Last week I introduced you to Tonya Wells, a Work At Home Mom who brought a kid-friendly way for Mom's to achieve fitness and health to Wichita. Working out of her home office, she coordinates, teaches, and coaches Mom's around Wichita with Strollers In Motion, Fit &Tone, CoreFusion, Zumba, F.I.T. (because Mom's are Forever In Training), and the running club, Momsinmotion. Read part one here if you missed it, and this is the rest of her story.
How does she do it? Balancing a home, family, marriage and business without getting lost from her original desires of being the best parent possible for her daughter? She admits,
“It’s not easy. It’s hard to keep it all balanced sometimes, and there are pros and cons to not only working at home, but with a child in tow”. For a person who loves constantly being on the move, her guilty pleasure is vegging out in front of the T.V. watching her favorite shows. Sometimes, she says she does envy those that get to
“go to the office” everyday. But what could be better than having her daughter by her side as she lives her passion? Not only as a working Mom, but a Mom who makes good choices for fitness. She says, though, she never hesitates to stop and play with her daughter for 10-15 minutes even if it’s just a puzzle or magnets on the fridge. Her advice to other Moms and WAHM’s is
not to try to be superwoman, say “no” more often, and give your kids your all.
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| core class at MyGym |
“80% of children end up being more active when seeing their parents participate in fitness activities” and with childhood obesity increasing, this makes total sense for both parents and children. One of Tonya’s favorite things is seeing the children in her group classes emulating Mom’s by picking up a piece of work out equipment (like the bands or tubes they use), and doing the repetition right alongside them. Many Mom’s have admitted they’ve had to get some of their own equipment because the children enjoy them so much. These aren’t your ordinary workout classes either, Tonya has made them kid-friendly with rhymes, songs, and fun allowing the Moms to interact and engage their children during the workout. There are also take-home activities, and the Mini-Muscle newsletter with letter, animal, shape, color and songs to bring to class each week. For example in December the theme was winter, the animal “Reindeer” and shapes were Triangle and Circle. Each week students brought something related to those things making it not only exercise, but education!
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| at exploration place |
For Tonya, actions speak louder than words, and if you
“say it – do it, there is no trying” are some mantras she uses to encourage herself and other Moms in their battle for healthy, fit lifestyles. Her love for children and the community, (weekly each class member brings a donation to take to the YWCA to help other women and moms), makes her an inspiration, that makes you ask yourself,
why can’t I? Infectious energy, positive and about the most caring person you’ll meet, this Momma is working from home, making a difference for her life and the lives of others. Thank you, Tonya, for being the Work At Home Mom of the month for January.
You can catch up with Tonya and her classes on her blog
www.MommyMovementfitness.blogspot.com, there you’ll find courses with schedules and contact information to get started! Check out also
Mom on a Mission, the blog of a local mom, and business owner who was trained by Tonya to complete a marathon. You can see her weight loss progress and read as she journals her journey to a healthier lifestyle. Subscribe to Tonya's blog to catch a new success story each month.
