Charlotte’s Fit Moms
by Debbie Crawford, MA, NCC
May 06

If you ever watch Oprah, you will hear her say over and over again that she believes motherhood is the toughest job in the world. And during the month of May, we all pause and give thanks to the moms in our lives for all their hard work and tireless effort.

Finding balance between family, work, and the business of life isn’t easy. And finding time in all of that to take care of yourself is – well – even more challenging. Meet a few Charlotte moms who are getting it done.
No, they aren’t ultra-marathon moms or super-triathlete moms. These ladies are just like you – doing their best to stay healthy, strong, and feeling good in a crazy, wonderful and sometimes chaotic life.

Enjoy their stories…

Virginia LaFar
For Virginia LaFar, fitness not just a priority, but it is also a key factor in helping her be a great mom. She and her husband, Daniel, have two children - Emily (age 5) and Taylor (age 3). And like their parents, both children are very active and are involved in activities such as, gymnastics, art, and karate.

“My fitness routine not only helps my cardiovascular health,” she says. “But as a mom, it helps my mental health too. It allows me to de-stress and have some time alone while I keep myself healthy and fit. In return, that makes me more patient and ready to be with my children.”

Her normal routine includes lifting weights, cardio, boxing interval training with her personal trainer and – her favorite workout – yoga.

“I find that people do not give yoga enough credit,” adds Virginia. “It is a wonderful way to relax and tone at the same time.”

Like many people, Virginia agrees that balance is a hard thing to find. She has discovered, however, that choosing shorter workouts (30-45 minutes) with a higher degree of frequency can make it easier to balance family and fitness. And her children enjoy playing with the other kids in the child-care program while mom gets her workout. Virginia sees that time as a win-win for everyone.

She encourages other busy moms to commit to a fitness plan and stick with it until it becomes a habit.
“It only takes twenty one days to establish a new habit. And once it's a habit, it is easy to fit into your daily routine,” she says. “Also, finding a great facility, like South End, makes it easy because the child-care is efficient, convenient, and fun. And that makes everyone happy.”

Cindy Levinson
Forty-three year-old Cindy Levinson grew up active, always playing outside as a kid and then getting involved in tennis in her teens. Now this active mom is setting an example for her daughters, 10-year old Jill and 8-year old Sophie.

After Jill was born, Cindy began exercising at the Levine Jewish Community Center on a regular basis taking step classes and sculpting classes. Four years ago, she began practicing yoga and soon thereafter added indoor cycling to her routine.

By October of 2004, she took her passion for cycling a step further and became a certified cycle instructor, currently teaching two evening classes a week at the JCC. In addition to cycling, Cindy’s regular fitness routine includes power yoga, step and sculpting classes. And she is sure to take Saturdays off to let her body rest up for the next busy week.

Cindy’s advice to busy moms (and let's face it, if you're a mom you're busy) is to find an activity you love.
“If you truly enjoy something and it's meaningful to you,” she says. “You'll find the time. Even moms need an hour or two of their own off the clock. At the end of the day you have to honor yourself.”

Diane Bailey
With two small children and a career as a corporate lawyer, Diane Bailey works hard to find the time for her workouts. And she credits a lot of her ability to do so to her husband, Brian, and a few other family members who step in to help with the kids.

Mother to 3-year old Kate and 7-month old Brad, Diane’s passion is yoga. And while exercise is an important part of her life, a key to maintaining balance, she has not always been active.

“I was not an athlete as a child – at least not by my own volition!” Diane adds,” But I have grown to love the physical and psychological release of exercise as an adult.”

Diane manages to squeeze in several yoga classes a week at one of her two favorite studios, Bikram Yoga or Charlotte Yoga near Park Road and Woodlawn.

“My yoga practice over time has become very meditative and prayerful,” she says. “Which also has been invaluable to helping me to find and maintain that sometimes elusive sense of balance.”

Her advice to others? Find a time of day when you are least likely to be sidetracked into something else.

“For me,” she says. “The key is exercising early in the morning while everyone else is sleeping.”

Genia Rogers
Genia Rogers does it all. She and her husband Rob are parents to three children: Robert is 14, Hunter is 12, and Anna is 6. And Genia owns her own company, which keeps her hustling but also affords her the opportunity to work from home and make scheduling adjustments for family time.

“My passion for fitness began when I was in college and gained 20 pounds on Clemson ice cream,” says Genia. “I started running, swimming, and doing aerobics with friends to lose weight and feel better. Fast forward twenty years and I still try to make movement of some kind a part of my every day.”

She is thankful to work with a group of health professionals and health enthusiasts under the umbrella of Wellness From Within, Health Made Simple. And Genia, a certified aerobics instructor, personal trainer and Pilates instructor, loves the opportunity to share her love of fitness, nutrition and overall wellbeing.
Genia’s secret to keeping life in balance lies in a few rules she lives by.

“Try to get comfortable with a to-do list that rolls over to the next day,” she explains. “I share my to-do list with my kids to teach them responsibility and appreciation for family and our home.”

She also works hard to identify energy wasters – like a rude person in the check-out line - and quickly move past them so as not to ruin her day.

She encourages others, both personally and professionally, to make taking care of themselves a priority.

Charity Kimmel
For Charity Kimmel, mom to a busy 10-year old, the key to her physical well-being has been cultivated by paring down her life, living more simply, and, as a result, with a lot less stress.

“I am a driven person,” she says. “But my drive manifests itself in a different way of thinking than the way many people think. I commit to the things that are really important, not to those others deem important. And I give myself permission not to get everything done perfect all the time.”

Keeping in shape is imperative to her mental and physical health. Charity makes a point to incorporate different forms of exercise into her week to feel good and increase happiness. And while she exercised only sporadically with what she calls an “off and on obsession” into her mid-30’s, she now taps into a variety of exercise options to keep her interested and ward off stress and anxiety.

“I changed my way of thinking and my lifestyle,” she says. “And exercise became a routine part of my life.”
Charity enjoys walking or stationary bike, Pilates sit-ups and full body pushups, yoga, hikes in the spring, summer and fall as time permits. Her advice to others is find things you enjoy and then incorporate exercise into your life the same way you incorporate eating.

“Exercise and eating are necessary, watching TV is not. I love baseball, so I keep a stationary bike in the TV room, and when I watch a game, I ride the bike for at least 20 minutes,” says Charity. “You have to want to workout the same way you want to eat, and once you start and it becomes a part of who you are, you’ll find that going without it feels as uncomfortable and going hungry.”