FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #84 Redefining Postpartum Strength Through Community And Care
What if your workout didn’t require childcare, guilt, or unrealistic “bounce back” pressure? We sat down with Lyndsay Woods of SLAM Quantico—Sweat Like a Mother—to explore a fitness community built for moms, with kids welcome and strength training that respects every phase of pregnancy and postpartum.
Lyndsay walks us through how SLAM runs classes outdoors by local playgrounds across Stafford, Fredericksburg, and Dale City, plus a 6 a.m. virtual option for early risers. She explains what to expect at your first free trial: a warmup, scalable strength circuits, intervals like EMOMs, and flexible setups for strollers, wagons, or pop-up kid stations. With certified pregnancy and postpartum athleticism coaches, SLAM prioritizes core and pelvic floor integrity, gradual progression, and safe, effective workouts that support long-term health rather than quick fixes. During winter, classes move indoors to Champions Sportsplex near the Stafford Airport, keeping routines steady when the temperature drops.
The conversation goes deeper than sets and reps. Lyndsay shares how she arrived in Stafford during a tough season—two young kids, a pandemic, and a transient community—and found a lifeline in SLAM’s village. From mom’s nights out and book clubs to kid-friendly field trips led by a team of local leaders, SLAM cultivates connections that last beyond the park. Kids see their moms model self-care and strength, and moms gain a network that understands short sleep, shifting schedules, and the power of showing up.
If you’ve wondered whether a meaningful workout is possible with little ones in tow, this story offers a clear, hopeful yes. Get details on locations, the indoor winter schedule, gear to bring, and how to connect on Facebook and Instagram. Listen and share with a mom who needs a welcoming place to move and belong—and if you loved the conversation, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what support you’re looking for next.
Lyndsay Woods
S.L.A.M. Sweat Like a Mother Quantico
slamquantico.mailchimpsites.com
slamquantico@sweatlikeamother.com
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest today. We have Lyndsay Woods joining us, and she is with Slam, Sweat Like a Mother. Lyndsay, welcome to the podcast. Hi, Dori. Thank you so much for having me here. I just love even saying the name of your business. It's so much fun. So I can't wait to learn more about it. Let's start there. Share with us a little bit about Slam. Sure.
Speaker 2:So SLAM stands for Sweat Like a Mother. And our affiliate is the Quantico affiliate. So there are actually over 40 different SLAM across the world. I am just lucky enough that I am the proud owner of Slam Quantico. That's amazing. Pretty much what we are. We are a fitness community for moms. But the caveat there is that you are allowed to bring your kids with you. We know that sometimes it can be a little bit questionable what you want to do with your kids when you become a mom. You still want to be able to work out, right? So this is the solution for the mom that wants to get out. She wants to be around other moms that are in the same stage of life as her, and she wants her kids with her.
Speaker 1:Does that make sense? I love that. I love that. It's amazing. So share with me a few things. Um, first, what is your area that you cover? And then what um ages of children, um, like what stage of motherhood are you uh mostly drawing?
Speaker 2:Yes. So first of all, thank you because I know our name can get confusing. So we're named Slam Quantico. We are not on base, we are not military affiliated, and the moms who come to us, some are active duty, some like myself are veteran spouses, others no affiliation with the military at all. So we'll get that squared away first. Um, our classes, we actually meet outside. So fresh air, vitamin D, that's all important. We meet by playgrounds in Stafford. So we're in Stafford at Embry Mill Park. We are in Fredericksburg at Patriot Park and L'Oreal Park, and we're also in Dale City at Cloverdale Park. And we have a virtual option as well. So this morning I was up, set my alarm from 5:30 for our six o'clock, slam the alarm class as well.
Speaker 1:Amazing. I love that. I love that. So it's very cool that they are outside and near a playground. I can picture moms um kind of um bribing their kids. We get to go and play. And um the kids I imagine are having just as much fun as the moms.
Speaker 2:They are they are called our slam kids. And so we have um anywhere where we have pregnant moms who then as soon as they are ready to come back, we have babies all the way up through older kids that are in late elementary school, um, even early middle school, sometimes we have homeschool families and all kids are welcome. Um, all the mom will need to bring is either a stroller or a wagon. We are not a big crew where we're moving the strollers around a bunch. So if you're more comfortable setting your kid up in one of those pop-up tents, um, go for it. We're here for it. We're here for the moms, we're here for the kids. We promise mom is going to get a workout in with our certified instructors while kiddos are still safe. And hey, if that means they're like, mom, I need a snack, set the expectation that your workout is more than just 60 minutes focused. You know, your kids are there too and they're watching. And I think that is the coolest thing, myself included, having my kids come from nine months old was when we first swept. My youngest is only nine months old. Um, he's now a slam kid and he's doing push-ups and pull-ups at the house because he's seen us doing that since he was a kid.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. I love that. They're seeing, you know, their their moms as great role models when it comes to fitness and taking care of yourself. Walk me through kind of what does a typical workout look like? What is the program? Like, what can moms expect when they arrive?
Speaker 2:Sure. We always we tell moms beforehand, um, if you do get a free trial class, we want you to come check it out. So pack up the kids, bring all the snacks. You'll bring an exercise mat and a set or two of dumbbells. But if you don't have any and you're ready that day to be like, you know what, I'm showing up today, show up because we will have extra to share with you. We warm up together. We're going to do a strength training. If it's our typical slam class, it's strength training. So we're going to go through lower body, upper body. We might have in emom style intervals. We're going to walk you through. The other thing to note too is that we have options for all levels. If you are later on in your postpartum journey, we can amp it up a little bit. But if you are fresh out of postpartum that era, you've been at home with the baby, now you're bringing the baby out. Our certified instructors are serious about your recovery. And so just because you went to your six-week appointment and you're cleared for exercise, that doesn't mean that we're our core is ready to go and do anything crazy. So you're in good hands when you come to a slam class and you're a mom.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's amazing. So I want to learn more about you. Tell me about your journey and how you got into this.
Speaker 2:So when I first moved to Stafford, it was 2021. My husband was an active duty marine at the time, and I was a mom fresh out of, I guess it was in the COVID era. And so I have two young children, really didn't do a lot. Um, I was in the house a lot with the kids. I didn't have any kind of a community from where I was before. So when I moved, I was like, all right, what's this motherhood? Where's the community? Where's the village? I'm looking for them. And that was when I looked up, I have a fitness background. I wanted to get out there and I found Slam Quantico. So they started in 2019. And I went my first day, I was immediately hooked. I just I felt the love just to be around other moms and other kids. And not only was I making friends, but my kids are making friends. I could find out that, oh, you only got four hours of sleep last night. Same. And just to relate on that level, I just it felt like it was the place for me to really, really be and thrive in the madness, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that. And it sounds like it's such a safe place for moms to come and not have to worry about all the things that you worry about when you go to a gym and then you've got kids and you've got like childcare sometimes, and not have to worry about all of that. And it's just sounds like such a you've got a such a great community there.
Speaker 2:We really do. I'm glad you mentioned community too, because kind of our tagline is that you know, you come for the workout, but you stay for the community. And the women that we have that become members, but also my team. I I can't go through this and not explain how incredible my team is. So is it okay if I take a second to please do explain them and who they are because this is not a one-woman show. It takes a village. And um, I want to start with our events coordinator and SLAM instructor, Austin. While we love having our kids with us at class, it's okay to also come to class if you do have a different childcare option and you're able to take a spa workout, is what we call it, when you are solo. And then beyond that, we have mom's night outs, we have book clubs, and so that's where our event coordinator is really able to utilize her knowledge of the area. She's from here. And we have been able to go see so many different places in and around the Fredericksburg area, or we're just at home hanging out on our Jamie Seven to Jamie girl night. Um, and it's always, always a good time. And that's really, I think, where the magic happens when we love having the kids, like I said, but to have a moment to just have the moms get to know each other is just really special, really magical. Um, and we have those opportunities available every single month.
Speaker 1:That's really cool that you've taken it a step further and you're helping facilitate deeper relationships and deeper connections. And oh my goodness, imagine your uh such a this is such a transient community. And imagine, you know, moving here and not knowing anyone. What a great way to immerse yourself into a community that has open arms for you. This is awesome.
Speaker 2:Exactly. I mean, and that's really our goal is that we know that motherhood can be so isolating. Um, and so this is a safe place where moms can come together. You can bring your kids, which leaves me to another one of my team members. We go on field trips as well. And so, Lacey, we actually have a bar instructor. So Slam is not just the Slam workouts, we also have some specialty classes as well. And so, on top of doing our bar classes, she's also our field trip coordinator. Uh, she's a homeschool mama herself. And so she is out again, getting out into the community and getting us out of the house. I'm not a go get them girl, believe it or not. I need a friend to take my hand and be like, let's go do stuff. Otherwise, I'll find myself just at home. Um, so super thankful that she's on the team as well and giving us another outlet and just another thing to do if you do want to bring the kids along and go check out, for example, the pumpkin patches. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:I love that. I love that. So tell me, do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions when it comes to your business?
Speaker 2:Um, definitely. There are two that I was thinking about. Um, the first one is that there's no way I can work out with my kids. Your kids can be around, and it's actually encouraged because, like I mentioned before, when they see mom working out and how strong mom is, and what a good example and role model that you are in front of your children, you're moving your body, you're putting yourself first, you're teaching your kid, mommy needs a moment. Here's a snack, I'm gonna finish up this set and then come back to you because mommy's always here. Uh, it's just it's such a beautiful thing for both the mom and child relationship. Um, the other myth that oh drives me crazy is bounce back culture. After you have a baby, it should not be expected to bounce back. And that's not what SLAM is about either. Um, I had mentioned before that we do have our pregnancy and postpartum athleticism coaches. It's a team of coaches that understand the postpartum body. And so we are able to direct you no matter where you are in your postpartum and pregnancy journey on how to safely and effectively move because we want to move for life. And that's all there is to it. Your body did something incredible and it just it deserves care and not criticism. So that one, let's cross it off. No bounce back culture here.
Speaker 1:I love that so much. And I I think so many new moms need to hear that. So thank you for sharing that with us. I love that. So, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about Slam?
Speaker 2:So I wish that the listeners would know that number one, like I said, we're not on base. We are all around and we're all moms, so don't let our names fool you. Come find us. We are also going inside for the winter. Um, I know it's been a brutal winter these past couple of years, and so we actually have a brand new indoor facility right by the Stafford Airport. We're going to be December through mid-March at Champions Sportsplex. So that's just a timing thing. Other than that, we'll be back outside in Stafford, in Fredericksburg. Um and just know that when you come to Slam with open arms, open heart, we know that if you come, the hardest part is just taking that step to come see, are we real? What is this like? How will my kids act? Um, just come. I promise, I promise you will feel so good leaving. I love that.
Speaker 1:I love that. So if the listeners want to learn more or want to connect with you, how can they find you?
Speaker 2:They can find us on social media. So look up Slam Quantico on Facebook, Slam Quantico on Instagram. Um, you can email me at slam quantico at sweatlike a mother.com. And besides that, just know that I'm I'm here and happy to answer any questions that you have, and we can't wait to see you.
Speaker 1:Amazing. Lyndsay, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Slam with us. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG Neighbors Podcast.com.