Pilates And A Playdate

Fitness instructor Sarah Junk walks around her studio saying "Inhale, exhale, left then right," checking her clients' form while rocking a fussy baby in his car seat and handing out stickers to little girls playing on the floor.

Junk runs her "BODYbaby" fitness classes for moms who want to work out without leaving their kids at home.  While the mothers sweat it out, their children (ages newborn to 5) relax and play right alongside.

"Moms love it," Junk said. "There's really no place like this, which is surprising for a town that is so saturated with kids."

On Thursday morning, several moms, two toddlers and five infants filled the bright studio on Washington Street.  

Junk is also co-owner of You + Me Do It Together Studio in the same space. In addition to workouts, the studio offers an art playground for parents and kids, a creative explosions class with craft projects, a nature program called wonder bugs and a kids' coffee house, which brings in performers each week to entertain little ones. There's also a weekly Yoga for Kids class.

On this Thursday, Junk led a Pilates class while the little girls read books and played with toys. Sometimes they straddled their moms' bellies to make sit-ups more challenging.

Many of the newborns lay cooing in car seats a few inches away from their mothers, seemingly amused by the show.  When babies did get cranky, Junk jumped up and offered a bottle or rocked them a bit.  The moms didn't have to interrupt their workouts.

 "I'm trying to get back into shape. It's harder after the second baby," said Jessica Benedetto, who brought 3-year old Ella and 10-week old Cole to class. "This is the only way I can get in a workout," she added. "And it's a great class. I'm still sore from Tuesday."

Margie Helman brought 6-week old Eva to class.

"I want to work out, but I have no one to leave her with," Helman said. "I don't have family here and I don't want to leave her with a random babysitter. It's great to be able to work out like this."

An attorney and certified Pilates instructor, Junk opened this studio last year. She now has dozens of loyal clients who come to classes offered six days a week.  The fee is $15 a class. 

Some of the favorites:

• Long, Lean Mama Machine, a power Pilates class focused on core strengthening 
• Fit Mama/Happy Baby, which includes core and cardio work
• Work It! Stroller Class, which takes moms and their strollers walking & running through Old Town.

Junk also offers clients her recipe for success -- a nutritious protein smoothie recipe, that is. 

Protein Smoothie - prep time is 5 minutes.

Ingredients: 

1/3 c. apple juice
1/2 c. (4 oz.) soft tofu, drained (try vanilla tofu)
1 c. fresh or frozen berries
1 banana
4 oz. nonfat vanilla-flavored yogurt
1 tsp. honey
4 ice cubes
Directions: Place apple juice, yogurt, tofu, berries, banana, and honey in a blender. Cover and process until well blended. While the blender is still running, drop ice cubes into the blender one at a time (through the hole in the lid) until smooth. Pour the smoothies into tall glasses. 

Serves: 2 Serving size: 1 1/3 cup

Nutritional analysis (per serving): 

175 calories
7 g protein
3 g fat
0 g sat. fat
33 g carbohydrate
3 g fiber
2 mg cholesterol
33 mg sodium
131 mg calcium
1.3 mg ironNote: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.
 
 For more information  about the fitness classes, or You + Me Do It Together Studio programs go to http://youandmestudioonline.com/index.html.