On Fit Mama Friday today, I’m thrilled to be featuring the lovely Reneé Benda. A digital and social media marketing professional, Reneé also writes the blog Bendiful. After her eldest son Reece was diagnosed with Rapp Hodgkin Syndrome, Reneé found herself in a familiar situation for countless mamas – by putting the needs of her family first, she realized she was unhealthy, overweight and not making herself a priority. That all changed and Bendiful began. Mama to two boys, Reece, 7 years, and Broc, 4 years, and married to her husband Troy for 7 years, Reneé’s blog focuses on reaching the everyday mama and introducing them to fitness (as well as her local area of Syracuse, NY).
What’s your fitness background like, Reneé? Were you a workout warrior prior to having kids? Did you work out during your pregnancies?
My journey has been one of ups and downs. I’ve been thin, I’ve been heavy and every size and shape in-between. Like many women I gained a lot of weight when I got pregnant with my first son. It was an exciting time which called for celebrations (woot-woot!). So obviously a chipwich (ice cream cookie sandwich) seemed like a great treat choice daily. My first son was born with a clef palate and after having him my focus turned toward his health and learning to care for him. I really didn’t notice the amount of weight I had gained. I look back at pictures now and I can’t say, ‘Wow, I was so unhappy.” The truth was I genuinely had other priorities and my health and fitness levels usually ended up at the end of the list.
I started running after my oldest son was a year old and although I wasn’t fast I loved the rush and looked forward to running with my little guy. It was our special time together each night. Soon we were expecting again and this time I decided to keep running through my pregnancy. Again, not fast but still just enjoying the moments. I didn’t gain as much weight with my second son and the weight seemed to come off easier this time around.
After already learning to care for your son Reece, with his cleft palate, what was it like when he was diagnosed with Rapp Hodgkin Syndrome? How did it affect you – did you find yourself putting yourself last?
When we were got new news about my oldest son who was diagnosed with Rapp Hodgkin Syndrome, a genetic syndrome, our lives were again not our own to lead. We spent most of our time learning more about this new phase in his life. At this point we ended up in a string of surgeries which lead us to have a great interaction with the local hockey team at our area children’s hospital. We signed waivers and soon the pictures were all over social media. While I was so excited for my son to be part of a such an amazing community event I was horrified by the pictures. I made a vow after seeing the photos that even though my sons needed me to be there for them, I had to stop putting myself last.
So with that catalyst for you to make changes and make fitness a priority, how did you begin?
I got serious about my fitness. I started my blog to act as a reminder add some accountability to my goals. At first I had no idea what I was doing and just wrote about things I found interesting. Soon I started adding group fitness classes to my own fitness goals. And realized there was SO much I wanted to know more about. The more classes I tried the more weight loss goals I hit. Things were finally clicking for me. I had a horrible experience with a gym in my area which cause me some serious self-doubt about what I was doing. But it ended up leading me to my local Y where I found a great fitness family. It was a make or break moment and ended up shaping the last year of my life. I became a group fitness and Spinning Instructor and decided to try to give back a little to all the people who have given so much to me over the years.
How do you make fitness part of your busy schedule?
Keeping up with a household, job, husband and kids makes for a tight schedule but I try to find time for myself even if it’s just enough time to squeeze in a quick run. In order to take care of others you have to take care of yourself. I use the mornings for most of my workouts, and use Daily Burn for at home daily yoga and HRM sessions.
I love that you have such a local focus on your blog – not just eating local and buying local, but working out locally, too. What’s the importance of a focus on your immediate area? Is it community? Or wanting to share your finds with others?
I love where I live and it started just as my comfort zone. People tend to write about what they know. For me I was pretty new to fitness and didn’t feel comfortable giving others advice so I wrote about food and fitness classes in my own community. I started my #Cusefit series of posts of various fitness classes in and around Syracuse to encourage others to try something new. It bonded me to the whole area and made me feel more and more comfortable talking about fitness and health as my experiences grew.
You’re a group fitness instructor and you also have a personal history with weight loss and deal with a lot of stress in your life. Do you bring an empathetic approach to your classes? I know you’re a fan of Carla and Roni’s #WYCWYC (What You Can When You Can) approach to fitness – is that something you’ve very used or brought up in a group fitness setting?
I am a group exercise instructor and have lost just shy of 70 pounds. I feel like I do take an empathetic approach to my classes. I tell most of them flat-out I’ve been ALL of your sizes and if I can do it with sweat and tears so can you! For me stress management has been a big part of my fitness journey. I’m a stress eater and I still am learning that eating isn’t a great coping mechanism. With my two little guys the #WYCWYC has been my approach to surviving the summer. When there is so much going on, it’s important to find just a little time for a workout break. I really just shoot for 10,000 steps a day and squeeze in little workouts when I have the time. A 10 minute walk is better than sitting and 10 push ups/sit-ups/burpees can be done almost anywhere. I love in the summer when I can take my classes outside and show them a great body weight workout that requires NO equipment.
Do you think it’s different being a fit mama to boys, than if you had daughters? For me, I need all the energy I can get for the rampaging little man in my house, but I also wonder when I see things like that “Run like a girl” campaign – how much do you think it affects your boys positively to see their mama being strong and active?
I think that little boys and little girls are equally inspired by older athletes. My son Reece proclaimed this week he wanted to do the ALS challenge because he LOVES challenges. He thought it was a hockey challenge. It cracked us up! But shows that kids inspirations can come from everywhere. We watched the video Kacy Catanzaro on America Ninja Warrior and even though she’s a girl my boys didn’t really see it that way. They watched the first video at least 12 times and were amazed by it all the same. Both my little guys wanted to be that girl on the Ninja show for weeks after. I love my boys being active but I think it I had a daughter she would be the same way. Childhood is a great time to test the limits of your body. Running, flips, jumps, balance – all these skills we learn young and carry with us for life. I want my boys to look back and be just as inspired as their active mom and as their active dad.
I love being active with my boys and seeing them embrace it as a lifestyle. Both of my boys are hockey players and my husband will still play in mens league once in a while so a big step for me was putting on skates and learning to skate. It was humbling. But I want them to know that there are a million different ways to be active and healthy they just need to find what works for them. Try everything, they won’t all fit but you won’t know what you LOVE until you try.
Thank you so much for being part of Fit Mama Friday, Reneé! I love your approach to fitness and how much you ‘get it’ that it isn’t easy for everyone. You rock, mama!
Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday
Every Friday on Fine Fit Day I feature a Fit Mama or a Fit Dad story of how and why a fit and healthy mama or dad ensures fitness is a priority in her or his life. You’ll read about all kinds of parents and their fitness stories. Some are stay-at-home parents, some are single parents, some juggle more than one job on top of parenthood, but they are all committed to a fit and healthy lifestyle. As you’re getting ready for your weekend, I hope you’re inspired to be active after reading about these kick-ass mamas and dads on Fit Mama Friday – Fit Dad Friday! Do you want to be featured on Fit Mama Friday? Or do you know someone you’d like to see featured? Please contact me for details!
” In order to take care of others you have to take care of yourself.” >>>YES.
Thanks for sharing, Renee – I love your realistic approach to fitness!
Jessica @ Absurd, She Wrote recently posted…Um, I Think We Just Witnessed a Robbery
It’s so simple, but so easy to forget!! Renee is awesome, I love her attitude and her writing.
So cool that Renee realized she had to take care of herself in order to be able to better help her son(s)!!!
Kim recently posted…The Hardest Worker I Know – a Feel Good Story!!
And doesn’t she look so glowing and happy now that she’s taking care of herself? If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should, Kim, she’s great.