I remember the photoshoot in 2014 very well. It was a beautiful spring day in May. I packed the City Select with snacks and walked the boys a mile down the road to Kevin Hammett’s studio on Webster Street in Lincoln Park.
… if you live in Chicago, you might know Kevin too. He is the best family photographer.
What’s the difference in 8 years?
…for my children
…and for me
Am I the only one who feels a time warp?
Before kids, I was an endurance athlete (you know, marathon, Ironman and various road races in between) and had a TIGHT KNIT group of endurance athlete friends.
We traveled in packs to put in long training days and rode together on weekends.
#pure pleasure
I tried to hold onto endurance training days after my boys were born and built up to compete in a half IM triathlon when the boys were 2.5 years old.
Guess what.
…SO ANNOYING!
Nope, not because it’s physically challenging, (that kinda goes without saying).
It’s just not fun.
Why?
Simple. I don’t have “my people” on race day.
I inevitably lost my training partners during my transition to motherhood since I had to schedule my (solo) running and riding training around my family’s schedule, my husband and I often had to tag-team our workouts.
BUT, not long after, I discovered “my NEW people” at id Gym….
I learned how to swing and press Kettlebells in a beloved 6am KB class every Wednesday and Friday. I loved this new challenge.
Kettlebells slowly became the new jam. I got stronger at the young age of 45!
I developed deep friendships and belonged to this badass Kettlebell tribe. My people. ❤️ (2017 I was certified to teach KB!)
Then… COVID
Gyms are closed. The world closed. We moved to Wisconsin in the summer of 2020.
My tribe… has split up again.😢
Maybe you can relate.
The silver lining of Covid… is the introduction of LIVE-STREAMING training and classes!
Like most fit pros, I quickly transitioned from in-person training for Active Moms’ Club to live-streaming training via Zoom.
While I lost my personal AMC community and KB tribe, we all continued to meet online for our workouts (who knew!!!).
AMC alums who once moved to Chicago are back in live-streaming practice! #winwin
FUN FACTS: I have clients who stream classes from California, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota!
The women within AMC helped me stay connected when I moved out of state.
❤️ Together, through Covid we learned we could lean on each other and felt a sense of belonging through our live-streaming workouts while the world felt very isolated.
Live-streaming classes continue to provide an asset for all of our moms.
This is what really makes AMC stand out from ‘just another fitness class’.
So what else has changed for me in 8 short AND long years…
I’ve dialed in my time commitment for exercise…
(The truth is that most moms don’t want to spend their precious time doing an hour-long workout to get stronger! Well, except for me and the moms within the AMC community.)
I have discovered some unusual a-ha moments in my personal journey:
- Exercise doesn’t have to be an hour, or even 30 minutes to be effective
- deep understanding of basic movements and using them in different ways
- listening to my body’s pain points and turning them into possibilities
- boosting my consistency by making exercise FUN
- following a specific format to eliminate brain exercise
I brought this new framework to AMC.
Shorter workouts have been a game changer for my clients over the past few years.
This is exactly why I created it AMC’s 30-Day Fitness Challenge this includes a 20-minute workout.
I want to MAXIMIZE your workout time AND take the GUESSWORK out of working out to help you feel more body confident and stronger— without going to the gym.
I will open the doors again in April.
Until then, you can learn more here or hit reply and let me know if any of these resonate with you.
xoxo ~Coach C
PS We all want to feel supported and have a sense of belonging, that’s exactly what AMC provides. As my client, Katie expressed…
