0:49

on today's episode of the research doula podcast. I chat with Laura of slam Anchorage. We chat about her experience attending slam for the first time as a new mom. And how she has transitioned into building her own community right where she's at supporting and empowering other moms to do the same

Natalie: 1:07

I'm Natalie and you're listening to the Resource Doula Podcast, a place where we provide information to help you make informed healthcare decisions for yourself and your. Laura is an ACE certified group fitness instructor,, pregnant and postpartum athlete coach, military wife, mother of three boys and owner of Sweat like a Mother. Anchorage, also known as Slam. Slam, is a group fitness class where women can bring their kids or not and receive quality programming to meet them where they are in any stage of motherhood, pre-pregnancy. Pregnancy or postpartum. They offer monthly playgroups and moms nights out as well. Laura grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was an elementary school teacher in high school, cross country coach in Fairbanks, Alaska. It was there that she met her husband, Jeremiah, who was in the army after having her first baby in 2016, she became a stay at home mom and. A slam affiliate when she was six weeks postpartum in Monterey, California. Laura knew from her first class this would become part of her life. She began studying to become an instructor, and when she and her family moved from California to New York for the military, she decided to open an affiliate, slam Fort Drum. Laura then had her second and third babies in New York before her husband was sent back to Alaska this time to Anchorage. Slam. Anchorage was already a thriving community when she arrived and bought the business in 2021. Laura is passionate about building communities where women feel accepted, seen, challenged, and loved. She enjoys running, especially trail running and enjoys training for marathons, especially the Equinox Marathon and Fairbanks, which she has run four. She also loves skiing, hiking, and of course sweating like a mother during class. Hey Laura, welcome to the show.

Laura: 3:03

Hi Natalie. Thanks for having.

Natalie: 3:05

Of course I'm excited about this. I think it's really funny that like it took Instagram for us to meet, but we live in the same state.

Laura: 3:15

I do appreciate that it's one of the beauties of social media. It brings people together.

Natalie: 3:21

Yeah, it really is. So I wanna just dive right in. You really have had quite the journey. You started out as an elementary school teacher and a cross country of course, Cross country coach um, and you're now a mom fitness instructor. So I wanna know what was so special about that first slam class that you attended? What convinced you that you needed more of this in your, in your life?

Laura: 3:51

Great question. Yeah, I had a little bit of a pivot in my career path. Um, I was really committed to teaching and being, um, an elementary school teacher, and my goal was to be an elementary school principal. Um, and so it was definitely a shift in, um, in my career when I became a mom, became a stay at home mom, became a military spouse, that kind of, that. Trajectory changed. Um, working as a military spouse is very challenging, working outside the home because childcare and not having family nearby is, um, makes all of that very difficult. So, um, yeah, I feel like there's so many things I could share as far as my journey, um, and what sort of, how that changed. But maybe that would be a whole podcast,

Natalie: 4:38

free to share whatever

Laura: 4:41

When we moved to, uh, to Monterey, California, I was six weeks post. Well, I had my baby there, so I was, I moved there when I was about 37 and a half weeks pregnant. So I was with my first baby. So we were, um, moving to a new place. I didn't know a soul, you know, didn't know anybody in Monterey. Uh, we were there for a school for my husband's job. He was gonna be in school for the next 18 months. And, um, and yeah, I was about to be a new mom for the first time and just totally. No idea what I was getting myself into. Also, I had just, we'd just gotten married very recently, so, um, new wife, new, you know, just knew at so many things. Um, new place. So I was Googling as one does when they arrive at a new place about things in my area. And I don't even know what I Googled. I don't know if I was even looking for a fitness class or if I was looking for a mom group. I ju I don't remember what I Googled, but I know that at. Slam came up sweat like a mother. Um, at the time it was stroller strong mom, and I noticed that it was less than a mile from my house is where they met. And so I thought, Okay, I'm gonna do this. So I read a little bit more and it said, Okay, when you're six weeks postpartum is when we have you start coming to this class. So I waited till I was six weeks postpartum. The night, it was like the morning I had my doctor's appointment, my six week appointment in the morning, or. Maybe it was the day before. And so the next morning I was like, Okay, I can go to Slim now. Um, yeah, I was so excited, but also nervous. I like didn't sleep the night before cause I was like, Oh my gosh, what if I'm not like in good enough shape? What if I, Yeah. Just didn't know any, you know, I won't know anybody. What if I can't keep up? Cause some of the reviews on Slam said, like, this workouts no joke. You know, like it felt kind of the bootcamp vibe at first. And so I was a little worried. So, So I got there on my first day and really quickly fell in love with the program and with the moms and the instructor, Alexa. She was, everyone was so welcoming and. Um, so accommodating to me as again, a new mom, my infant baby in the car seat in stroller. I just, um, getting there was such a huge feat and I just felt so welcomed and then I was moving my body and sweating and that felt really good cause I hadn't been able to do that in so long. Um, and yeah, I, I literally bought the t-shirt that day. I bought a t-shirt and was like, Okay, this is it. I'm hooked. I, this might, these are my people. They also just, were all very, um, you know, they, we are outside, we're, you know, near the ocean and everybody, It just seemed like the kind of people I would get along with. And a lot of military family spouses too. So again, that connection felt good. So yeah, I just kept coming. I bought a membership and started coming, you know, as often as I could. They had classes every day and um, that first day, the, Sorry, I really do talk a lot. So

Natalie: 7:39

Keep talking. I'm here for it.

Laura: 7:42

first class I, um, That I went to, I um, I thought I had to leave right after because I needed to go home and breastfeed and just watching some of these moms breastfeeding in public and I didn't really know you could do that. I didn't know how one would do that. And so I told them, I was like, Well, I have to go. They were meeting after and, and having like a playgroup after and I was like, Well, I gotta go feed my baby. And they're all like, Wait, what? You know? Cause they're just out there, um, feeding their children and. Yeah, that felt really good to sort of learn how to mother from all these other mothers. You know, I learned how to be a mom and, um, that was a super supportive way of, of doing that. So that, that's kind of what hooked me in. Um, and I never looked back. So yeah. Then I decided once we knew we were gonna move, I decided to, um, open a slam wherever we ended up. If there wasn't. Because it was something I just wanted more of in my life. So when we moved to Fort Drum, I opened a slam affiliate in Fort Drum and um, then, then bought the, uh, affiliate here in Anchorage once we moved here. So I've just kind of been, as we move, I bring Slam with me or sort of find the slam in the area. That's a long answer to your question. I'm sorry,

Natalie: 8:59

No, I love it. I think it, it took like a lot of initiative on your part to decide I'm gonna find some new friends in Monterey when you first moved there and then decide to just like. Up and go to a fitness class, which I think is intimidating. even being in the fitness world, that's an intimidating thing to do. And then as a new mom, so props to you for just put putting yourself out there and, and going for it.

Laura: 9:27

Yeah. Yeah. You kind of have to, and I don't know if I knew that at the time, how important that was as, um, someone who moves a lot, that just sort of jumping into a community when you get somewhere is so important. Um, and I think that whether it's my personality or, you know, I don't know which happened first, but that's, that's become something that's very important to me is kind of. Jumping in right away. Um, I mean, and Slam has been so great because you get to a place and like we received moms here at Slam from other places and they know that immediately when, when we go to, um, register our kids for school and they say, Okay, we need, uh, an emergency contact that lives in the area. Like I got here a week ago, I don't know anybody. Go on the slam page, Hey, can I use anybody for an emergency contact? And everybody's like, Of course, like, here was my, you know, put my name and number down. So, um, um, that's kind of one of the, I think, advantages of finding a community like that as far as military is concerned.

Natalie: 10:27

That's incredible and that's really what we need for everybody. Military or not. Like a lot of the guests that I've had on this podcast, every single person says, Find your your village, right? Find your people, find your support network. And that's really hard to do, but it sounds like Slam, like those women are just there for each other all the time. That's incredible.

Laura: 10:49

Yeah. Yeah. I think everyone realizes that, how important that is. I know it's okay. Yeah, I definitely think that's important.

Natalie: 10:57

Yeah. Yeah. And in ways that you may not expect, like emergency contact for your older kids at school, rather than just bringing you a meal. Do you guys do meal trains and stuff like.

Laura: 11:07

Yeah. Yep. We do meal trains when someone has a baby or an illness or a loss or anything like that, we do meal trains for sure. And, um, yeah, we have a lot of moms who babysit each other's kids, you know, for date nights or for appointments, you know, when you need childcare, so you can go to the doctor, you can, you know, you know, you have this group of moms who understand and that you trust and that know your kids, and your kids know them. Um, so yeah, when you don't live near your family, That can be a huge re and even if you do, you know, it's nice to not always rely on mom and dad or aunt and uncle or whatever, you know, you can tax your, even your family. So, Cause we do have local moms, you know, we have moms who live here, whose families live here. And um, yeah,

Natalie: 11:48

Yeah. And then you

Laura: 11:49

aspect.

Natalie: 11:50

You have options for like if you need to talk to somebody who's not related to you, who is familiar with the stage of life that you're in and your journey and all of that.

Laura: 11:59

definitely.

Natalie: 12:01

that's amazing. Okay. I wanna kind of switch over to your own motherhood journey. So you had your first baby, you were six weeks postpartum when you joined. Um, you've since had another kid,

Laura: 12:14

Two other. Yeah. Yes.

Natalie: 12:17

What would you say is probably the most surprising thing, something you did not expect, um, in your motherhood journey, and then whether it was good, how'd that go? And then if it was kind of like maybe more on the negative side, how did you work through it? How did you overcome it?

Laura: 12:34

I love that question because I think there is so much surprising about motherhood and I think the biggest surprise was how little. Uh, people talk about moms and their, that journey. So like from the beginning. So your postpartum appointment, that six week checkup, you get one, you know, you get one six week checkup, and then that's it. You're done. They don't. Follow through or talk to you. You know, you get one and the baby gets like 10 in the first year of life. You know, you're going to the one week and then the follow up. Two, you know, depending on your baby's health needs, they might even be more often. And then you're getting their three month checkup and their six, I mean, you're going back for baby appointments all the time. And no one, very rarely do they ask about you and how you're doing. I mean, some, if you have a good pediatrician, they might look at you and say, How you doing mom? You know? But very rarely do you get a lot of, um, support from the medical community, you know, And that's just, I don't think that's anyone's fault. It's just how it's designed right now. So I think that was so surprising to me is how much. With hormones and you know, your physical changes and your mental changes, there's so much going on in that first year that you can feel super lost because nobody's talking about it. So you're not sure how much of what you're experiencing is normal and how much of what you're experiencing is, you know, if you're breastfeeding, what, how are, you know, There's lactation consultants. But again, if you don't know what's available to you resource wise, if you don't, um, have a community if you don't. You know, and even if you do, there's just very little, I think, um, talked about. And so I think that was really surprising to me was just how much my body was changing, my mindset was changing. So many things were changing and I didn't feel prepared or equipped, and I didn't feel, um, in it in a lot of ways. You know, like I just felt like I was kind of on my own. So any, and I have a wonderful mom and three sisters, you know, like I, so I really do have a good amount of support and I still didn't feel like I knew what was happening to me, Um, so I think that was really surprising because I sort of thought I knew what to expect from being a mom. And there's also, you know, there's what the media tells you and even what. Social media tells you, um, movies and, you know, just the magic of motherhood or the, you're just gonna know, you know, you're just gonna know what to do and all these things, or your body knows. And I think that might be sometimes true, but there's also times when it's like you don't know you have no idea. Uh, so, uh, and I think in a lot of ways, uh, Swam helped me with that. I mean, just meeting other moms who would talk about their journey and. You know, talk about their struggles with mental health or, um, you know, their plan has really, um, I think improved their messaging for postpartum, you know, um, pelvic floor pt or even when you're pregnant, going to pelvic floor pt. And I think, um, just some of those terms, like the idea that Pelvic four PT exists,

Natalie: 15:49

Yeah.

Laura: 15:49

didn't know that.

Natalie: 15:50

And it's awesome.

Laura: 15:53

Yeah, and it's amazing. Yeah. And that everyone should go. It should be like, that should be part of your six week checkup is an immediate referral to pelvic floor pt. Just no questions asked. You don't have to have symptoms. You don't have to know what it is. You just, you're immediately sent, you know, ideally next door to the pelvic floor PT down the hall or something like that. You know, that would be amazing,

Natalie: 16:12

Wouldn't that be awesome,

Laura: 16:13

The dream, the.

Natalie: 16:15

Yeah.

Laura: 16:17

yeah, I think that's some of the ways that I coped with those surprises was just, um, trying to. Well, and then trying to become what I needed, you know, trying to become a coach that would talk about those things and would encourage new moms to get the help they need and, and, um, yeah, start to use some of those words as far as just normalizing it, you know. Oh, you're having painful sex. Like let's talk about it. You know, like instead of feeling like that was taboo or that you shouldn't talk about that or something, you know, we can talk about the pee and the poop and all the things, you know, like your own, your mom's mom's pee and poop. You know, we talk about the baby's pee and poop. Why can't we talk about mom? So

Natalie: 16:55

This is true.

Laura: 16:57

yeah. Anyway, that's

Natalie: 16:59

Yeah. No, I think it's just, I mean, Amer America and our medical system and women's healthcare in general, I've talked about this with like every single person I've, I've had on, but it's really, it's problematic and it's leaving so many moms feeling like they're alone or that they're not normal or that they have to deal with whatever it is by themselves, you know, alone. And, and as if. It doesn't happen to everybody else, or they're not struggling, you know? So.

Laura: 17:31

or that it's so normal that they just have to put up with it. Like, Oh, that's just, everybody has that, so don't worry about it. You know? That's just part of being a mom and that's, you know, also not necessarily true. So, yeah.

Natalie: 17:43

Yeah, absolutely. And what's interesting about you saying that you had to leave to feed your baby, you weren't, you didn't know that you could breastfeed in public like that is um, I talked to an IV clc, a lactation consultant, and she was saying that you decide when you are like, 15, like puberty age, whether or not you're gonna breastfeed in your future based on the fact that you've seen breastfeeding or you haven't in public, which is just so interesting to me. Like if we normalize it and we feed babies when they need to be fed and when they're hungry, then that could be anywhere. It could be out on the sidewalk, it could, you know, it could be in the house with friends over, but that just making it more apparent.

Laura: 18:29

Yeah. No, I love that. I love that. I think about that sometimes when I am breastfeeding now, you know, just sort of thinking and looking around and seeing who's, you know, who's watching, and I guess you do, You never know who's watching for better or worse, you know, But mostly a, a positive thing, you know, that it's just an important Yeah.

Natalie: 18:46

And the next generation will grow up seeing it as that's what we do. That's how we feed babies. And it's okay to do that in the middle of a workout if you need to.

Laura: 18:56

Yeah, totally. And my hope is through slim we also normalize bottle feeding and, you know, that it's just not, you know, putting anything up on a pedestal. You know, as someone who has breastfed three babies, basically been breastfeeding for like six years, you know, I, I would never want a mom. I've also heard from lots of moms who felt super alienated by not breastfeeding and feeling like they're doing something wrong or failing, or not a, and it's. Or, or they've really pushed themselves to breastfeed when, way past, when they, you know, just like so many things were pointing to, like, Fed is best just, you know, let's get some formula going or whatever, you know, and, and, and suffering mental health, you know, their mental health suffering because they thought that that was the only thing they could do. So I think that's another reason to involve, you know, a group of women so that you can see all kinds of ways of, of feeding and mother.

Natalie: 19:47

Yeah. I love that and I love that you brought in the mental health aspect because that is really important and it's something that we, we overlook a lot of times. You have that six week checkup and then cool. You're, you're good to go. There's so much more that needs to be said and needs to be

Laura: 20:06

So much

Natalie: 20:07

Yeah.

Laura: 20:07

Through with.

Natalie: 20:08

Yeah, Yeah, absolutely. Um, what would you say about Exercise and Slam in regards to mental health? It's kinda an open-ended question.

Laura: 20:20

Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, gosh, I mean, I think everyone knows that movement is important for, for their mental health, or at least I, I think most people can appreciate how, how much endorphins and movement can help with mental health. And I think for postpartum women, especially, like body image is such a huge thing and figuring out your body and relearning. Um, you know, the body that you have and sort of learning to love that body, even though it looks and feels much different than it did before. And so I think for me, exercise has allowed me to sort of, and it's not so much about like controlling your body as it is, just getting to know it again, you know, And so when you move and you kind of learn your own strength and um, and learn kind. I, I feel mu, I feel stronger, physically stronger since postpartum than I ever did before having kids. Cause I've learned how to move the right way. You know, I've learned how to move more mindfully and I've learned how to move, um, and just treat my body well, you know, with how, what I eat and what I drink. Yeah, so, so much of motherhood, um, teaches you how to take care of yourself better. At least that's been my experience. And so I think exercise and, and Slam has, um, sort of incorporated that into my lifestyle so that it has become part of my lifestyle and I think it's supported my mental health because. Your, I think all of that is connected. I think your, you know, your mental health and physical health are very much, you know, connected. And so I think, um, and then of course just spending time with other moms. Even if you're not exercising, sometimes, you know, you get to class and you can't, your baby's. Crying the whole time and you end up just sitting on your mat and watching everybody else exercise while you take care of your baby. You're still out of the house, you're still around other people. You're still receiving that support and giving that support to the other moms that are there. So I think that's been, yeah, those, those things have been very much tied together. My mental health and my experience of exercise postpartum

Natalie: 22:23

Yeah. Yeah. I think there are studies done on

Laura: 22:27

Makes sense.

Natalie: 22:28

postpartum mood disorders and exercise and how beneficial it is, and that's, I mean, that's my world too, so I'm happy to hear you say that.

Laura: 22:37

Yeah.

Natalie: 22:37

um, So if someone has not ever attended a slam class, um, and they're interested, what should they expect? Um, what should they bring, what should they wear? What kind of exercises do you teach? Is it like super intense? I know you, you've spoken to a little bit of that, um, and kind of the environment, but give us the low.

Laura: 23:00

Yeah, absolutely. So come in workout clothes, comfortable to move. Um, in the summer we're outside and so you dress for whatever the outdoor weather is. But now that the winter has hit here in Alaska, we are indoors and so yeah, we definitely have moms and shorts because you get warm and sweaty, so whatever you're comfortable in. Um, and then water of course, and a yoga mat. And then we do ask moms to bring. So people start with anywhere from three pound weights to eight pound weights and then kind of work their way up from there. Um, and we have heavy weight days where the instructors will bring some heavier weights to, to try out. Um, and we always sort of encourage moms to try the next heaviest weight, you know, that they've been, if they've been bringing three pound weights, try the fives. If they've been bringing fives, try the eight, et cetera. Um, and then we'll bring, Yeah, like I said, we'll bring in some more. And that's really it. I mean, you just come with your, your yoga mat, your weights and your water and your baby if you, uh, need to, you know, So we have moms. We have moms who. Childcare who have daycare or, um, their kids are in school and they come without their kids. And we love that. We cheer for them because it means they're gonna get a really focused hour of work. They're gonna get to focus on themselves and their workout, their breathing, and um, and that's awesome for them. For sure. And, uh, then we have lots of moms who, you know, don't have that option. And so they're bringing their strollers and they're bringing their kids and they're bringing, um, snacks for their kids. Tablets. We encourage electronics during Slam because again, your kids get your other 23 hours of the day. You can carve out an hour for you where they're just gonna be. You. Can we encourage moms to ignore their kids for that hour too, in, in ways that are appropriate and, you know, uh, developmentally appropriate for them. Toys and things for them to play with because they're, they are welcome to be there. In fact, that's kind of what Slam was created for, was a workout that you can bring your kids to. Um, So that's what you bring. You bring your kids if you can or need to, and if you don't, um, that's awesome too. Uh, we do it have strollers for kids that are under four. We encourage them to, and, and want them to be sort of more contained the babies and so that to keep them safe from weights that are moving around. So wagons, the mom brings wagons. We've had moms bring like foldable camp chairs so that just so that every kid has kind of a place to be, to keep them safe. And then afterwards they just run around. That's wildlings that they are. Um, but during class we do ask them to be sort of in one spot for, for safety reasons. But yeah, that's, that's it. And then the instructors are, Walk you through exactly what you need to know after that. If you just show up, that's all you need to do. Um, the instructors have awesome classes planned. Every day is different. It's, you know, a mixture of like strength and conditioning, some hit, you know, um, intervals, little, some running sometimes, but lots of modifications, always accommodations, depending on where people are at, um, in pregnancy and post. The coaches are always gonna give different sort of, um, modifications or exercises, and if moms have injuries or symptoms, we always, we either you. Um, like, call out if you have these symptoms, this is what you should do. Or we encourage moms to approach the instructors either before or even during class, um, to let them know what their symptoms are and we can troubleshoot kind of what, what they can do, um, instead of what everyone else is doing or, you know. So most, a lot of times it just looks different. Everyone's doing something a little bit different cause they're choosing what works for them. Um, And yeah, that's, that's it. It's an hour class is an hour. We have warmups and cool downs and you know, stretching and it's just a lot of fun themed classes for holidays, always themed. Today is Halloween here. And yeah, we definitely had some fun themed classes, Monster walks and things like that. So yeah, lots of fun. Every once in a while we'll include the kids and have the kids work out with us. Um, just for fun. But for the most part, it's focused on moms for sure.

Natalie: 27:07

Which is so needed. It's so needed. And I will say, I can vouch for everything that you said because I came to a class,

Laura: 27:14

That's

Natalie: 27:14

so fun, and. Even though I don't have kids, I didn't bring a kid and I, I'm comfortable around moms and babies cuz that's my world. And I kind of expected to just like come in and have nobody talk to me, but just like I was looking for you, you know? Like I'm here to sample a class, whatever. But people talk to me right away and they were so friendly and just welcome, welcomed me right in, even though I didn't have a stroller with me. It was awesome. And then the exercises, I was like, okay, I'm, I'm impressed cuz I'm always, you know, Little picky about exercises, which is understandable, with my background. But um, yeah, it was, it was great. The exercises were appropriate and good and I was way sore the next day. I don't know if I told you that, but I was definitely sore, so it

Laura: 28:02

funny. I was intimidated having you come to class knowing that that was your background. I'm like, Oh, okay. Now I feel a little, a little nervous,

Natalie: 28:09

Nah.

Laura: 28:10

But it was fun.

Natalie: 28:11

Yeah, it was awesome. So I would, I would highly recommend it. And then you guys chat at the end, the kids run around and it's, it's fine if your kid screams over there, that's okay if they're running around and having fun. Cool. So, yeah, it's, it's definitely a low pressure and, and welcoming environment. So keep doing what

Laura: 28:30

that was your experience. I'm, That was your experience.

Natalie: 28:33

Totally, totally. Can you talk a little bit about. The coaches training and their specializations in pelvic floor, um, what qualifies them to talk about all of that?

Laura: 28:48

Yeah, definitely. So all of our coaches have to be certified, um, in a nationally recognized. Certification for fitness, so group fitness, um, through ace. We have, um, yeah, all various, um, fitness certifications first. That's kind of the bare minimum. And then from there, you know, as continuing ed and um, sort of adding onto that, uh, we have coaches who have, they're pregnant and postpartum Methodism coaches CERT certification, which is the Brianna Battles course, which is one of the ways that you and I met was through sort of her presence, Brianna Battle's presence on social media. And I, I think she's a great, that course is really, Really strong course, and I think, um, a lot of the slam owners and coaches have that certification because it's just very relevant for what we do. Um, since we are coaching pregnant and postpartum athletes every day. Um, so there's that certification we have, um, one of our coaches has the, um, corrective exercise specialist, uh, or a corrective exercise certification. Which is again, kind of right in line with what we do. Um, and we have, um, what. Uh, one of our pelvic floor PTs, Addie Holman, so she's the Slam Nation pelvic floor pt, and she offers a certification, uh, for continuing ed that is, um, called to birth and back. And all of our instructors have that certification as well. And so that's, um, I designed to bridge the gap between birth and six weeks. So what do you do during that six weeks? You can't. Say nothing you know, there's definitely things you can be doing. So that course, um, really focuses on breathing and reconnecting to your core and pelvic floor and learning all of those, the basics to, um, to allow you to sort of progress. After that. And that personally was a really, um, important certification for me to get for my own, you know, for my own ability to sort of reconnect to my core and then to be able to, you know, give that information to, to other moms. So, um, yeah, so those are the certifications. And then, um, yeah, we just always encourage moms to be, or our instructors to. You know, learning, We, I took an instructor to your seminar, which was awesome, as sort of continuing education and to sort of always be thinking about how we can better serve our moms.

Natalie: 31:13

Awesome. That's a lot of things. That's a lot of certifications.

Laura: 31:17

a lot of words,

Natalie: 31:18

It is. It's good. It's good to have multiple tools in your tool belt so that you're prepared because who knows who's gonna show up next and, and what issue. They might be dealing with and yeah. And you guys can bounce off of each other. Ideas and, and questions as far as like what cue worked best for this person or,

Laura: 31:38

Totally.

Natalie: 31:38

Yeah.

Laura: 31:39

Totally. And that's I think one of the benefits of having multiple coaches is that, um, you know, everybody's getting to know, we have, you know, a good size community. And so, um, you know, to be able to know if. Each individual is challenging, but also helps to have that team so you can say, Oh, I, I spoke with this member and they're experiencing these issues and this is what I told them. And so then we're kind of all on the same page. The next class. We don't, you know, we kinda know what everybody's individual needs are. Um, and so that even if we're not able to get to them every class and sort of give them like one on one hands on, they know from, you know, the past classes or whatever, what their options are. And so our moms get really. Choosing the options that work for them. We, we sometimes don't have to say it, we just see a mom doing, you know, bird dog or, you know, we see a mom drop the weight and, um, or change the range of motion. You know, they're just, they kind of learn, I think to um, like take on some ownership for their workouts, which is really awesome.

Natalie: 32:37

Yeah. I think that's really important because if you're not in it and you don't, you don't take responsibility for your own movement, then you're not gonna continue it down the road. It's not gonna become a habit for you. So that's, that's really cool to hear. Yeah. Having people, having moms be advocates for their own bodies and know how to move Well, it's, Yeah. Like, cool. You can go home. You did your job. Awesome.

Laura: 33:01

Yeah.

Natalie: 33:03

You were coaching cross country running correct.

Laura: 33:07

yes.

Natalie: 33:08

And then you transitioned to become a fitness instructor. Had you had experience in the fitness world before besides the cross country?

Laura: 33:17

No. Nope. In fact, I was not a super athlete. I was never really, uh, I did not like team sports. Um, I, I grew up skiing and hiking and kind of biking and doing things that were just on my own. I didn't grow up in, um, playing organized sports really. Um, just for fun, I guess. And. You know about the time that it got competitive and where people cared if you won or lost. That's when I was like, I'm out I was just, I'm not a very competitive person by nature, so I don't really have that athlete brain. Um uh, which is kind of interesting then that I. Become or, or sort of transitioned into this life because yeah, it was definitely not something that I brought with me, um, even into motherhood. So yeah, coaching cross country was, I, I worked at a pretty small school and, um, it was K through 12 or pre-K through 12. And so the, you know, they just, they needed a cross country coach and I loved running and so I, I read a lot. I started, I checked out a lot of books from the library, and did some research to figure out how to coach cross country. I knew how to train myself. I knew how to train for a marathon, but, um, you know, an adult woman training for a marathon is way different than, uh, you know, a ninth grade boy running, um, a 5K So it was very interesting to become like a track, you know, track coach and doing more tracks, style workouts

Natalie: 34:38

Okay.

Laura: 34:38

um, anyway, so it was, it was a very, Process. And I think some of that did give me a little indication that I loved teaching. I knew I loved working with kids. Um, and then working with older kids, these high school students who are coming up on adulthood, I thought, I like working with other adults, you know, and young adults. And so I think that sort of transitioned into, you know, coaching, um, what I do now because they're just older, just. Older kids, other adults. So yeah, no, that was kind of a funny, funny transition for me. I sometimes look back and think my high school self would laugh that I'm a group fitness instructor because I just Yeah. Was not super athletic.

Natalie: 35:20

Okay. I was curious about that. I was wondering if that was like your trajectory for a while and

Laura: 35:25

Nope. Nope. I had, It's funny, this is a little bit random, but I did listen to your story of knowing in kindergarten that you wanted to work with, um, moms and babies. And I have a similar story. In first grade, my first grade teacher told me that if she ever needed to leave the room, she would, she knew she could put me in charge cuz she thought I would make a great teacher. And I have wanted to be a teacher ever since. Like, I've just, if yeah, since first grade, if anyone had asked me what I was gonna be when I grew up, I would've said,

Natalie: 35:53

A teacher. Yeah, and you're fulfilling that. And you gotta see kids every

Laura: 35:56

Yep, Yep. Work with kids today. We did a craft after and the kids were, Yeah, I read, I like to read stories. You know, once a week I bring a book and read stories and yeah, it's fun.

Natalie: 36:08

So there's a lot more to slam than just an hour of exercise in each class.

Laura: 36:13

Definitely. Yes. definitely.

Natalie: 36:16

talk a little bit about the extracurriculars that you do with the Slam

Laura: 36:21

Yes. Yeah, that's, that's one of the, I think, things that makes it so special. So we have playgroup once a month where the kids, we do either a craft or a story. Um, and then mom's night out. So once a month we'll meet either out at a restaurant or at someone's house. Um, we've gone sledding together as mom, so we leave our kids at home and we do things together. Yeah, that's a huge part. I think we get to know each other outside of class, which is fun. Get a little break from our children and spouses and, um, although a lot of times you'll, there'll be a baby or two at the mom's night outs too, you know? That's always great. Um, so yeah, there's, um, a lot, like I said to the community and, you know, we might see each other babysitting each other's kids and things like that. So, um, or races we love signing up for, for like, um, We the, what was it? The Anchorage, Anchorage Run Fest. We had a big group doing the Anchorage Run Fest in, in various parts of the relay, and then the marathon and things, and going and cheering each other on as we train for stuff. So that's, that's another fun thing.

Natalie: 37:26

That's really cool. Yeah. And you guys do play groups for the kids and crafts and things like that too, so,

Laura: 37:32

Yeah. Yeah.

Natalie: 37:33

Amazing. Amazing. Well, you've really cultivated an awesome community and I'm, I'm so glad I kind of am like, Oh, well, time to have a kid and join you guys,

Laura: 37:43

Join Slam. Yeah, there you go. There you go.

Natalie: 37:46

Um, so

Laura: 37:48

to have you.

Natalie: 37:48

if someone, um, wants to join Slam and they're not in Alaska, they're not in the Anchorage area, how would they go about finding a community in their, in their own area?

Laura: 37:59

I would start with sweat like a mother.com. So sweat like a mother.com is the website for um, sort of the. We call it Slam Nation, and there's a dropdown menu of affiliates, and that'll just have a whole alphabetized, um, list of all of the locations. And then when you click on the location nearest you, it'll pop up to their website, which has their lo you know, their times and prices and all the things, information about them. So yeah, they're all over the country. And even there's one in Germany, there's one in, um, England, and there's one in Italy.

Natalie: 38:32

Wow. Wow. Cool.

Laura: 38:34

Yeah, it is pretty fun. And then of course, you know, if there's not one near you, look into starting one

Natalie: 38:40

That's what I was just gonna say,

Laura: 38:42

Yeah. Yep, yep.

Natalie: 38:44

Cool. So where can people find you online and how will they find the, the class times and all of that? Is that on the

Laura: 38:51

Yeah, same thing. You can do sweat like a mother.com and find the Anchorage location. That's our website. Um, or we're on Instagram at Slam Anchor. On Facebook, it like a mother Anchorage. Um, yeah, and all of those have like our, my email address and I'm personally on Facebook and Instagram, Laura Sale, but there's not a lot there. I don't post, personally, I'm not very good at social media, so that's not my strength. My strength is in person, um, meeting people. But anyway, if, if you find me you're welcome to follow me there. But yeah, anyway, mostly, mostly uh, email or, um, yeah, the.

Natalie: 39:34

Okay. Okay. So I wanna wrap up with two questions that I ask every single guest who comes on. So, first one is, what's your number one piece of advice for our listeners? What do you want everyone to know?

Laura: 39:50

Well, it feels after all of these words about Slam a little cliche to say, My number one advice is to join Slam I I feel like I kind of feel a little bit like I'm sitting. That up for something, I don't know. But I will say it doesn't have to be slam. And I know I, you know a lot of your guests, I've been listening to your podcast and I know a lot of your guests echo this idea that it's about finding a group. So it doesn't even have to be a fitness group. It could be a book club or a Bible study or a, I don't know. All the things just, but to take some initiative and even though it's really uncomfortable to be the first, you know, to be the one, the new person, um, just to do it because I think, um, there's so much that being in person, in a group, um, and getting to know other people, uh, is so valuable and so important for mental health. So I would say my number one advice, Find a group of people and join them and be the new person. And um, and if there's not a group near you, start one. Whether, again, it doesn't have to be slam, but start a book club or invite your neighbors over. Um, yeah, don't be afraid to be first, cuz I think that can be very uncomfortable. It's worth it. It's totally worth it.

Natalie: 41:04

And chances are there's other people in your same shoes and there you have more initiative than them to start it and they're just waiting for that to happen.

Laura: 41:13

Yep. Definitely.

Natalie: 41:15

okay. Number two, question. What's your favorite wellness habit that you incorporate into your daily life?

Laura: 41:23

I'm not gonna say slam I swear I'm gonna move on from this, um,

Natalie: 41:28

can say exercise if you want to. That's fine.

Laura: 41:30

For sure. No, I was thinking about this, but I think it's probably filling three. Uh, Hydro flasks every morning with water, and instead of refilling a water bottle, I, I fill three. And then, you know, my day's not over till I've finished all three of them. And I think it is a visual cue for how much I need to drink water and then just sort of gives me something to like check off. And once I'm done drinking that one, I just pick up the next one. So yeah, filling three hydro flasks in the morning and not going to bed until they're empty.

Natalie: 42:01

Wow. Nice. And I, I really like that. It's like a hack too.

Laura: 42:05

Yeah. Yeah, always if I can hack something or tie it to something I already do in order to do it, that's it's important for me. I don't have a lot of brain capacity for much else.

Natalie: 42:20

Oh, well, Laura, thank you so much for being here today and, and chatting about all things Slam and exercise and moms and community. I, I really appreciate it.

Laura: 42:30

Thanks for having me on. I have enjoyed following you and, and learning from you and your resources, so I'm excited to continue to do that.

Natalie: 42:38

Awesome. my top takeaway from my conversation with Laura was, Find your community, because that's really where it's at. You need people to support you. You need people to bring you meals when you're not feeling well or you just had a baby. You need people who will encourage you and cheer you on when you're doing new things and if there's not a community nearby, create your own and invite your mom friends to it. I've linked all of the resources she mentioned, as well as her site and social pages for you to follow in the show notes for this episode. Please remember that what you hear on this podcast is not medical advice, but remember to always do your own research and talk to your provider before making important decisions about your healthcare. If you found this podcast helpful, please consider leaving a five star review in your favorite podcast app. It helps other people find the show. Thank you so much for listening. I'll catch you next time.