Local Authors Creating Hot (Sweaty) Mamas

If you’re looking for a how-to guide on getting your pre-baby body back, this is not your book. (Though you shouldn’t have trouble finding one; the market’s flooded with them.)

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom, written by locals Kara Douglass Thom and Laurie Lethert Kocanda, delves deeper than tips for rediscovering your six-pack or toning your triceps. 

The book is about maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the duration of motherhood. And while the title is gender-specific, the concept is not. Thom and Kocanda introduce ideas that could easily apply to hot sweaty papas as well. In fact, the book offers advice that would also benefit people without children, but with other responsibilities that demand their attention and pull them away from their workouts.

"We all have our babies," Thom said.

Thom, of Chaska, and Kocanda, of South Minneapolis, write from personal experience as hot, sweaty mamas themselves. Thom is a marathon runner and triathlete mother of four; Kocanda is a mother of two who has completed more than 35 marathons as well as two Ironman triathlons and two ultra-marathons.

Thom and Kocanda are both freelance writers and Thom is author of two previous books: Becoming an Ironman: First Encounters with the Ultimate Endurance Event and the children’s book See Mom Run. This is the pair’s first collaboration. 

The book came out on March 29 and the authors held a book signing at in the on Saturday, their first local event for the book. 

Thom and Kocanda originally set out to write about working out while pregnant, but changed course when they realized the real challenge was finding a way to maintain an active lifestyle with children.

“Lauri made this great point,” Thom said. “The fact of the matter is it’s a heck of a lot easier to work out when you’re pregnant. The uterus accommodates a baby better than a gym bag.”  

Writing the book was the journey of four years—while Thom and Kocanda’s children were very young—and much of the book’s material was generated during the writing process.

One obstacle the book addresses head-on is mother guilt, something the authors themselves face. Thom and Kocanda admit it’s just plain hard to get out the door for a workout and a little me time when there’s a 2-year-old wrapped around your leg saying, “Mommy, don’t go.” 

Mother guilt leaves many women saying they don’t work out because family comes first. What these women are forgetting, the authors say, is that they are part of the family too. In order to take care of her family, a mother must also take care of herself. 

A fun, casual read (“Like you’re talking to a girlfriend,” Kocanda says), the book outlines five secrets to living life as a fit mom. It includes everything from training your brain before you train your body and getting clear about your personal priorities to what was the "ah-ha" moment for the authors as they were penning the book: act like others are watching, because they are.

The ‘others’ are your children. The most surprising aspect for Thom and Kocanda—who thought they were writing a book about how to work in your workouts as a busy modern mom—was that parenting worked its way into the book as well. By staying active, you’re not only doing something good for yourself but also for your children by acting as a healthy, strong role model. Every parent wants a healthy child and kids learn by example.

“There’s not a parent out there who doesn’t want their kids to be active, but it’s not enough to drop them off at little league,” Thom said.

Plus, Thom added, kids tend to be much more supportive if you include them. 

Especially in motherhood, workouts come in all forms. Sometimes that means putting the little one in the jogger or going for a run with your pre-teen. During the reading at Barnes & Noble, one woman stood to swing a whimpering infant in a carrier.

"That’s what we’re talking about," Thom said. "That counts!"

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom is available at Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon and IndieBound. The hot, sweaty conversation continues on Facebook as well.