Photo by Erin Nelson.
Ashtyn Bryson, right, extends her arms outward using a tension rope during a Fit4Mom workout class led by Jasmine Hartfield at the Homewood Community Garden on July 23.
Strollers and fitness have brought together a new community of mothers in Birmingham this year.
When Homewood’s Jasmine Hartfield became a certified instructor for Fit4Mom, a fitness program geared toward pregnant women and women with young children, she was uncertain how her services would be received — especially amid a pandemic.
The Michigan native moved to Birmingham eight years ago to work as a nurse at Children’s Hospital. Hartfield’s oldest child was only 4, and she would have two more children who would also grow up in Homewood.
“After having our middle son, I really got passionate about our health as a family,” Hartfield said. “We made a lot of dietary changes and incorporated exercise.”
Hartfield exercised often during her second and third pregnancies, and she started looking for more ways to stay active.
“Having an older kid and two children who were 21 months apart kind of got the best of me as a mom,” she said. “I really just needed an outlet.”
After attending a postpartum Fit4Mom class in Madison, Hartfield “could not shake the idea” that she could lead similar classes in Birmingham.
So this past January, Hartfield signed the contracts and got her business license to launch Fit4Mom Birmingham. After finishing all of the paperwork, she held her grand opening March 15.
“I was super nervous and vulnerable, but I felt so passionate about it,” Hartfield said. “I could only imagine the moms out there looking for a community that they could get fit with.”
It was unfortunate timing that Hartfield launched her business just as COVID-19 cases were beginning to pop up in Alabama, but she said she knew that local moms would still be interested because her classes take place outdoors and include interacting with your children, meaning no childcare is necessary.
Before the pandemic hit, Fit4Mom classes involved partner exercises as well as playdates with the children afterward, such as a story time, coloring, etc. Hartfield eliminated these aspects in response to the arrival of the pandemic in Birmingham.
The women in Hartfield’s classes understand that safety is a priority, she said. People seem to be very happy exercising 6 feet apart while their children also enjoy socially distanced activities such as blowing bubbles and listening to Hartfield walk around reading books.
“I’m shocked, grateful and super excited to see these moms show up,” Hartfield said. “They’re so wonderful and dedicated, and I didn’t imagine it would go so well with this COVID situation.”
Women in Homewood and beyond have heard about and joined Hartfield’s classes.
It’s mostly a mix of the Birmingham metro and Homewood areas, she said.
While about 35% are local, the other 65% come from surrounding areas in Birmingham.
Hartfield understands how important it is to these mothers to have a fitness program that meets their needs, she said. She has experienced the same “blindness” one may feel when entering a fitness facility with no expert advice.
“I wanted to make sure that women, especially moms, have something that is created for them for working out and for their own sanity,” Hartfield said. “A happier momma means a happier child.”
The most rewarding part about this business venture for Hartfield has been seeing other moms’ dedication to the class.
“They’ve showed up, stayed in the pouring rain, packed diaper bags,” she said. “I don’t know that I would have done that.”
Hartfield has watched a new community of women develop through Fit4Mom.
“It’s a support system,” she said. “While moms come for the workout, they’ll stay for the community.”
Visit birmingham.fit4mom.com for more information.
