Some companies encourage employees to bring their kids to work with them once a year. At Stroller Strides, bringing your children to workout with you is practically mandatory, as many times per week as you can manage.
Stroller Strides is the brainchild of San Diego State University grad Lisa Druxman. What started as a small group of new moms getting some exercise together in Encinitas has turned into a national phenomenon. Today, it’s a national business, with more than 300 franchises in 47 states. There are 12 locations in San Diego, with more than 1,000 mommy participants.
On August 8, the company will celebrate its 8th anniversary with a free class in San Elijo. It’s open to the public, not just members.
There are different fee structures for taking classes, but a monthly membership is $55. Sessions last about 50 minutes. Moms push strollers during a power walk, with occasional stops for body toning exercises.
What if your little bundle of joy is having a bad day?
“Sure, there are times when it’s just not working,” says Druxman. “But we also have a whole enrichment curriculum for kids during the classes. “In general, kids learn about getting excited about fitness. But we also focus on letters and numbers, or maybe the weather for them. The kids are pretty engaged.”
Stroller Strides class instructors are all accredited in general exercise science and pre- and post-natal fitness. And most are—first and foremost, says Druxman—moms.
“Half the reason I started getting together with other moms was because I had so many questions about being one,” she says.
Health
Ron Donoho is a regular contributor to NBCSandiego.com and a contributing editor to sandiego.com. His Web site (sandiegoDTOWN.com) is dedicated to news, sports, culture, happy hours and all things downtown.
