More stroller cardio!


In the springtime, I wrote about my cardio-poussette classes which I took at the Récré-o-Parc in Ste. Catherine. You can see my blog post here, where I talk a bit about Cardio Plein-Air and the awesome program they have for people trying to gain back their pre-pregnancy shape.

This season, I'm taking the class once again, but in Candiac's Parc de la Promenade. It's a 10 minute walk from home, which is a perfect warm-up to the class. This is the first time since I started taking the class (when Kira was a baby) that I have a different instructor. I wasn't sure how it would be since I was so used to Geneviève previously, but I'm SO happy with Marie-Eve because she gives the course a fresh edge, and she's great at pushing us hard! She has new ideas that work to get us working out together and yet independently. She's also good at explaining things to us, albeit quickly in order to maximize our time together to get the most time for us to work out!

Bonus this season: I'm taking the class with 2 of Mark's cousins, Ali and Stacy. We all have babies born within months of each other. Ali and Stacy are sisters. I wrote about Ali's baby Hunter in a previous blog post here, and I'll have to give Stacy's baby Mikayla a headline soon too! It's nice to finally know some people in my class, although I must admit I'm not here for the socialization so much as for the workout...

We typically start with a bit of introduction of names, a brisk walk and a bit of stretching, then some aerobics to get our hearts pumping and our bodies warmed up. Then, we do about half an hour of various exercises while one the move, including lunges, squats, and imitations of basketball, skiing, and skating while pushing our strollers. The workout is as challenging as you make it because you can choose to push yourself harder (and go deeper / lower / farther), or not. Marie-Eve always asks us at the end of the workout, how much we pushed ourselves on a scale of 1 to 10.

My favourite part of the workout comes right after the stroller stuff, when we park the strollers to go for a little jog up and down the steps leading to the river. It's scenic and a nice jog for a bit of resistance (going up the steps). I could do this for 10 minutes except I'd probably get too dizzy. :)

After checking our heartrate for the last time (we check it periodically to make sure we're within our target heart rates) we work on muscular training with resistance bands and some abs / push-ups / plank on the mats. Here's Ali being cheeky when she sees me with the camera (notice how everyone else is focused):


Here we are with the resistance bands working on biceps. Marie-Eve is in the forefront:

Finally, a bit of tai-chi to end the session. Ahhh...


Gotta love blasting the post-baby gut, and being able to do it in the great outdoors!

Comments

Myriame said…
Hi!

Congratulations on your amazing blog! I have a simple question for you: When you said that you took the class again, but in Candiac, is still with Cardio Plein-Air?

I am pregnant, and I'm tring to find some activities with my baby in Candiac for next summer!

Thank you in advance,
Myriame :o)
Unknown said…
Hi Hisako! So glad I stumbled upon your website. I'm new to candiac and am looking for these type of exercises, as well as , a mommy group that meet up once a week...any idea how I go about finding one? I'd prefer an Anglo group but having new French friends will definitely force me to learn. I'd love to hear from you!