Mount Pleasant mom leads peers who stroll for fitness

Melissa Gaddy's power walk is faster than most people's run.

Mothers pushing strollers find it hard to keep up as the 34-year-old Mount Pleasant mother leads a troop of women around the Lowcountry in a Stroller Strides exercise program.

"She walks, and we all run behind her," says Inmar Geiger of Mount Pleasant.

Gaddy is one of four instructors who teach an exercise program that allows mothers of young children to get fit without having to find a baby sitter.

Stroller Strides of Charleston meets nine times a week at various locations in Mount Pleasant and Charleston and on Daniel Island. Tuesdays and Thursdays, mothers gather at the Hazel Parker Playground in downtown Charleston with their babies in tricycle-type strollers.

From there, they line up and jog or walk along peninsular sidewalks.

Passing tourists usually wave and cheer them on.

"Good job, Mom," they say.

And some snap photos.

They return to the park, glistening with sweat, then line up the strollers so babies can watch as they perform some final exercises.

Gaddy holds a small stuffed dog, switching from correcting posture to cooing at restless babies. "Five," she says in counting that turns into "Woof woof" to the babies waiting under the shade of an oak tree. "Hello, Miss Kate, would you like my doggy?"

Gaddy bought the Charleston business in October but started exercising with the group after her 18-month-old son, JT, was born.

The former banker said Stroller Strides offered the perfect balance of work and staying at home to be a mom.

Gaddy said most moms join Stroller Strides to lose baby weight, but the workout turns into a support group.

"We're all going through the same things together," Gaddy said. "The pains and joys of motherhood."

In some cases, the fitness program is the only opportunity mothers can take to get out of the house and make time for themselves.

Plus, they hope to set an example for their children. "Hopefully, we will raise a healthy generation," she said.

To learn more, go to: http://classes.strollerstrides.net/charleston.

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