Fit Mama Friday – Meet Chana

 

Meet Chana.

Today on Fit Mama Friday, I’m thrilled to introduce Chana Balk, a fit mama, entrepreneur, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and the founder of Move It Momma. Chana is mama to two boys, ages 8 and 6, and it wasn’t until after her second son was born that she left her career as a corporate attorney to start up the Brooklyn chapter of Mommybites, a support group, classes and seminars for new mothers in Brooklyn. Following this success and after getting certified both as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer, Chana branched out again and began a boot camp for new mamas. Move It Momma was born! I’m so happy Chana was able to meet with me for this Fit Mama Friday interview – she is lovely, funny, energetic and inspiring, so I’m excited to share her story and expertise with you guys!

 

Chana, obviously now you’re in amazing shape, kind of expected since fitness is your livelihood! Let’s go back to pre-mama days, when you were working as a litigator. You were fit back then, too – how did you make time for working out?

Thank you! Yes, I was fit. It’s funny, though, I always question when I’m looking back now – was I as fit as I thought I was back then? I exercised a good amount and I always loved fitness. In my twenties I was always at the gym and I was also always showing friends how to do things, so for some reason even back then, I loved fitness and had the ability to share that. So, I was working a lot, but just like anyone, I had to make time to fit it in. It feels like such a long time ago, but I remember getting to the gym during my lunch hour, or squeezing in a workout before work. It’s like anything – you have to make it part of your schedule and just get it done. And I enjoyed it! So, that helped.

So, tell me a little about your pregnancy experiences? Were you able to continue working out during both pregnancies with your two boys?

Noooo! I felt awful, during both my pregnancies. I did nothing. It was not good. I gained a lot of weight both times. And as a small, fit woman, that extra weight made a huge, huge difference. I was so uncomfortable and on top of that, I was working in a high stress job for a huge law firm, so by the time I would get home, I was exhausted. No more lunch hour workouts – I just didn’t have the energy. My second pregnancy, I was still working full time, and same thing. I guess, during my second pregnancy, all I did was, I walked the dog. That was pretty much the extent of my movement!

Wow, that must have been hard for you, physically and emotionally. How did you get back into shape after pregnancy?

Well, it’s funny, after my first, when I went back to work after maternity leave, every free moment I had, I wanted to be with the baby, you know? But with the second, it was like, “I’m going to have the nanny come at 7:30 instead of 8:30 so I can go to the gym!” It was such a different experience. Poor Number Two!

About eight weeks after my first son was born in 2005 I ended up joining the Strollercise class that took place Central Park, since I was living in Manhattan at the time. I had put on so much weight during pregnancy, so for someone like me, who had always been this little person, to go into a gym, 6 weeks post partum when you’re carrying an extra 15 pounds…I mean, I wanted to wear a t-shirt that read, “I’m not fat, I just had a baby!” It was very uncomfortable, because I didn’t feel like myself.

So when I was with other moms, who were in the same shoes, in that Strollercise class, it made a huge difference. And I mean, there were all shapes and sizes of new mothers there – it’s all just genetics, after all – but I was so far outside of how I normally look and feel, that people who met me back then, who then saw me again 8 or 9 months later,would be like, “Oh! You’re so little!” Because having seen me just post-partum, you’d expect that I had always been a heavy person.

I also had a very challenging, stressful first birth experience. I didn’t have post-partum depression, but it was a stressful birth, then I had a hard time breastfeeding, so that contributed to me just not feeling like myself and just being very uncomfortable. I don’t sugarcoat anything – motherhood is one of the hardest things ever. So finding that group, and taking those fitness classes, that was really helpful for me.

That experience obviously stayed with you. But it wasn’t years later that you founded Move It Momma – tell me more about how that business came about.

So I knew I wanted to leave the law – I was pretty burnt out after 10 years of being a civil litigator. And around the time I left that career, I met the woman who founded MommyBites NY, which was really taking off. So we talked, and she asked me if I’d be interested in starting up a Brooklyn chapter of MommyBites. I just decided to go for it – I was living in Brooklyn, and you have to understand, there are so many support groups and mommy groups around now, but back then, before I started Brooklyn Baby Bites, there was nothing. So I had no competition, and I was really starting something new, that filled a real need in this community. I also realized that running a small business was perfect for me, for my personality, and now that I had kids, it just worked perfectly in my lifestyle as well.

So I started running some bootcamp classes in Prospect Park, just to see how they would go, and they were actually pretty popular early on. So pretty soon, I realized I could combine this ability to run a small business with all the juggling involved, with my passion for fitness, and start my own business. So that’s how Move It Momma was born. I got my certifications and it just took off.

And then you were approached to be a start of a series of fitness videos for CafeMom, right? You must have been so excited when that opportunity came up.

I was terrified. I didn’t want to do it. I was away upstate, at a summer camp where my husband coaches sports and I do fitness classes for the kids, and I got a call from an agent saying they represented a client and were interested in me doing an audition to do some fitness videos for a website. And I said, “Oh, that’s such a compliment, but I’m away and I can’t do it.” Which is so silly now I look back – I was upstate! I could have jumped on a train and been there in a couple of hours. Luckily, they were persistent, and asked me to send them some footage from the camp, just to get a sense of my personality and approach. So my husband took some footage, the client (who turned out to be CafeMom) liked it, and soon afterwards I found myself writing my own scripts for these workout videos, then in a studio getting hair and makeup done and filming. It was an awesome experience.

I was reluctant to say yes, because I don’t look like you imagine a fitness instructor on a video looking. I told them, “You know, I definitely don’t have a six-pack or anything,” but they assured me their client was looking for someone who was fit, in shape, and would appeal to their audience of everyday moms. You know, someone relatable. And it’s funny, I feel like most people looking to work with a personal trainer or a fitness instructor are looking for the same thing – they don’t want someone who’s rock-hard without an ounce of fat, because it’s almost kind of intimidating.

It was just a great experience and if you had told me back when I was working crazy hours as a lawyer, with two kids, that one day I’d be running my own fitness business and starring in fitness videos online, I would have told you you were a crazy person!

Before I started researching you for this interview, I had no idea of your tie to CafeMom – since I write for their sister site, The Stir! It’s such a small world. What do you do for your workouts now?

Lots of different things. I wasn’t always a runner, but in 2010 I got really into running, I ran a half marathon, but afterwards I couldn’t walk for two weeks. It turned out I had two herniated discs, but I didn’t know it when I was doing all that running, so all that pounding on pavement training was awful for that. So that was my last half marathon. I still watch the half marathon now and get sad. So now, I’m a very occasional runner. I also do Pilates, I do yoga, I work out with weights at the gym. I would say I have a very balanced fitness routine.

Do you get a workout while you’re running your Move It Momma classes? Or is it more focusing on your clients’ form?

You know, it depends. It depends on the group. I would say that it’s a physical job, but I’m not actually working out, you know? I mean, yes, I need to see how everyone’s doing and make sure they’re working hard, like if they’re lunging I’ll come over and physically push them down a little bit deeper into the lunge if I feel like they can take it. A lot of the time too, I am kind of in charge of  a lot of the kids as well. It’s funny, I had one class with little babies, and if they’re crying I’m happy to take a baby and rock them or bounce or burp them. There have been times I’ve been walking around in the class, with a baby in the football hold in each arm, still calling out what exercise we’re moving on to next!

I discovered I was good at multitasking and being able to be more than a trainer – that’s always been my goal for Move It Momma, to make sure it’s a fitness class, but also an outlet for the moms. One of my bootcamp classes, the whole group of women go out to lunch together afterwards, every week, you know? It’s not just about losing baby weight, it’s squatting, while we’re discussing sleep training, or breast-feeding advice. It’s just so important to have that support system where you know you’re not the only one going through something, and still being able to have this time that’s so much fun.

I love that the babies are part of the workout – it must make such a difference that you can bring your baby along. No need to find childcare for your workout – that’s a huge advantage.

It’s great, it does make a difference. Early on, I used to try to incorporate the babies a lot more. We did things like, I would bring a parachute, so all the mamas were squatting and standing while we were floating this huge parachute over all the babies in the middle. I learned a lot about what works when you have kids in a fitness class and what doesn’t. There was one time when I had a class with a bunch of toddlers, like probably 18 months to about 2 years old, and I had the moms all run to a certain point and then come back, and my plan was to stay with all the kids while they did that. So you know, here’s a group of little toddlers, and all of a sudden their moms are running as fast as they can away from them! There were lots of tears, lots of crying, a few of them started to chase mommy. I mean…it was crazy! We didn’t do that again for a while, until the kids were a little more used to me!

And you’ve just got back from teaching kids’ fitness classes at a summer camp, right? Is fitness for kids something you want to get into?

Yes, that’s been so much fun, I’ve taught the fitness classes at sleep-away camps before as well. Also, just doing Move It Momma means I’m already involved in kids’ fitness. There are so many kids who come to the classes with their moms, and for the first class they will be shy and kind of hang back and watch, and then the next time, they’re doing the lunging and jumping around and having fun. I’ve been shown so many videos or heard stories of kids doing stuff from our bootcamps at home, and being like, “I wanna be like Chana and kick and lunge and run!” It’s so amazing to have that kind of effect on kids. You know, it’s like when you’re a fit mama, you’re setting an example for your own kids already, and I have that so many times over because I’m also this example for so many other kids. And they’re seeing their moms doing it and knowing it’s fun and they like it. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Along those lines, just how important do you think Move It Momma is for its participants? The testimonials on your website are glowing – why do you think the classes resonate so much?

It’s all about that idea of it being more than just a workout. Move It Momma is a support system for moms. It’s having that camaraderie of being in a group of women who are all going through the same things, and we can all help each other. My tag line on my mission statement is, “We Get It.” You know? I get everything you’re going through, because I’ve been there, we’ve all been there. You get a workout, and you get to hear advice from other moms about sleep training, or preschools or whatever.

And it’s been amazing for me as well. I love the mommas who come to my classes. I don’t know if I just got lucky, or what, but all the women who do the classes are awesome. There are no assholes, no-one is that one woman you wish wasn’t part of the group. It’s been wonderful. I really genuinely like and become friends with so many of the participants, and keep in touch. And it’s so gratifying to hear from a few of past Move It Momma women who now live in different cities all over the world, who contact me and say, “Chana, I’m going to a mommy fitness class, but there’s nothing like Move It Momma!”

I know you had a major injury recently, you tore your gastrocnemius! How did that happen? 

That was horrible. Awful. It was this winter, during a class that was being held in an indoor space (Chana has access to indoor studio spaces for her bootcamps, so they are help regardless of weather conditions), we were doing squat jumps, and I just felt something happen in my calf. I knew it was bad immediately. I kept going with the class – one of my mommas got me ice so I could ice my calf. By the time class ended, I couldn’t put any weight on that leg at all. My mommas all stayed with me and wheeled me down 8th Avenue in a Bugaboo stroller, to go to one woman’s apartment because she had crutches she could lend to me so I could get home. Like I told you, the women in my classes are amazing. Talk about supportive! And by the way, that weight limit on the Bugaboo is a serious underestimate!

It’s funny, I’m sure you’ve had something like this as well, being a trainer, but when I went to the orthopedist, rather than what I would have said back when I was a lawyer – “Ummm, my leg hurts?” – I said, “I think it’s my gastrocnemius – I just really am nervous it might be my Achilles tendon, because I don’t want surgery.” I guess luckily it was my gastrocnemius, which was torn, but it really, really sucked.

You must have been miserable! Were you able to work out at all?

I was miserable, pissed, sad. I had grand plans to do Pilates every day and blog a lot more about the whole experience…neither of which really happened. What I did do was start doing aqua aerobics. I don’t really like swimming, but there’s really something about being in the water, you really have to work even harder at what you’re doing because of the resistance. And I was in the pool with all these elderly ladies, you know, Ethel and Myrtle and then there’s me, and afterwards we’d all go upstairs and do physical therapy. Then we’d have coffee and complain about what hurt! But working out with them, I felt like I almost needed to prove myself more. There was one instructor who really used to push me in those classes and he was so sad when I finally left! And I did do some Pilates and strength training, so all in all I really managed to stay pretty fit despite everything.

That’s awesome. I’ve been in that position of having a pretty serious injury, and feeling miserable does not help at all, so good for you for staying motivated! Now, let’s talk a bit about nutrition. Do you eat super healthy? Does diet and nutrition come up in your boot camp classes or your personal training sessions?

I’ve always said that with losing weight, it’s definitely 80% diet and 20% exercise. I mean, that’s just the truth. So yes, diet is very important. But what’s also true, is that maintaining any kind of weight loss, you just can’t do it without exercise. I don’t have a nutrition certification and I’m very aware of not operating outside of my scope of practice, but if I’m starting with a new client, I might open their fridge and take a look and make some simple suggestions. And I eat healthy, yes. I love my salads and I’m vegetarian – not for health reasons, more because I look at red meat and think, ‘Moo’, but my family eats healthily. Actually, my husband a while back was having stomach issues, so on my suggestion he tried out gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free for a while, and he found that gluten free worked for him.

So, your lifestyle obviously has affected your family’s approach to health as well?

Well, I mean, my husband is an athlete. We actually just recently got back from a trip to Colorado where he was inducted into the College Hall of Fame for lacrosse. So being fit and healthy is something that’s always been part of his life as well. Actually, he coaches soccer and lacrosse at the sleep-away camp that I do the fitness classes at. Now the boys are older -they’re 8 and 6 – they’re at the age where if I want to go for a run, they can ride their bike along with me. And we go hiking a lot – that’s a great thing to be able to do with your kids and from a pretty young age. Nothing like hiking up a mountain to make sure they sleep through the night!

And what’s next for you, Chana?

Well, I’m taking a vacation this summer, then it’s back to Move It Momma classes and blogging. I actually want to do more video work and start vlogging as well – I feel like that way of blogging would really suit me and my personality.

Thank you so much for your time, Chana, it’s been a pleasure to feature you on Fit Mama Friday! I love meeting another fitness professional who’s dedicated to making mamas fit and active!

Even if you’re not in Brooklyn, check out Move It Momma, so you can follow Chana’s blog on health, fitness and family.

 

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