San Antonio momtrepreneur, Lisa DeArmond, is seeing first hand what the influence of a mom’s lifestyle will do for her children. Lisa is the owner of Fit4Mom which operates the Stroller Strides and Body Back programs and is the mother of three girls, with a fourth on the way this fall. Knowing the struggles that girls face today, Lisa is a testimony to the positive influence that a healthy, active lifestyle can give kids. I recently sat down with Lisa to talk about her business, her role as a mom and the importance of exercise and healthy eating for families.
ACMB: Tell me a little about your business.
Lisa: Fit4Mom is the company that the Stroller Strides and Body Back programs fall under. We help moms make strides in fitness, motherhood and life.
ACMB: What prompted you to start Stroller Strides?
Lisa: Growing up, I was active and athletic. I went to college on a soccer scholarship and after graduation, I started my career as a drug rep in marketing and sales. When my husband and I decided to start a family, my work lifestyle didn’t fit with the type of mom I wanted to be. I traveled quite a bit with work and I knew, personally, I couldn’t keep up that lifestyle while raising my kids.
I knew I wanted to start my own business and fitness was always an important part of my life. I considered being a fitness instructor but soon after, my mother-in-law and friend introduced me to two separate stroller based fitness groups. I quickly knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Five months after having our first daughter, we moved to Los Angeles. I was a new mom, in a new city with no friends and no family. I started Stroller Strides there to “test the waters” and made an instant group of friends for me as well as friends for my daughter. We knew our stay in LA would be short so when we moved back to San Antonio, I jumped on the opportunity to begin my own franchise. That was in 2008 and I still love what I do. Fit4Mom has not only allowed me to be a business owner, but also to stay at home with my kids while I run my own business.
ACMB: What makes San Antonio a good community for Fit4Mom and Stroller Strides?
Lisa: San Antonio is not only a huge transient city, it’s also a huge military community. I know first hand one of the hardest things to do is to move to a new city and meet other moms, especially when you have kids. Your free time is limited and you never quite know how to go about finding it. Stroller Strides helps moms get out of the house, get active and gives them an instant community of other local moms. About 75% of our Stroller Stride moms are military but we have a great balance of moms that have also relocated here from other cities. We also have moms that were born and raised here in San Antonio.
ACMB: San Antonio has a huge focus right now on fitness, especially for children. How is Fit4Mom/Stroller Strides helping these causes?
Lisa: San Antonio hasn’t always been known for our fitness. Encouraging moms to get out and move is a great way to teach children about fitness. I find that kids emulate their moms. When a mom makes her health and exercising a priority, it changes the fitness dynamics for the whole family! When fitness, health and nutrition are important to mom, this impacts children and makes taking care of yourself important to the everyone in the family. My own family is a shining example of this and my kids even play Stroller Strides with their friends when they come over! I see them exercising outside in the yard, just like mom does.
The City of San Antonio has been so supportive of what we do. All of our programs are held in the city’s public parks and they see what an impact a parent’s example can have on children.
ACMB: What have been your biggest challenges as a “momtrepreneur”?
Lisa: Balancing life and understanding that my business may not be as big as it could be. The fact that I get to be home with my children is what makes it okay to realize that I can’t always do everything. In order to have a balance in my life, I might not be on the PTA for school, but I know what I’m doing is important for me.
ACMB: What have you enjoyed most about living in San Antonio?
Lisa: San Antonio is a great place to raise kids! There’s a feeling of community and safety. There’s a low cost of living and families really focus on important things rather than the superficial.
ACMB: How do you find balance in your life?
Lisa: I prioritize. I set office hours and I set boundaries for doing office work. I make a real effort not to check emails and phone calls outside of my set working time.
I ask for help. I have a lot of friends with kids in the same activities as mine so we help each other out with carpool and drop offs. I learned early don’t be afraid to ask for help.
ACMB: What is your inspiration?
Lisa: My girls – it’s hard to raise healthy strong-minded girls. I truly feel that by participating in Stroller Strides, even as a member, I am giving my children a step up. Girls that are physically active make better choices for their health, are stronger mentally and become stronger in general. My girls are already emulating me as a fitness instructor and making fitness an important part of their life. Fitness teaches them self-awareness, self-respect, and how to treat your body properly. Having fitness as a part of my life is helping mold them into stronger women.
ACMB: What does a typically day in your shoes look like?
Lisa: On days when I’m teaching Stroller Strides, I wake up at 6am, fix breakfast, get lunch ready and get my girls to school by 7:45am. I come home, do laundry, prepare snacks and water and I am at Stroller Strides by 9am. We’re usually at the park until 11:30am. We get home and eat lunch, put the baby down for a nap, and start my other daughter on an educational activity. I have office/house work during that time and we’re out the door by 2:45pm for pick up from school. My kids have activities like swimming, music, or soccer in the afternoons and by 5pm, we’re home getting dinner ready. At 7:30pm, it’s bedtime
ACMB: When you have a babysitter, where would we find you?
Lisa: Out to dinner with my husband. We make a commitment to go out to dinner every week or every other week. It lets us recharge their relationship. Our marriage is the backbone of the entire family. The family exists because of our marriage so time alone to reconnect helps keep everything strong in our family.
ACMB: So how can San Antonio moms learn more about Fit4Mom classes?
Lisa: We are offering our Fall into Fitness Stoller Strides class for FREE on Wednesday, September 18 & Saturday, September 21. This will be offered at all of our locations. Moms can pre-enroll and find out class times and locations on our website at http://northsanantonio.fit4mom.com. We’ve also just partnered with the JCC. They are offering their first Body Back session on October 1. Body Back is the graduate program of Stroller Strides and are high-intensity workouts for moms that want to get their pre-baby body back. Classes are 8 week session and you don’t have to be a member of the JCC to attend. [hr]
Have you made sure to register for our first ever Moms Night Out?
Tickets are limited to make sure to sign up for this fun event today!
