ShaadZee's Corner: Moms Working It Out Downtown

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, you can see them stretching out next to the

Or pounding the pavement through downtown Pleasant Hill.

Or hoofing it up the stairs at the nearby parking garage.

The region in and around ShaadZee's Corner is where the mothers in Amy O'Brien's Baby Boot Camp class gets in their exercise twice a week... as well as some much-needed socialization.

"I think the exercise is the icing on the cake," said O'Brien, a certified personal trainer. "It's very important for a mom's sanity to get out of the house and talk with other people who are going through the same challenges."

The women usually meet about 9 a.m. on those two weekdays at the pond at City Hall a few blocks away. They bring their children, strollers and baby bags with them.

There, they do some mild stretching before jogging, kids and all, over to the large sidewalk area adjacent to the theater at the corner of Crescent Drive and Crescent Plaza.

There, O'Brien leads her clients through some resistance training, some of it employing elastic bands on the conveniently located bicycle racks.

After that, the women go on a 15-minute run while O'Brien watches the children. That jaunt includes a run up the stairs at the parking garage across the street from the theaters.

Once that's complete, there's a little more resistance training and stretching before heading back to the pond for some core and abdomen work.

The 90-minute workout certainly takes off some of the post-partum weight from pregnancy, but these young moms also say these sessions are good for their brains.

Cecilia, one of the moms at Tuesday morning's workout, said she was looking for a way to "take off a few pounds" after the birth of her second child. She didn't want to go to a gym and leave her infant in child care, so when she heard about Baby Boot Camp she jumped at the chance.

She is getting in shape. She recently ran her first half-marathon. But she's also found chatting with fellow mothers just as important.

"You make friends and that keeps you coming back," said Cecilia, who drives from Vallejo for the class.

Karly Moura Gonzales has an 8-month-old son she totes along to these workouts. A co-worker at an elementary school told her about Baby Boot Camp a few years ago, so she decided to give it a try after her child was born.

"As a new mom, there are a few things you have to have," said Gonzales, a Martinez resident. "You just need to get out of the house and this gives you a way to do that."

Connie Ferguson, a mother of two children, says it's important for her mental health to attend the sessions.

"It's very important for your sanity," she said. "You also start to feel good about your body again."

Ferguson, a Pleasant Hill resident with a background in early childhood education, also noted it's good for the kids, too. They learn to socialize with other children and they learn it's OK to be separated from their mother for a short time.

Baby Boot Camp is a franchise operation. Noelle Gould owns the franchise in Clayton, Concord and Pleasant Hill. She hires O'Brien to oversee her Pleasant Hill classes.

The sessions cost $10 apiece with the first class free as a tryout. Participants can come when it's convenient. A popular option is 12 classes for $120. People under this plan have 90 days to use all dozen sessions.

O'Brien, a mother herself, says the classes create long-lasting friendships.

"It's a great community of moms and kids," she said. "I think it's the community building that gets a lot of these moms together."