Mom's Night Out- TOMORROW NIGHT!

Yahoo, it is time for some relaxing MNO style!
Join us at Deschutes Brewery , in the Pearl!!!
Thursday, March 26th, 7:30 pm
Come for a pint, stay for food and more. Bound to be fun and if anything a great opportunity to blow dry your hair and look snazzy in non workout attire.
RSVP so I know to expect you! erin.shirey@babybootcamp.com
Cheers!
Erin

4:00 pm Laurelhurst Park Cancelled Today

Hello-

Due to logistics the 4:00 pm Laurelhurst Park Class is canceled today. All regular attendees have been contacted, but I wanted to let everyone know in case you had a wild hair to workout in the rain this afternoon.

See many of you over the next three mornings in class.

Cheers-

Erin Shirey

Rockin the System...

Rockin The System ...

"I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system."
- Mary Robinson, Irish President (b. 1944)

I am Irish and growing up was told that St. Patrick's Day was MY holiday. As a kid, I took that to be true. My siblings didn't have flags saying "Tyler go Bragh" or "Robbie go Bragh". But I did. Everywhere on St. Patrick's Day I would tell anyone who would listen the holiday was MY special day and share the saying of "Erin Go Bragh". Of course I found out later, it was my Mom letting me feel I was special, but that my siblings were Irish just like me. Regardless, I identified with the Emerald Isle and the strong women who I am honored to call my ancestors. One such women is my Grandmother, Roberta S. Cole.

Grandmother, Grammer and now Gigi as she is called by my girls, has been my inspiration growing up. She was an athletic female during a time when women weren't running. Grammer has a fire in her that matches her red (now white) hair. She raised my Mom and her siblings to be strong willed and independent. Thank goodness, they all passed those traits to my siblings, cousins and me. Grammer taught me to go after my goals, regardless of what anyone would think. She didn't just preach it, but practiced it. She traveled the world to New Guinea, Kenya, Holland and Dublin teaching others how to write and produce videos, information learned from her time as a tv producer in San Francisco. That occurred during her late 60's!

Grammer was also one of the first female marathoners. When she did the San Francisco Marathon, I remember being strapped into the bike trailer as my Dad pulled us around to cheer her on. SHE INSPIRED ME TO NEVER STOP AND JUST GO FOR IT!

When I did my first triathlon at 16, I made sure to talk with Grammer all about training. She let me use her Bob Jackson bike for the bike portion and I felt like I had some of her strength with me. I placed and excitedly called her. Later that summer, Grammer and I ran a 5K race together. She was 70 years old and a force to be reckoned with. We both won our age groups, and shared in a memory that forever holds a place dear to my heart. Mom captured a photo of Grammer and me with our medals around our neck, and I cherish it because for me it symbolizes to keep going and never give up.

That headstrong determination and athleticism is still making waves with whatever Grammer does. Living in Seattle now, Grammer did a race two years ago using her walker. The police were trailing behind her, since she was one of the last participants. Grammer told them "Please get off my tail boys. I WILL FINISH THIS RACE". This past year, she has fallen a few times. Part of the reason, her stubborn pride. A few months ago Grammer was in a room doing Physical Therapy for a stroke and . There was a chair in front of her walker prohibiting her from moving where she wanted to go. Instead of asking for help, she stood up, picked up the walker and moved it to the other side of the chair. It may drive my Mom and her siblings mad, but it actually makes me a bit proud that she is so independent. And people are curious where I get my determination from...

While I think about the luck of the Irish and the joyful glee felt by many during this month, I have to thank my stars I am a granddaughter to a stubborn red headed Irish women. If her enthusiasm and determination has been passed to me, I feel lucky. The fact her short stature and speedy legs have traveled through the gene pool to me let's me know I am blessed. So, in the realm of Irish traditions I raise a pint and toast you strong incredible women, and your children who look up to you every day to great strength and pride.

"Slainte" - To your health

- Erin Shirey, Baby Boot Camp Portland Metro & Baby Boot Camp Leadership Coach

Mother LOVE Fitness Challenge Update!!

Moms have caught on and are smashing their goals!

Seriously, Baby Boot Camp Portland & Beaverton, you ARE ROCKSTARS! The Moms have already completed Month One- Cardio. AND...Portland logged the most miles WINING THE NATIONAL COMPETITION! Having logged 1319.04 miles between 14 people! Portland only beat Beaverton by just over 100 miles. To be part of a team of women who have not only been supporting one another, but inspiring each other to go further, faster and laugh along the way is incredible.

Month One Winners are:

Most Miles: Lisa Law with 159 MILES
1st Runner Up: Christa Lowe with 138.94 MILES
2nd Runner Up: Christa Van Arsden with 120 MILES

HUGE CONGRATS!!!

Month Two is underway and the weekly fitness testing is motivating the Mamas. There are some Moms who are DETERMINED to BE STRONG!!! The second week of strength month, the daily routine in addition to their workouts has Moms' completing 70 push ups, 3x:45 second planks, and 2 minutes of Jack Squats. The push ups in class DON'T count for their daily total. Now that is a CHALLENGE! Two Mamas, Amanda and Suzy, have been encouraging each other and surpassing their hefty accomplishments each week. From completing 63 push ups, completing 10 minutes of the wall sit, or 400 Jack Squats, they are inspiring everyone and truly supportive of helping one another. THAT IS TEAMWORK!

Month Three is to GIVE BACK. We will be participating in the 5K or 8K Run for the Cheetah at the Oregon Zoo. Please click to register by March 30th.

You can still participate and be part of this winning team. You can register anytime. It is bound to go down in history as the most determined and energized Moms yet!

Mother Love Fitness Challenge

Winner Announced at SPECIAL MOM'S NIGHT OUT- FOOT BAR BODY BAR PAMPERING IN SWEET STYLE!!!

MAY 7TH, 6:00-9:30 PM
RSVP TO ERIN B. - erinbarnes.fitness@gmail.com - ASAP

Click for more info

Power of YOU Fitness, Inc.

Power of YOU Fitness, Inc.

You are the Mom who has kids to old for Baby Boot Camp, or you are the professional needing to get motivated in a group by a hardcore trainer- Power of YOU Fitness, Inc. is your fitness home!

As a business owner listening to the needs of customers and working on utilizing my strengths to help support them, Power of YOU Fitness, Inc. has come into fruition. Small group training, Family Power Workshops, Stair Scramble classes are all set to motivate, encourage, and allow you to become the athlete you always wanted to be.

As your fitness coach, I encourage you every step of the way. I also push you to go further and have you work with your teammates. It is my job to help you find your Power of YOU.

Power of YOU Fitness, Inc.

MOM of the MONTH - ELISA!!!!!

Throughout the past year, one Mom has been the soft spoken but incredibly big hearted every day. She is reliable, supportive, kind, compassionate and honestly...incredible. Elisa Black is one of the most unassuming women you will ever meet, and she needs a huge pat on the back for all of her hard work. Elisa has not only lost 25 pounds since October, but dropped her cholesterol points and discovered she is a runner.

Elisa has been a regular at the Laurelhurst Park and Lloyd Center Mall classes. She may be rushing in right as class starts, but it is because she has rushed to make class happen regardless of snow, rain or no car. Elisa is eager to welcome any new Mom and be the first to congratulate a fellow Baby Boot Camper on a new goal accomplished or challenge met. I have watcher Elisa in class for a while, but it wasn't until truly getting to know her during the snowstorm classes of December that I experienced her genuine excitement and passion for Baby Boot Camp.

Monday, December 22nd, was full of snow and more snow. I decided to keep class at Lloyd Center for any Mom who could make it. And make it ...she did. Elisa rushed into class bundled and with her jogger tires full of snow. She was so determined to make class she ran 1 mile and took 2 buses in order to get there. Some people may be frazzled after a journey as such, but not Elisa. She was laughing and glad to de-layer and join the class in session. Her excitement for making class, and getting a great workout was beyond genuine and real. She was ebullient to exercise and laughed with Elliot the whole time. Through that dedication Elisa realized she is not only a role model to her son, but to all the other Moms and Dads around her.

Cheers to Elisa! Next time you see her, toast her life that is well lived, contagious joy, and legs that are now beyond strong from doing thousands of squats the past year.

To celebrate Elisa, she gets a date night out
provided by

A Brilliant Nanny

To celebrate Elisa, she gets a date nig

Fitness for YOU while doing Fitness as a Family

As we face increased stress and unexpected financial burdens, exercise can be one of the most integral aspects of family togetherness. Incorporate fitness into your lives as a family team and you will not only provide healthier bodies and minds, but some of the best memories for your children. If you incorporate fitness into their lives now, you will give them the best gift in the world. It has been shown that active youth develop better self esteem, have a greater sense of self efficacy and think of fitness as FUN not a chore. You want to be an ACTIVE role model to your child, not the parent who has no energy and can’t find time to play at the park.

The first way you can incorporate fitness into your family lifestyle is to think of your body as a means of transportation, not your vehicle. Living in the Pacific Northwest, you are more likely to be an active and adventurous soul who may already be using your bike or feet as a means to get to work. Why not also walk or jog your children to school instead of driving?. It may require more planning, but will add more miles to your day and allow the time for good conversations with your kids.

Expand on this idea when doing errands by utilizing your bikes/bike trailers, or jogging strollers to complete them. Without constantly getting your children in and out of the car, the errands will be much more efficient and fun. Likewise the stop and go component allows for a short rest, making it easier for you to cover more miles than you normally would. You could even race your kids from Point A to Point B, challenging them to go faster to each destination. Also get creative with your household errands. For example, make yard work more fun and encourage your kids to run fast across the lawn, up and down your front stairs, rake the leaves to jump in them ….only to rake them again.


Tips to make Fitness a Family affair:

• At the beginning of each month, have each family member pick 2 new activities they would like to try by month’s end and write them on the calendar
• Make an appointment each weekend for the family to exercise together. As the month progresses, add 2-3 additional dates throughout the week
• If your children are under the age of 2, alternate who pushes the jogging stroller, wears the backpack, or pulls the sled with your partner.
• When thinking of new activities, why not try rock climbing, paddle boarding, surfing, kayaking, snowshoeing or cross country skiing. Kids are quite adventurous and don’t have the same fears as adults, often resulting in abilities to tackle new sports with fierce gumption.
• Start a Fitness Journal together. Write memories from certain activities, ie: Cole, age 3 years, ran 1 ½ miles today while I pushed Kellan in the jogger. Afterwards, I pushed both boys at an 8 minute mile pace for 30 minutes! Each time you try a new sport take a photo and add it to the journal. Everyone can share their experience and favorite memory.
• Encourage good sportsmanship and overall well being within your children. Younger siblings already have the tendency to feel like they need to play catch up and you want them to feel included at their own level.

Ways to incorporate Fitness Inside:

• Dance Party. Each family member can choose their 3 favorite songs and everyone has to dance/hop/skip/run/squat/do planks or push ups/jump the entire time. Switch to a new song and do a different activity.
• Create an obstacle course in your house together.
- Jump over 4 pillows
- Hop on one foot 10 times
- Do a crabwalk around the couch
- 10 push ups by the kitchen table
- 10 dips on the family room coffee table
- Up and down the stairs 5 times
- Finish with 10 Jumping Jacks in the kitchen
• Play “Simon Says”, “Red Light Green Light”, Red Rover”, “Freeze Dance”
• Go to the Mall and Mall walk. If you go earlier in the morning, the mall is not busy and you have a lot of space to fit in exercise. Sprint between stores, hop in front of stores, do wall sits on a mall wall, go up and down the stairs, fast walk around the ice rink, and finish with playing at the kids play area.
• Purchase games and equipment that promote physical activity. The games of Hullabaloo, Twister, Wii Fit, balance boards and hula hoops.

Means to incorporate Fitness Outside:

• Think of your backyard as a play yard. Do relay races, pick up sticks-literally, or rock runs holding small or big rocks.
• Incorporate animal drills across the lawn doing Bear Crawls, Crab Walk, Caterpillar, Donkey Kicks, and any others to be created.
• Go to the beach and have fun in the sand dunes. It doesn’t have to be summer to play in the sand and the sand encourages your body to use the small stabilizing and balancing muscles.
• In the snow go cross country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing or snowboarding.
• Go sledding and each family member must run or walk to the top in order to slide to the bottom.
• Go silly and play miniature golf or Frisbee golf. Kids don’t have to be perfect at their game, nor do the adults.

If you think outside what you currently have been doing, the means to incorporate fitness become endless. Use the next few months to add in new family fitness activities each week, which means by Summer you’ll be exercising as a family 3-4 times each week. Remember, you want to be the active parent at the park with your child, not the parent who is on the bench drinking their latte. Have fun and play!

© Erin Shirey 2009. When not chasing after her 2 little girls, Erin Shirey is Baby Boot Camp® Leadership Coach, owns Baby Boot Camp® Portland & Beaverton, Co-Owns POWER Outdoor Fitness, Inc., and owns Power of YOU Fitness. Erin has written for many athletic publications, in addition to being a contributing editor for Better TV. She has a BS in Kinesiology, is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, and Fit To Deliver Pre and Postnatal Certified Trainer. To reach Erin, 503.703.1269, PowerofYOUfitness@gmail.com , http://babybootcampportland.blogspot.com

Reminder- meeting for Mother Love Fitness Challenge TODAY!

Hi lovely mama's!

Just a reminder that the MLFC meeting is today at 4 pm at The Shirey
house.
The address is: 2940 NE 39th Ave Portland 97212

Expect about 1 1/2 hr's of MLFC fun! See you there!

Double Dublin

Double Dublin

Are you ready to share your Irish spirit? I challenge you to join us for a Double Dublin weekend! Come to the St. Patrick's Celebration class at Lloyd Center Mall on Saturday, March 14th. Wear your green and make sure to not get pinched. Throughout the class you'll be encouraged to rush and find the pot of gold.

On Sunday, March 15th, do the Shamrock Run! It is a Portland Tradition, and great way to spend a Sunday morning with your partner and Baby Boot Camp buddies. Register for the 5K, 8K or 15K. Race is followed with a celebration pint at the waterfront and warm clam chowder.

Click here to register as a Group- Baby Boot Camp Rockstars

Shamrock Run Info