Esquerre Athletic Coaching: It takes a village... to cross train.

If you would have asked me a year or even six months ago if I was cross training, my response would have been no. More like HELL no! I never liked working out and the thought of doing that on top of the running that I was already doing made me dizzy. Plus, when was I going to have time? I have a 14 year old and a 16 month old and I already have to sacrifice some time in the day to go and run. Well one night while I lay awake in bed, anxiously waiting for the alarm clock to go off so that I could run earlier in the day, I had an idea. What if I could find other moms out there who want to work out but don't have time? There's gotta be some type of workout class for moms that isn't soft when it comes to exercise.

After my run I rummaged through meetup.com and found a couple of workout groups in my area. They all seemed great but how did I know that I would get a good workout in? Really the only way to know was to go ahead and jump right in. So I signed up for a group where not only do you workout but you can bring your little ones along. Sounds great!

The first day I went it was in the middle of summer in South Florida and the humidity was already a bit stifling at nine o'clock in the morning. The group meet at various parks and the kids (usually the smaller ones) can remain in the strollers or play around the field while we workout. I was one of ten or eleven that day and each mom was on a different fitness level. Though not all the moms were runners or CrossFit enthusiasts, our group leader/trainer was able to give workouts that everyone could do and even had modifications for those moms who were pregnant. Yes you read that right, pregnant moms working out.

But what REALLY got me was the fact that these workouts were not weak by any means. We weren't sitting Indian style with our babies in our laps and bouncing them up and down. We were WORKING OUT! I'm talking mountain climbers, suicide runs, jump squats and tons and tons of ab work, WITH WEIGHTS! Could it be that I found my ideal combination? I could send my oldest off to school, workout with my little one AND make new friends in the process. Oh and that was another reason why I wanted to find moms who workout, because being home all day with a toddler can make you loose your mind.

It took a lot for me to do this and keep coming back. Don't get me wrong, everything about the group is perfect! But I'm a shy person who takes a while to warm up to people. I'm not the chatty Cathy that makes new friends easily. I mean, I run by myself for crying out loud. And when I tell people I run by myself (mostly without headphones) I get some very interesting looks thrown my way. You mean you don't run with ANYONE?! It's not that I don't want to socialize or a run or during a workout. I just don't want to get rejected or feel left out when I'm searching for the right workout buddy.

Well now I'm three months in and I've gotten to know most of the ladies. I'm a regular now, I meet with the moms three times a week. Sometimes after the workout we go to the park and let our kids play around for a bit while we talk and laugh about our lives. I would even venture to say that I am developing some great friendships, my little one has even developed a friend! All in all I got what I wanted and more.