Fit Mama Friday – Meet Johanna

Every Friday, I feature a Fit Mama story of how and why a fit, healthy, happy mama makes sure fitness is a priority in her life. You’ll be reading about all kinds of women and their stories. Some are single mothers, some are stay at home mothers, some are juggling more than one job on top of motherhood, but they’re all committed to living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

I hope as you’re getting ready for your weekend, you’ll be inspired to go out and get active after reading these kick-butt ladies’ stories!

Originally from Canada, Johanna Lindsay, a photographer and stay-at-home mom, now calls NYC home. She lives there with her husband and three children. I had the pleasure of training Johanna following the birth of her youngest child. We had a lot of fun and became good friends, although Johanna is not a fan of weights! We ended up doing some fun workouts with ViPRs, boxing, jumprope and cardio breaks. Luckily, she worked her butt off in our sessions and was down to her pre-pregnancy weight in no time. 

As you know, once I decided to be a stay-at-home mom, I started taking exercise classes very seriously. Partly because it was an excuse to escape my three children and just have some “me time” for 90 minutes and also, I’m not going to lie here, it’s the coffee with friends after class! The latter is a huge motivational push for me to don my Lululemon pants and not-so-sexy sports bra for that delicious cappuccino reward at the end of a grueling class.

I’ve been dedicated to Core Fusion’s barre class for 2 years now. It’s a full-body strengthening class where you’re using small, isometric movements to work your whole body. It’s based on Pilates, ballet and yoga. This class has totally reshaped my figure, made me incredibly strong, improved my posture and given me the false illusion that I’m oh-so-ballerina-graceful at bending and stretching. Ignorance is bliss and I accept that. I have a friend who asked me to attend Barry’s Bootcamp with her. I asked her if she really likes it and she responded, “I loathe it, but it’s so good.” With that review, I’m booking a class. Core Fusion’s barre remains my complete and utter addiction, though.

I have witnessed you attempting to ‘convert’ people you meet to trying the barre class, so I can attest it’s an addiction! What about cardio – how do you incorporate that into your routine?

I enjoy a sweat-inducing spin class at Flywheel. I love the blaring music, my favorite wacky instructor dancing her way through the rows of bikes, screaming encouraging words of wisdom. However, what really gets me going is the inner competition I have with myself to beat my previous weeks numbers.

You used to belong to a gym, but you ended up canceling your membership. What led to that decision?

Yes, before I had my children I was always a member at my local gym, but I was inconsistent with my gym routine. I would workout 4 times a week one week, then miss a week altogether and the following week return only once. You get the idea – I was all over the place. Going out for cocktails or meeting friends for dinner after work was much more fun than hitting the treadmill. Once I had children, I realized I felt bored and completely unmotivated at the gym. I had a much shorter window of time to be away from my baby and I needed to get the most out of my workout. I want to sweat, have fun and not get bored. The treadmill was not that for me.

Do you think it’s easier to be a Fit Mama living in a city like New York? 

I think there’s more opportunity to fit exercise into daily life in a city like New York, especially compared to somewhere like my hometown of Toronto where it is a primarily car driven city. In New York, you just strap your baby on and carry on with life. I think you definitely see a lot of fit mothers pushing a stroller, or with a baby carrier, walking on the streets on New York.

Was it harder to get back in shape after each pregnancy?

Absolutely! As well as being more tired after each baby! But with my fitness regime now I’m in better shape than I was in my 20’s.

Johanna, you look happy, fit, fabulous and your fitness routine is clearly working wonders for you. Thanks for being a featured Fit Mama!