Taking pride in sweating ‘like a mother’: Stroller Strong Moms fitness group launches in the Tri-Lakes area
To “sweat like a mother” is the mission of the Stroller Strong Moms fitness group that launched in the Tri-Lakes area last month.
Stroller Strong Moms Tri-Lakes, which also goes by the acronym S.L.A.M, offers tailored workouts for women who’ve recently given birth as well as a judgment-free community that supports each participant in the process.
Alexa Smith founded Stroller Strong Moms in 2011, after she was unable to find a workout program to accommodate her specific fitness needs as a postpartum woman and mother of young children.
She was inspired to create a space conducive for both children to play and moms to sweat. Stroller Strong Moms now has women S.L.A.M-ing at 40 locations, 36 in the United States and four across Europe.
Meg Reichert is the owner and instructor at Stroller Strong Moms — Tri-Lakes that opened July 17. She has a master’s in mental health, is a certified wholistic health and nutrition coach, and is an NASM certified Personal Trainer. Reichert first attended a S.L.A.M class in 2017 in Washington, D.C., and upon moving to Colorado in 2020, she missed that community and wanted to re-create it for others.
“I really wanted to be able to provide what I had received to other women, and so that is why we started S.L.A.M. Tri-Lakes,” Reichert said.
S.L.A.M offers high-intensity interval training workouts that utilize both weights and children’s strollers alike. Moms are encouraged to bring their children and allow them to be a part of the workout or give them a chance to play alongside it. They also offer group events such as 5K races, playgroups for children, and a monthly Moms Night Out.
Stroller Strong Moms believes that “post-partum is forever.” Reichert encourages and supports the women in her classes, telling them that they can be healthy at any size and it is never too late to care for their post-partum fitness.
“We hear in the media all the time, ‘So and so just had a baby and she got her body back,’ or ‘You’re going to bounce back real quick, don’t worry about it,’” Reichert said. “The truth is, that is kind of a lie, it’s B.S … I am always going to have my C-section scar and will always have to remind myself to make [workout] adjustments. You may shrink back down to the same size … but it’s just going to look a little different than it did before and that’s OK.”
To Birth and Back’ is a program offered by Stroller Strong Moms that focuses heavily on postpartum health and wellness by working closely with pelvic floor physical therapists to create a workout plan just moms. But the physical aspect of the postpartum journey is not the only focus.
“We also provide that community,” Reichert said, “Postpartum mental health can be a huge issue for women after they have children, and it is also very isolating. We really want to provide a community for women where they feel welcome enough to come, and they feel that that is a safe space where there is no judgment.”
Reichert endured her own postpartum mental health journey, facing depression and anxiety after the births of her two children, but had her S.L.A.M. community there to help.
“I suffered from a lot of postpartum anxiety with my first son,” Reichert said. “But with my second, because I had already gone through postpartum and had found S.L.A.M. it was a little different. My depression really took hold, but because I was with a community that had normalized postpartum mental health, I didn’t feel ashamed, and I didn’t have a hard time reaching out for help, and so I got the help that I needed.”
Reichert explains that for her, mental health comes first and fitness second.
“My number one job is to feed into these women,” Reichert said. “Yes, provide them with fitness support but really provide them with that community support and make sure that they know that they are valued, they are wonderful, and they are fantastic moms.”
Army veteran Maureen DeAntonio began taking S.L.A.M. classes in Monterey, Calif. in 2017, but has since moved to Colorado and joined the Tri-Lakes fitness group. She said the women in her classes helped her recognize her struggle with postpartum depression.
“I kind of realized, ‘Oh my god, I definitely have postpartum depression,” because another mom was talking about her struggles with it,” DeAntonio said. “So, I realized that I had it, talked to my doctor, and got help … I probably never would have identified or admitted to myself that I had depression had I not been around that community of women who are so open in talking about it.”
She described her appreciation for all the group has to offer.
“I never get bored, and even though I have my kids with me, I am still getting a great workout,” DeAntonio said. “You are around other moms, and that can be intimidating to some people, but they are the nicest women you will ever meet, and nobody cares what your fitness level is … You build a great network of friends and women you can rely on.”
Stroller Strong Moms serves women at any fitness level and stage after childbirth. S.L.A.M Tri-Lakes hosts classes from 10 to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday, at either Fox Run Regional Park in north Colorado Springs or Limbach Park in Monument,.
For more information, visit the Tri-Lakes group’s website, strollerstrongmoms.com/slamtrilakes, or Facebook page, facebook.com/slamtrilakes.
The turnout was high for the S.L.A.M. Tri-Lakes grand opening last month.
Owner and fitness instructor Meg Reichert and her family pose for a photo during the grand opening of S.L.A.M. Tri-Lakes in July.
Stair stepping was part of a recent workout.
The S.L.A.M. Tri-Lakes group did side planks with weights during a recent workout in Limbach Park in Monument.
