Oh Baby! Fitness classes and its business plan were recently featured in Club Solutions Magazine as a great way to bring new clients into clubs and fitness studios.
An excerpt:
After giving birth to her first child, Clare Schexnyder, a former CNN producer and co-founder/owner of Oh Baby! Fitness, suffered from severe postpartum depression — a form of clinical depression that affects hundreds of women, and sometimes men, across the country every year. “I couldn’t get off the couch, couldn’t shower and didn’t want to take care of my baby,” said Schexnyder. After attending a parent support group and incorporating exercise into her daily routine, Schexnyder’s depression took a turn for the better. “The moms I met asked me to go for a walk every day,” she said. “It was the exercise and the friends I made that literally saved my life.”
Because of her experience with postpartum depression, Schexnyder realized the importance of a place for pregnant women and new moms to work out in an environment where they felt comfortable and secure — she decided to launch Oh! Baby Fitness. Partnering with fitness clubs to provide classes specifically tailored to pregnant women’s needs, “We are a great club solution,” said Schexnyder. Oh Baby! Fitness doesn’t only provide clubs with classes such as Pilates, water aerobics and yoga, but also sets the monthly schedule, pays rent in order to use the studio’s facilities and trains and pays their own instructors. “We run a complete operation that allows clubs to offer these classes, and they don’t have to lift a finger.
“I think we are revolutionizing the perinatal (the period before and after birth) fitness industry. Everybody tells a pregnant woman what she can’t do. They can’t drink, they can’t eat sushi … it’s no, no, no, all the time. Women are scared and don’t know what’s safe to do when exercising. At Oh Baby! Fitness, we give them a trained instructor and a specially designed class, so they know what they’re doing is safe.”
Oh Baby! Fitness provides clubs with a way to say yes to pregnant women who may question whether or not exercise is beneficial to themselves and their baby. “Women who exercise have healthier pregnancies, faster deliveries and quicker recoveries,” said Schexnyder.
Find out more about our National Licensing Program and offering Oh Baby! Fitness classes at your club, gym, studio or rec center.
Read the full article in Club Solutions Magazine.
