Member Monday

Aloha! My name is Amanda and I am a mother of two beautiful kids. I have a ten-year-old daughter named Kaeli and an almost 5-month-old son named Devin. I live in Ewa Beach at The Waterfront of Pu’uloa community which is where I primarily attend class.

My family and I moved to Hawaii around 5 years ago to escape the busyness of the mainland. My husband and I wanted to raise our children someplace more family oriented that also had great beaches for all our hobbies. We love to spend the day at the beach stand up paddling, body boarding, swimming or just relaxing with a good book.

My current job is to be a good mom. I taught first grade for four years before my son was born and now I am lucky enough to stay home with him. I am so happy that Stroller Strides was brought into our community because I really wanted to start getting back in shape. I have never been someone who liked to work out or do any sports but I am now learning how fun it can be to exercise. I love going to class, getting in shape and meeting such wonderful women! Mahalo for all the great times and motivation to exercise!

Labor Day

Class will be held at Central Oahu Regional Park ONLY on Monday, September 6.

No class at Ocean Pointe, Kapolei or Schofield.

Stephanie will be instructing and husbands are welcome to attend as always. Class runs from 8:45 to 10 AM.

Restaurant Club @ RumFire!

Restaurant Club is back!

RumFire
Tuesday, August 31
6:30 PM

From their Web site:

"The experience at RumFire begins with an explosion of tastes! Guests are invited to sample the overwhelming pleasures of contemporary baja-hawaiian cuisine, wok-fired specialties, seared fresh island fish, and the world's greatest rums. Chef skillfully integrates the elements of fire in every dish, blending energy, heat and passion with the freshest ingredients to create cutting-edge fare."

RSVP via Evite!

Gem of the Day

I love Clean Eating magazine. Truly, this is a gem to share with all of you! It's not "diet," it isn't boring, and it's full of helpful information far beyond simply recipes.

One of my favorite articles explained the difference between table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, sucanat, truvia, stevia, maple syrup, honey, etc. etc. And it's a gorgeous magazine! I'm not a foodie and Clean Eating inspires me. (Just enough to get dinner cooking!)

Ice Cream and Pool Playdate this Thursday!

Come join us for ice cream and then swimming at the Coconut Plantation pool!

Thursday, August 26
Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko Olina
11 AM

There is plenty of parking near the ice cream parlor. After ice cream, around 11:30 or so, we'll be walking over to the pool. FYI, no toys or big flotation devices (noodles, rafts) allowed at the Coconut pool.

I hope to see you there! Get in touch if you have any questions.

Cane Haul 5K

From left to right, kneeling: Rachael, Teresa & Lauren, Stacey
Left to right, standing: Bobbie, Alison & Sydney, Maria, Margene, Lisa R, Liz, Betsy, Chet & Taylor

Teresa organized a group run for the Cane Haul 5K in Waipahu and as you can see, it was well attended by Stroller Strides. Congratulations to all who participated!

In particular, Margene and Liz both placed in their age group, 1st for Margene and 3rd for Liz.

Teresa writes that some of you mentioned at class that you would have run in the Cane Haul if you had known about it. In the past, I've organized SS for a few "big" runs and the smaller runs have been ad hoc.

But now that we have our Facebook page, it will be much easier for members to organize events like this! Be sure to "Like" our page since it will allow all of you to coordinate races and other events without having to go through me. It's a powerful tool and easy to use if you're on Facebook.

Thanks again to Teresa for putting the Cane Haul together and for sending along a picture!

Member Monday

Howdy! My name is Sara and I am "Mommy" to Ethan who is almost 8 months old. I live in the Waikele area and primarily attend the CORP and Schofield locations.

We just moved to the Island in June from west Texas. I am originally from the Houston area and have never lived out of state, although it took close to 10 hours to drive across Texas from Amarillo to Houston to visit my family, so I might as well have lived in another state!

I have been an ER nurse for 5 years but am now staying home with Ethan since we moved here. My husband just graduated from medical school in May and is stationed at Tripler while he completes his residency training in ENT/Head & Neck Surgery for the next 5 years. He spends a lot of time in the hospital and with his nose in the books, so I have been thrilled to make Stroller Strides a part of my life, not just for the fitness aspect, but also for the opportunities to socialize with other moms.

I enjoy watching movies (especially chick flicks!), jogging, hiking, going to the beach, and hanging out with my husband and sweet baby boy. I was always athletic in high school and college, but I found it more difficult to be consistent working out once I became a nurse, especially when I worked nights. My goal with Stroller Strides is to make exercising a normal, consistent part of my life so that I can become physically fit and set a good example for my son. I have enjoyed and continue to look forward to meeting other moms and getting fit together!

Ice Cream and Pool Playdate

Come join us for ice cream and then swimming at the Coconut Plantation pool!

Thursday, August 26
Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko Olina
11 AM

There is plenty of parking near the ice cream parlor. After ice cream, around 11:30 or so, we'll be walking over to the pool. FYI, no toys or big flotation devices (noodles, rafts) allowed at the Coconut pool.

I hope to see you there! Get in touch if you have any questions.

TumbleBus is Coming to Stroller Strides!

Let's have the gym come to us! Beginning in September, TumbleBus will be rolling up to CORP on Tuesdays after class to provide gymnastics and tumbling fun for the kids. Participation is on a drop-in basis and each 30-minute class costs $10.

Children ages 2 and under will need to be accompanied by an adult for free play on the bus. Children over 24 months do not need a chaperone and they will be working with an instructor. The maximum number of children allowed on the bus is 15.

Sign up here if you are interested! Classes will begin on Tuesday, September 7 at 10:15 at CORP.

From TumbleBus's Web site:

TumbleBus is a “gym on wheels” filled with fun equipment bringing the best possible gymnastic fitness class to your child. Cheerfully decorated, the TumbleBus provides a unique and fun way for your child to receive the physical fitness that is so important to his/her development. Certified instructors “with a special heart toward children” make the experience memorable as well as educational. We want to build your child’s self-esteem and physical fitness.

And for more information on TumbleBus, check out this article from MidWeek.

Restaurant Club

Restaurant Club is back!

RumFire
Tuesday, August 31
6:30 PM

From their Web site:

"The experience at RumFire begins with an explosion of tastes! Guests are invited to sample the overwhelming pleasures of contemporary baja-hawaiian cuisine, wok-fired specialties, seared fresh island fish, and the world's greatest rums. Chef skillfully integrates the elements of fire in every dish, blending energy, heat and passion with the freshest ingredients to create cutting-edge fare."

Evite coming soon!

Survey Results

Thank you for your Survey responses! Fifty-two Program surveys were completed along with an average of 20 surveys for each instructor. It is very helpful for me to hear from the franchise as a whole and to receive your feedback!

Survey says: We are going to be hard core about starting and ending class on time from this point forward. This is not a widespread problem, but it is a simple thing to tweak and make perfect. It will help ALL of us if every member makes it a priority to arrive at class on time. I know that life happens (particularly with kids!), but if you're consistently arriving 10 minutes late, find a way to shift your schedule so that you can take part in all of the warm-up, abs, etc. It helps us as instructors if the class isn't trickling in over a 15-minute period.

We're very pleased to see that out of our Survey respondents, 80 percent of you are "So satisfied you could burst" (a high threshold to be sure!) and the remaining 20 percent are "Pretty well satisfied" with a few suggestions for us.

It's just about unanimous -- you are in Stroller Strides to 1) get in shape, and 2) to make friends. No surprise there! We're working hard to add to our roster of outside activities and help make class more interactive for you and the kiddos. Yes, that means singing! Help us out ladies and sing those songs along with us:=)

We got some great ideas for Mom's Night Out and it's heartening to see that most of you are eager to participate. Only 8 percent are too busy. It's mostly a childcare issue with so many late-working or deployed husbands.

One clear message: you want to eat out. Or go to the movies, do a spa night, game night, and so on. So Restaurant Club is back and we're aiming to have at least 1 Fitness and 1 Leisure MNO each month.

A combined quarterly class is on the agenda -- we'll hold an Instructor Extravaganza every 3 months, because as one member wrote "It's a great way to see who is a SS member, touch base with those you don't see often, and catch up on franchise-wide news in person."

And finally, for the member who wants us to do more push-ups:
You are a girl after my own heart!

Member Monday

My name is Susan and I have 5 boys: 14, 9, 7, 3 and 1. I am married to a wonderful man who serves in the Army which is how we arrived here in Hawaii. We lived in Makakilo for two years and just moved onto Schofield Barracks this summer.

I have been wanting to start some sort of regular exercise routine for sometime now but with a house full of kids, it was hard to find the time. So when I learned of Stroller Strides, I knew it would work for me. I am looking forward to not only getting in shape, but also meeting other moms and making new friends.

Rock Climbing MNO

Lisa R, Tarah, Teresa and Lisa G

We had a fantastic turnout for rock climbing at Volcanic Rock Gym in Waipahu -- 23 moms! It was fun to see so much interest as we begin to mix it up for MNO.

One of my goals for MNO is to try new things, stuff that would be scary to do alone or just not on your radar. I think rock climbing succeeded on all counts. While not all of us loved it (some just had to give it one go to quickly know that they did NOT like heights), others found themselves totally enamored with such a different way of working out. (Jenna, I'm looking at you!) But no matter how much you liked or hated rock climbing, we did it with friends. I will fondly remember standing in the "crows nest" with Tarah, Debbie, Liz and Susan as we all looked at each other and nervously got ready to start our descent.

There were a lot of us in the gym and I'd like to thank the VRG staff, Justin in particular, for being very gracious and literally helping us "learn the ropes." Check out Jenna moving up the wall with her harness.


I loved belaying down the wall and can literally say that I know I trust Margene with my life. Spent a lot of time in the "cave" trying to master the angled walls too. I never achieved Tasha's level of proficiency though. The girl was made for rock climbing. This photo is looking straight on -- it takes some serious upper-body strength to hold on to the grips like this.

Go Monica!

We saw a guy cross the entire cave upside down from grip to grip. If I could have just landed one hold from this position, it would have made my night.

Thank you to Lisa R and Monica for sending pictures along!

Next month's MNO is with Pearlside Boxing at Hawaii Self Storage in Kapolei, Friday September 17 at 7 PM. Class is limited to 20 participants and 9 spots remain. RSVP via Evite today!

Introducing Erik!

Catherine (Schofield/CORP) had her baby boy Erik on August 3. He's a cutie! But if you know Hannah and Jack it's no surprise. Congratulations to Catherine and her beautiful family!

2010 Program Survey

It's that time again! I appreciate your help in providing feedback for us as instructors and for me as the Franchise owner. Answers are anonymous.

The Program Survey is for everyone at Stroller Strides. Once you've completed it, please come back to review the instructors at your location.

Jill
Joni
Lauren
Michaela
Rayna
Rosy
Stephanie

Thank you for your help!

Tuesday's class at Kapolei will be a Butts & Guts theme. Lots of exercises catered to the glutes and supporting muscles and the abdominals. This class will be moving all the time so be prepared for a fun, fast-paced class with lots of exercises!

Should be a challenging but fun day! Hope to see you there!

Member Monday

Aloha, my name is Heather. I just had my honeymoon baby, Brady, who was born April 22nd. I recently joined Kapolei Stroller Strides to help me stay active and to burn off those pregnancy pounds.

My husband Gregg and I have lived in Kapolei for about a year. We really enjoy living out on the Leeward side. I was born and raised in Southern California. Once I finished college and got my teacher credential I moved to Maui in 2003 to pursue my lifelong dream to live and teach in Hawaii. After teaching on Maui for three years I moved to Oahu to be closer to my husband and teach at a local school. I have decided to put on hold my teaching career to be a stay-at-home mom to my Bradycakes. I am loving every minute of it!

My husband was in the Navy from '95-'01 and now is a DOD employee working as a Computer Networker at Schofield. In my spare time (*wink wink) I love to read and go to the movies. Have to admit I am a Twi-mom. I also enjoy spending time with my husband at the beach and going to the shrimp shacks on the North Shore.

I have always been an active person. In high school I played soccer and ran track year-round. But after three knee surgeries, I like to do more moderate exercises that don't put too much strain on my knees. That's why I like Stroller Strides because you can work at your own pace and strength level. Hopefully, I will get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and meet some awesome mommies!

How to Be a Sumo Wrestler

Curious? I thought this was a great way to highlight what not to do!

There are some specific ways the sumo diet causes ordinary people to gain extraordinary amounts of weight. The first is that sumo wrestlers never eat breakfast. They wake up, and the first thing they do is start exercising vigorously.

This combination of skipping breakfast and then training really hard for 5 hours means that by the time they get to eat, they are starving.

As a consequence, they overeat -- they eat much more food than they need to feel full.

Sumo wrestlers go to sleep almost immediately after they eat. Sleeping immediately after you eat is a sure way to pile on the pounds. The body slows down its metabolism during sleep, and any undigested food left in your system is stored for later use, usually as fat.

-- Ultrametabolism, by Mark Hyman

Take-home lesson for those of us definitely NOT interested in building a sumo physique?

Eat your breakfast!
Spread your food intake and calories throughout the day.
Wait at least 2 to 3 hours after your last meal before going to sleep.

Group Order

I am ordering a FitBook from the Stroller Strides store, so if you would like any tees, hats, tanks etc. please let me know by Monday, August 9.

I can charge your card on file or you can pay by check at class. Please add $1 for shipping.

Playgroup Update

Stroller Strides is proud to partner with LUNA bar in hosting the LUNA Playgroup.

Our play dates have moved from Friday to every Wednesday at Kapolei Park and Ocean Pointe.



Kapolei Regional Park, 10 AM
August 4, Sports Day
August 11, Kid Workout
August 18, Mad Science
August 25, Arts and Crafts

Ocean Pointe, 9:30 AM
August 4, "Fruit Salad! Yummy Yummy!"
August 11, Paper Plate Sun Craft and Games
August 18, "Guessing Games" Day
August 25, Playdough and Story

Thursday, August 26 at 11 AM
"Kids Day Out" to Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko Olina, to be followed by swimming at the Coconut Plantation pool
RSVP on Facebook!

Gem of the Day

Do you have a "hidden gem" in the Leeward area that you'd like to share with your fellow Stroller Strides moms? It's thanks to Tarah and Susan that I am now a Tacos and More devotee, and to Ashleigh that I drive to Manoa for my kids' dentist. So send your hidden gems my way -- local events, local businesses, and most importantly, mom- and kid-friendly!

This Friday, August 6, Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko Olina is holding a Grand Opening party with music and "Buy 1, Get 1 scoop free." The event runs from 6 to 9 PM. Since the parlor is just a 5 minute walk from my house, we will definitely be there!

August MNO

Just one week till we go rock climbing for August's Mom's Night Out!

Wednesday, August 11
Volcanic Rock Gym in Waipio
7 PM

An invitation was sent out via Evite and so far we have 14 moms signed up! I'm really looking forward to a night spent learning new skills, with friends, while getting in a great workout. Come join us!

Weighted Wednesdays

Wednesday class at Kapolei and Ocean Pointe is now "Weighted Wednesday" so bring any free weights you may have to tomorrow's class!

A set of 3, 5 or 8 pounds is best, and we will always have a few sets on hand to share.

I love resistance bands, but it's fun to switch it up and challenge your muscles in a new way!

Member Monday

Hey everyone!! My name is Camille, but I go by Cami. I just had a daughter on June 4, 2010 and her name is Mikayla.

I just joined Stroller Strides a few weeks ago, and mostly go to the Ocean Pointe location due to living over in Ewa Beach. I have recently decided though to attend some of the other locations on Tues and Thurs so I can shed this unwanted baby weight!!

I am from Clearwater, FL, but moved to Marietta, GA in elementary school. I came to Hawaii in September of 2008 due to serving in the Navy. I recently have gotten out to be a stay-at-home mom to my beautiful little girl. My husband is a pilot in the Navy and stationed on Kaneohe Bay Marine Base. We will be in Hawaii until his tour is up in the next few years, and then who knows where the Navy will take us next!!

I have always been very involved in working out, and love to run and do weights. When I became pregnant that all slowed down and the weight began to pile on me!! It is now my mission to lose all the unwanted pounds and get back into running shape!! I will slowly work up to running distances again how I used to in my cheerleading and college days.

I love to work out and hang out at the beach or pool. I am excited to be involved in Stroller Strides to meet new moms in my area, and get welcome advice since this is all new to me!!

August Newsletter

The August Newsletter is up!