American Family Fitness Opens New Location at Virginia Center Commons

American Family Fitness has opened the doors of its brand new, state-of-the-art facility at Virginia Center Commons (VCC) in Glen Allen, VA. This makes it easier for families to have fun and fitness all at one place at this new location.

The new facility is 75,000 square feet, including:

• a six lap lane pool, children’s pool with water features
• a hot tub and saunas in both the men’s and women’s locker rooms.

The club features:

• a mind and body studio
• group exercise studio
• a hot yoga studio
• cardio, free weights and mechanical weights are located throughout the floor, as well as a dedicated area to functional training for personal training.

KidZone

The KidZone offers a wide array of age-specific classes and play areas, including:

• Kid’s sport court
• Sport training room
• Basketball court
• Café
• Tanning

And More

AmFamU, a free eight-week course that teaches the basics of exercising, will be offered to members starting on opening day.

The club will be open 24-hours from Tuesday-Friday:

• Starting at 7am on Tuesday and closing at 10pm on Friday
• And open Saturday from 7am-8pm

The facility is also offering $0 enrollment and $39.95 per month for new members (offer valid at this new location only).

Current members and guests can take a tour of the new club Saturday from 9am-8pm, Sunday from 9am-6pm, and Monday from 9am-9pm.

American Family Fitness has locations throughout the Greater Richmond area. Visit their website to learn more and find a location near you.

I want my body back!

And now you can have it.

Body Back

FIT4MOM Richmond is offering their new fall Body Back session beginning the week of September 9, 2013. Get started September 9 and you’ll be in fantastic shape before the winter holidays for sure!  To find out about the expertly qualified trainers, visit this link.

FIT4MOM is the country’s largest fitness program for moms offering pre and post-natal fitness classes for every stage of motherhood. And we can all use a little extra help getting or keeping our body in shape. The experts at FIT4MOM know how to make it work too. They’re moms who have experienced some of the same challenges we all face before and after pregnancy.

Body Back® is a results-based workout designed for moms who want their body back, whether they just had a baby or their last child was born twenty years ago! Most importantly, it will help women unlock their personal possibilities in an inspiring and powerful environment.

Body Back® clients experience targeted high-intensity workouts, inspiration and motivation in every class. When done in conjunction with founder Lisa Druxman’s Mama Wants Her Body Back meal plan and workout DVDs, moms have a surefire combination for success.

Beginning Week of September 9

They have 4 different times for Body Back to choose from at convenient locations around Richmond.

• $299 per session (8 weeks)
• $249 if you’ve taken Body Back previously
• Registration is available at www.richmond.fit4mom.com

What Does Body Back® Include?

• 2 Workouts per week in a small group format
• Mama Wants Her Body Back Meal Plan and Food Diary
• Before and After fitness assessments and measurements
• Online coaching and support
• Mama Wants Her Body Back workout DVD

The workouts have been clinically proven in a university research study to help moms lose the weight and return to their pre-baby body composition and confidence. Moms all over the country are achieving results that they never dreamed possible.

Stroller Strides Special

Fit4Mom is also offering a Stroller Stride special during the month of September. Wondering what Stroller Strides is all about?

Stroller Strides® is a stroller-based fitness program designed for moms with little ones. Each 60-minute, total body workout incorporates power walking, strength, toning, songs and activities. Certified fitness instructors offer a variety of fun class formats both indoors and outdoors.

All locations also offer a free Plum Moms Club so moms can form lasting friendships with other moms through organized play dates, moms’ nights out, and activities for the whole family.

Stroller Strides has several convenient locations and it’s a great way to enjoy time with other moms and kids, and get some exercise all at the same time.

September Stroller Strides Special

• Registration is only $25 (regularly $75) + $59 for unlimited monthly membership.
• There is no contract and you can cancel anytime.
• The registration fee includes a goodie bag with lots of great offers from sponsors – plus your own resistance bands to use in class.
• They offer classes Monday – Friday.
• They are also offering, new clients only, one (1) week free trial classes. Register online.

Visit the website for more information.

Source: http://amfamfit.com/membership/ – Great resources and programs for kids too!

A New Year always brings resolutions and new ideas. American Family Fitness is one place where families can enjoy time together while getting healthier and fit. And now, you can make them work harder!

Share this video and watch their staff exercise through social media. Every time they hit a ‘views’ milestone, their employees have to complete an exercise task. The more ‘views’ the harder they work. They will post photos and videos on Facebook (‘Like’ them) so you can follow along and see them sweat!

Check back daily to see how many views the video has gotten and what the next exercise will be.

*Milestones*:  100 views = 10 Pushups in the lobby.

You can also get a free one week pass to try it out before you join so you have nothing to lose – but maybe some weight!

American Family Fitness is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

Mombshell Fitness Owner Myra, pre-baby

Imagine having a baby, then stepping into a bikini contest six months later, and winning first place. One Richmond mom did it: Myra Robinson. These before and after photos tell the story.

While most of us were still trying to climb our way out of the fog, Myra was toning, working, and sculpting to prove to herself that she could gain back her pre-pregnancy body. Now she wants to help others do the same.

6 months post baby

Her new Richmond fitness business, Mombshellfitness is geared towards helping moms get their bodies—and confidence—back.

“We turn moms into bombshells!” Says Myra, who, at right, shows a bikini body is possible after baby.

Mom & Me Boot Camp is for women with babies (age 0-3years). Richmond moms do high-intensity cardio drills and strength training in a gorgeous outdoor location, while baby stays in the stroller.

Babies are entertained by hi-energy music, singing songs, games, and constant movement. Outside of class, participants do play dates, moms’-nights-out, and events for babies, including hayrides, Halloween parties, and more!

“I really enjoyed my Mom and Me Boot Camp with Myra! She is an energetic and motivating instructor, and the kids stay entertained with the stories and rhymes. And, I’m happy to say that her class helped me lose the last few stubborn pregnancy pounds! I highly recommend Myra’s fitness classes!” says Susan Wright, a class participant.

Robinson on why group workouts work: “because it provides accountability. Each one of my Mom & Me Boot Camp class participants knows that if she doesn’t show up to class, she’ll have 10 people on Facebook asking where she was that morning.” According to the American Council on Exercise, one of the best indicators of success in a fitness program is social support.Myraadds, “In addition, the exercise, fresh air, and friendship can also help combat postpartum depression and the stress of caring for a baby.”

Myra will also be offering personal training sessions for those who prefer it.

Mom & Me Boot Camp will begin most weekday & Saturday mornings starting October 1st, 2011. Come try a class for free to see if you like it! If you would like information, you can find the class schedule, fees, and FAQs at www.mombshellfitness.com. You can also call Myra directly at (804) 200-8494.

Richmond mom Angel Allgrim and her kiddos

This is the second article in response to our “I  Don’t Want to Be A Fat Mom” piece in January, 2011, where we’re encouraging Richmond moms to tell their stories to encourage other women with “real talk” about weight loss.

I’ve always been a little chubby or ‘big boned’ as I liked to call it, and growing up with 4 brothers I was pretty competitive.

I had a love of sports and dreamed of being a PE teacher or a Sports Broadcaster, so I entered my college years playing sports, soccer in the Fall and Track and Field in the Spring. And every year- our soccer coach would make the team run 1 mile in the beginning of the season- as our ‘fitness test’ to make sure we were conditioning over the summer.

And every year I was never able to run that full mile. Can you believe a college athlete who played all 4 years of soccer- and I wasn’t able to run 1 mile- I stopped myself and would walk every year and finish in 15 minutes or so. Track and Field I was a sprinter—I’d tell the coach to never put me in any long distance races if he wanted to win.

My coach had more confidence in me that I did as he entered me into a few pentathlons- which is 5 events and the best score totaled up get the medal. I loved all the events- hurdles being my favorite, and long jump and high jump being alright. But what I hated the most was the 800m run. 800 meters is 2 times around an outdoor track and 4 times around an indoor track–and that’s the one my coach made me run.

I totally hate running- even when I was supposedly in shape and healthy. So fast forward a few years to me getting out of college and meeting my husband and having a baby. Those first few years were not nice to me and I wasn’t nice to my body in return. I was a stay at home mom in cold and snowy Buffalo, NY with no car and cooped up indoors all day.

Needless to say I gained a lot of weight. I was eating ice cream for lunch out of boredom. I didn’t know any different though- it felt great at the time. A few years later we have another child and although I lost some weight while pregnant, I still wasn’t anywhere near my pre-kids weight. We then moved to Richmond, Va where I knew no one but relocated for a teaching position for my husband.

So here I am, in an unfamiliar place staying home with the kids during the day waiting for my husband to get home so I could have an intelligent conversation with an adult. I was getting into old habits again, eating whenever just to pass the time. Before I knew it, my pants had a bulge underneath my belly button that was never there before. So I looked around Richmond for groups to join.

I liked Sign Language so I met a woman and after a few e-mails she referred me to a mommy and me exercise program called Stroller Strides. I quickly joined and met a lot of nice women, got to work out and have my daughter with me. As it turned out I wasn’t able to do Stroller Strides as long as I had wanted. Again, I put the needs of my family above my own and decided to babysit kids out of my home instead. But I still kept in contact with the owner of Stroller Strides in Richmond, Rachel Pustilnik.

I‘d get e-mails from Rachel about Stroller Strides from time to time and as I was getting to my heaviest weight of 275 lbs, a new program Rachel was starting came to my Inbox.

A program called “Momma wants her Body Back” and did I ever! This 8-week class was a lifesaver for me! In the first class, you are tested on your current fitness levels and asked questions about your goals and possible hurdles keeping me from reaching your goals. I completed the 8 week session with 3 other women at 5:30am 2 days a week. It was a time that no one else needed anything from me and that I could focus on myself.

Angel's family-an inspiration on her journey.

I lost 16lbs during those 8 weeks and gained so much more knowledge and strength! I remember in the first few weeks our trainer had us run 1 mile, the dreaded 1 mile run. I couldn’t do this in college how was I going to do this now? But what I had been slowly learning is that YOU CAN do it, and YOU WILL do it.

And I did, I ran that mile and was so proud of myself afterwards.

I had overcome my negative self talk and stopped doubting myself. Instead I replaced these sayings that would replay in my head with positive self talk! Since starting my second session with Body Back and have also joined the Mother Runner Training for the 10k in April. I have surrounded myself with woman who accept me for who I am, who are always there for me to encourage me, push me and support me!

I am doing things in my life that I had previously given up on. Sure, I had always wanted to lose weight but never saw it as an attainable goal.

I can tell you today that I KNOW I will be at my goal weight. I am not giving up until I am! Anything is possible. I couldn’t even run 1 mile in college while playing soccer, but 10 years later I am training for a ½ marathon and currently running 2.5miles and increasing every week.

Angel Allgrim rocking her race-day medal. Go on, girl.

I don’t give myself excuses anymore, I don’t let my brain tell me I can’t. My muscles shake and spasm when I work out, but it doesn’t stop me. I keep pushing forward and tell myself that I can do it! If I fall on my face, I am still moving forward!