carly. 

WE ADDED CLASSES!!!!
Effective yesterday, we added 5 days a week at Lake Bottom Park (plus 2 saturdays a month) and 3 days a week at Britt David Park (M,W,F)!!!!! We are SO excited about this because it means Stroller Strong Moms is growing!!!!! In order to accommodate all of our moms and keep classes smaller, we are offering two park options for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We encourage those who live on the north end of town to attend Britt David on those days! 

GROUP VALENTINE'S DAY CLASS

On Thursday, February 14th, we will have a group class at Lake Bottom Park with all of the instructors!!! It is going to be an awesome time with fun activities afterwards for the kids! Don't forget to wear pink or red! More info to follow! 

GET FIT FOR 2013 
We started our challenge for the second year in a row and it is off to a great start!!! THIRTY-FIVE Moms are participating in GFF2013 and they are all working super hard to reach their goals and improve their fitness!! 

Moms pushing to their limits on the shuttle run test during GFF2013 in Columbus

Let's talk about Savannah! 

PLAYGROUP

We added playgroup in Savannah too! The playgroup captain for Savannah is Kim Watson. Friend her on Facebook and she will add you to the playgroup page where you will find all the info on upcoming playgroups for Stroller Strong Kids. If you are interested in hosting playgroup, please contact Kim. 

VALENTINE'S DAY CLASS

Savannah will also have a fun Valentine's Day Class with awesome Valentine's stations and some treats after class. Wear all the red and pink you can find! More info to follow. 

GET FIT FOR 2013 

This is the first year of GFF2013 in Savannah and it's going awesome! We have 15 moms participating in this great program. Moms are working toward improving their fitness and reaching their health and fitness goals! 

Moms moving those feet a mile a minute during the step up test of GFF2013 in Savannah

KEEP 'SLAM'ING EVERYBODY!!!!!

 

bLean Group Weight Loss Program for GFF2013 Participants

Get Fit for 2013 Participants...please check out this weight loss program from bFit Studio. This is a great deal that they are offering to SSMs who are doing the Get Fit Challenge. Please let one of the instructors know if you would like to participate.

December/January Member of the Month!

Meet Lindsey...

Hey there!

My name is Lindsey and I have been a member of the Savannah Stroller Strong Mom’s since it started in September 2012. 

I married my husband, Stephen, in 2008 and quickly realized that to fit in with his family I had to become more athletic.  He comes from a family of runners and tennis players.  I ran my first half marathon in 2009 and have since run three more as well as adding duathlons to my training.  We welcomed our baby girl, Norah, in July of 2012.  We moved to Savannah from Orlando at the beginning of September with our then 8-week old due to a new employment opportunity for my husband.  I am originally from the Atlanta area, so being closer to family with a new baby made the decision to move a very easy one.  I won’t lie, I was nervous about coming to a new town and trying to meet new people.  I was also trying to figure out how to shed some of the baby weight that I gained and get back into running and getting fit. 

I came across the SSM website while searching for mommy and me type classes in the Savannah area.  I read all about Alexa and what the class was about.  It sounded intriguing and I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.  When I started the classes, Norah wasn’t quite big enough for a jogging stroller but we made it work and now coming to class has become part of our daily routine.  The stress of meeting new people has long been gone.  The ladies that show up for SSM classes are a fabulous group of women that are incredibly motivating and make coming to class really enjoyable…even if we are all complaining about how sore we are from a previous day’s workout! 

I have made it a goal to come everyday that I possibly can.  I know that I am getting stronger and I hope to show my daughter that an active lifestyle is a fun and important part of our lives.  We have now done our first family 5K (with hubby pushing jogger) and I look forward to many more.  It was great to share this race with many of the other SSM moms.  Thanks Alexa for pushing us hard every workout and being a great instructor, and for all of the moms that are right there with me as we get our sweat on!