The Joy of the Buggy Bootcamp
Wendy Rumble
Getting to the gym or motivating yourself to exercise solo can be tricky when you are out of the swing of things. After having a baby this is certainly how I felt. Losing some of the baby weight was a sure fire way to feel a bit more like my old self. And exercising was also a part of the pre-baby lifestyle that I wanted back too.
One really good Baby Bootcamp that I have tried out is run by Toby Garbett in Henley Upon Thames. He has some seriously impressive athletic credentials; Olympian 2x World Champion rower, Triathlete, Mentor, Teacher and Trainer.
One Friday morning I rocked up to Henley Bandstand with my 2 girls (aged 3.5 and 16 months) in their buggy, set for filling my lungs with fresh air and maybe chatting to some likeminded mums.
During the session there wasn't much time for chatting because it was a really good workout! We started skipping to warm up at which point we could say a few intros. The group of 7 or so ladies all had young babies around the 6 month mark and were super friendly which was a relief as any newcomer to such a group will know.
After that we went into some warm up sequences, followed by buggy run's* along the Thames path, some boxing moves and then we finished off with a fitness test. Toby adapted the exercises for different abilities and was on hand to advise on posture corrections. He even managed to rock the odd baby when they started grizzling.
The setting in Henley was stunning, parking super easy (although a fee) and the only challenge I faced was when my eldest decided to make a run for it! Toby managed to start a chase the monster game with her to entertain her and then I cracked out the snacks (for her not me). Overall a great class which I would really recommend to get fit, meet friendly mums in a beautiful outdoor setting.
*Buggy manufacturers don't recommend running with a baby in a buggy or carseat until the age of 6 months.
Fancy a go? Here is a word from Toby himself.....
After being a new dad myself recently I have started a new Buggy Boot Camp class with my NCT group. It's gone from strength to strength with everyone improving in cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, strength and mobility.
I am now expanding this to any other Mums would like to attend. It's not necessary to bring your baby if they are in nursery or even school! To register your interest please email me on tg@tobygarbett.com. We start at 9.45am at the bandstand Mill Meadows rain or shine.
The next Friday 9.45am course of 8 sessions starts on:
JUNE = 3rd, 10th (with www.runningbuggies.com ), 17th, 24th JULY 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th.
The session on 10th of June will be a special session including Wendy Rumble, owner of Running Buggies. This would allow you a free test run/walk of her range of running buggies with £20 off list price should you wish to buy.
10 min 121 available with Wendy to chat about the buggy range. Slots available would be 9.00 9.10 9.20 and 9.30am before the TG BuggyBootCamp session and after at 10.45 10.55 11.05 11.15.
