Product / Magazine Features
Fitness: Moms on a Mission
Orlando Signature, April 14, 2016
A half-dozen moms gather with their toddlers at Blue Jacket Park in Orlando on a balmy spring morning as the sound of the Spice Girls waft through the air, "I'll tell you what I want … what I really, really
want…"
Jessica Klein, a certified instructor for Baby Boot Camp's STROLLFIT classes, will tell you what these moms really want is to get back into shape. After she leads the group with triceps extensions, planks and calf raises, they bear crawl across the basketball courts as babies and toddlers look on from the comfort of their strollers.
These moms are not training for the military, but are part of Baby Boot Camp, a national program designed to get moms back into shape through a full-body workout regimen.
"Anyone can go to the gym and put their kids in daycare and burn calories," explained Klein. "This — you sign up, get a group text message, an inspirational quote, and you feel accountable to show up."
As the moms perform a round of squats and leg lefts, the sounds of an antsy toddler fill the air. He is soon riding piggy back on his mom, who is determined to get her workout in as she lunges across the court.
"If it hurts, push through it, go faster and hurry back," Klein yells as she encourages the moms to keep it up.
Across town at R.D. Keene Park in Windermere, the atmosphere is a little different. The Spice Girls are traded in for "Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck" during Stroller Strides as another set of moms jump over obstacles and run through rings.
Maria Zendejas said she started the Windermere Stroller Strides, which is part of a national exercise program called FIT4MOM, not only as a way to help moms get back in shape, but to develop friendships as well.
"We can do a workout with the kids and have fun at the same time," explained Zendejas. "I think they will meet new friends and get a good workout."
Stroller Strides is a similar program to Baby Boot Camp, but Zendejas takes a different approach to her workout by engaging the little ones while giving their mommies a run for their money. Her workouts also contain a vigorous regimen of pushups, cardio and resistance training but with more of an interactive touch. Mommies work their abs as they reach to tickle their little ones.
Zendejas, who currently runs the program on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m., is hoping to expand Stroller Strides to Winter Garden and offer additional times for working
moms. Similar programs also exist in South Orlando including Celebration, Lake Nona, Hunters Creek, Kissimmee, and East Orlando near the University of Central Florida.
Stroller Strides mom Kat Guilliams said she used to be a member of a gym but prefers working out with her 19-month-old son, Gabriel, and getting him outside.
"It's more like a family. We encourage each other," said Guilliams, who has been with the program for a year and has lost more than 40 pounds.
While Stroller Strides and STROLLFIT are similar, Kirsten Evans, who started Baby Boot Camp in the Central Orlando and Maitland areas, has recently expanded its programs locally to include a 5K training program, Nutrition Solutions, a core recovery program and STROLLGA.
Yoga-Centric
STROLLGA is a yoga-inspired stroller-based fitness class that involves more relaxing and stretching but also incorporates strength training with full-body weights and target toning using a Pilate's ball and bands. The 45-minute class is held at Maitland Community Park every other Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
As the eldest of four to a single mother, Evans knows the challenges of balancing family, work and fitness.
"I think it's a great option because sometimes it's hard to find someone to watch your child when you want to work out," she said. "It's great to have your child there and show this lifestyle to your child. Having a certified professional for post-partum moms is just a huge benefit. We can safely and effectively guide moms through a
great workout without the risk of injury."
Andrea Bowen-Wilkinson, who joined Baby Boot Camp in May of last year, said she enjoys the online facet of getting tips from other moms and making friends. Her only regret is not starting it sooner.
"It's cheaper than any gym, but the social aspect is awesome," she said. "It's a magic bullet for stay-at-home moms and working moms. You have moms ready to help. You don't get that at a gym."
Baby Boot Camp in Central Orlando offers 12 classes six days a week, in the mornings, evenings and on Saturdays, when spouses can attend for free. STROLLFIT classes also are offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. and Monday and Wednesday evening at South Econ Community Park, 3800 S.
Econlockhatchee Trail in South Orlando.
Home-Base Workouts
For busy and breastfeeding moms, who prefer the convenience of home workouts, Ocoee resident and mother of three Erica Amadori recommends Beach Body, an online source for at-home workout videos and nutrition information, as a way to help young moms work on their confidence and health.
Amadori, who lost 25 pounds over a six-month period after participating in the 21-day fix healthy eating plan, running, and doing the 30-minute at-home workouts, now works for Beach Body as an independent consultant.
"It's quick and effective. You get better results in a shorter amount of time," Erica explained, who provides free advice and encouragement along the way for people who sign up. "The focus is on health and balance. You want to feel comfortable in your own skin."
Laura King Blackstock, mother of Jasmine, 3, and Nico, 16 months, was two months post-partum with her second child, and felt she couldn't find the motivation to eat healthy or the time to get to the gym.
"I missed my pre-baby body and was looking for something that would fit my new lifestyle as a mom of two. I had about 15 pounds to lose to get to my pre-baby weight, and I was looking for a way to fit in exercise again that fit my new lifestyle," Blackstock explained. "As a nursing mom, the timing of feedings didn't always allow
me to leave the house. P90X3 [Power 90 Extreme home exercise regimen] was the perfect solution for me. It was only 30 minutes. I didn't have to leave the house, and I could squeeze it in between feedings easily."
Amadori, who encourages moms through her blog, healthylifewith3.com, said it's about finding the right workout for you and sticking with it.
"Find your enjoyment in it and make it stick. It's not just about losing weight," Amadori explained. "It's about setting an example for your kids and husbands. Our choices trickle down to everyone else's choices."
Copyright © 2017, Orlando Signature
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Product / News Articles
Wild & Wooden
Tampa Tribune, Dec. 13, 1997
Photo courtesy of Karen Fletcher
The wooden stares are everywhere. The eyes of a great blue heron, white ibis or black-bellied plover follow visitors around Chuck and Mary Fairbanks’ den. Behind each of these birds is a story. The Fairbankses spotted the birds while canoeing or hiking around West Central Florida.
But the story doesn’t stop there. Chuck Fairbanks photographs the birds, brings the pictures to their Dorchester Street home and uses them as blueprints to carve models. Mary then meticulously paints them, which takes longer than Chuck’s carving. The olive greens, cardinal reds, sunshine yellows, wood browns and pure whites show the details of each feather.
The art of immortalizing birds had folksy beginnings. When Chuck Fairbanks was a boy, his father’s friend showed Chuck how to whittle his own duck decoys. After retiring about 15 years ago, Chuck began to do some serious carving.
The Fairbankses chooses shore birds because of the great variety, and the couple got a kick out of watching them feed. To carve the birds, Chuck photographs them using a telephoto lens. Then, the couple follow John James Audubon’s measurements of length and girth to re-create the birds of cedar or basswood.
Chuck can spend from 35 to 40 hours carving a particular bird, especially if the model calls for a lot of detail.
The Fairbankses, married for 50 years, say they haven’t considered turning their hobby into a business because they’re retired and want the freedom to go canoeing or visit their grandsons whenever they choose.
“It’s just like photography,” Chuck says. “People want you to go professional, but I don’t want to get tied up.”
The Fairbankses usually carve for family and rarely display their work, but Mary has taken some their carvings to Roosevelt Elementary school for neighbor Jeffrey Bairds’ first-grade class.
Marian Baird, Jeffrey’s mom, says she thought it was great for the Fairbankses to share their work with the kids. Many of the students thought the carvings were real.
“The birds are so beautiful and life-lie,” Marian Baird says. “The kids loved it.”
Chuck Fairbanks helped Jeffrey Baird carve a cardinal. Not only did Jeffrey learn to carve, he says, but also he learned to appreciate nature.
“I used to want to hunt, but now I don’t want to do that anymore,” he says.
Chuck says several of the neighbors’ kids have acquired a taste for carving, and they come over to learn how to do it. Tyler Ward, 9, earned a badge in Boy Scouts when he carved a green jay, a bird found in the rain forest. The jay has a lime green back, a sunshine yellow beast and an azure head with a white stripe along its face. Ward not only learned how to carve the bird, but also how to research it using the Fairbanses’ books.
“I appreciate the birds and the kinds of places that they live in,” Tyler says. “I like animals that fly – they’re always interesting.”
Chuck enjoys the time he spends with the youngsters in the neighborhood whom he also takes fishing. It brings back memories of when his won was young, he said, like the time that ended his duck hunting days forever.
They were hunting one day and put a decoy into the water as two teals flew overhead. One of the teals spotted the decoy and swooped toward the water. His son shot it.
The other teal kept flying around looking for his partner, because teals mate for life.
“I said, ‘That’s it. No more duck hunting for me,’” Chuck says.
Since then, Chuck has concentrated on preserving wading birds through his carvings. Though his work focuses mostly on birds, has considered carving other animals such as a grizzly bear or buffalo.
He has carved an otter, which is his favorite because the animal is so playful. “If I get reincarnated, I want to come back as an otter,” he says. “They’re fantastic creatures.”
Ellen LeDuc, Mary’s sister who has some of their carvings in her home, says the Fairbankses’ appreciation of the outdoors helps them capture creatures so perfectly.
“They bring a sense of Florida right into our homes,” LeDuc says. “Their love of nature enables them to do this.”
Product / Press Releases
Volunteers Needed To Stem Problems of Marine Debris
September, 2010
Photo by Christine Commerce
The litter from the hands of a Hillsborough County resident may find its way not only to our rivers or bay but into ocean currents thousands of miles away.
“Trash travels and impacts our marine ecosystems, wildlife and economy,” said Christine Commerce, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful executive director. “It’s in our hands to stem one of the worst pollution problems that plague our oceans. The International Coastal Cleanup is a great way to tackle that challenge.”
Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful is looking for thousands of volunteers of all ages to join a worldwide effort on Sept. 25 to pick up trash along coastlines, rivers and lakes during the 25th Anniversary of the International Coastal Cleanup.
The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup is the world's largest single-day volunteer effort to help protect the ocean and its wildlife. Each year, nearly a half a million volunteers around the world spend a few hours removing trash and debris from beaches, lakes, rivers and other waterways.
The cleanup is coordinated locally by Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful and runs from 8 a.m. until noon at approximately 35 locations throughout the county. Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner and former City Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena will be among the 3,000 volunteers expected to participate in this year’s event.
Last year, more than 3,100 volunteers cleaned 110 miles of shoreline and 435 acres collecting 65,959 pounds of trash in Hillsborough County alone. Among the more unusual items found were a handheld vacuum, boombox, purple lipstick, bowling pin, car fender and 5,000 pounds of tires. Cleanup data has shown that 60 to 80 percent of marine litter starts from land.
“Whether you live inland or along the coast, you can be part of the solution,” said Commerce. “Our trash not only travels through stormdrains, rivers and streams, but stands the test of time – lasting hundreds or thousands of years in our oceans. People are the problem, but they can be the solution and work as tides of change when it comes to our marine environment.”
According to the data accumulated by the Ocean Conservancy, trash in the ocean kills more than one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles each year through entanglement and ingestion. In 2009, the Ocean Conservancy reported that volunteers found 336 ocean animals entangled in fishing line and nets, plastic bags, beverage bottles and rope. In Hillsborough County, volunteers were able to rescue three pelicans entangled in fishing line and a turtle caught in fabric.
The cleanup, which originated in Texas, involves volunteers who not only pick up debris along waterways but also mark their finds on data cards. The information collected from the data cards are used to educate people and lawmakers about the problems of marine debris and their origins.
Check-in for the event begins at 8 a.m., and the cleanup is from 8:30 a.m. until noon at locations throughout Hillsborough County. A list of these locations along with a registration form can be found at www.khcbonline.org. For more information on volunteering, contact KHCB at (813) 960-5121.