Get Fit With Friends: Connect Move Transform!

Are you someone who struggles to exercise consistently? Meet two friends who were out of shape and needed a fun way to incorporate regular exercise into their lives. Authors of The Best Friends’ Guide to Getting Fit and founders of ConnectMoveTransform.com, Kris Carpenter and Kim Murphy are a real-life fitness and friendship success story. Learn about their story, connect with friends, move your body and start your own transformation.How it all began

Kris: We met 17 years ago through our husbands. Our husbands have been friends since grade school! For 5 years we primarily socialized as couples. When we both delivered boys within two weeks of each other, we replaced our couple gathering for mommy and kid play dates. As our children grew up and close so too did our friendship.

CP: What got you into fitness?
Kim: When our kids were young, we often talked about the struggle to manage our careers, our families, and to do a good job caring for our young preschoolers. We were overwhelmed and in need of something (though we didn’t quite know what.) At one point we were both been reading a book titled Simple Abundance by Sara Ban Breathnach. In one passage she talked about the concept of walking for meditation. Something about that short essay intrigued us both. So shortly afterwards, we decided that we would walk together each morning (meeting at the corner between our two houses at 5:15 a.m.) We had no goals, no structure, and no plan…. and we were horribly out of shape. But day after day we kept meeting and walking, having the best time laughing, talking, exploring, sharing and bonding.

Over the years, we slowly progressed from walking to strength training to running to cycling to yoga and a whole range of different activities. About 6 or 7 years into our journey, we completed our very first half marathon together, and we looked back with astonishment. “How did we get here??” we asked. As we talked about it, we realized that for the first time in our lives we had been consistently exercising almost daily, for a long period of time.
Kris: That very first day when we started walking, we found going up a slight incline winded us. That was not who I had always been physically, but at 34 it was what I had become. I was surprised, embarrassed, and disappointed, but glad to find that Kim was breathing heavy too.
From that first simple walk, we had managed to maintain a routine over time and eventually to reshape our lives so that they included daily doses of physical activity and friendship. Years later we trained and finished a ½ marathon, I was proud, confident and happy. Through the process, I had become physically and mentally tough.
We knew we had to share our story and philosophy with others. We thought if we can do it, anybody can do it. So, we wrote The Best Friends’ Guide to Getting Fit and launched ConnectMoveTransform.com a site dedicated to supporting and coaching those who have struggled to be consistent when it comes to exercise.

CP: How have you kept at it through the years?
Kris: Our friendship has been the key ingredient to our success. When we began our walks we were instantly addicted to the chit-chat time. It felt great to start the day laughing with a friend. The friendship seduced us into being consistent and meeting early every weekday morning. It allowed us to establish a routine and to brave a variety of new fitness challenges.
CP: How did having children change things for you?

Kris: I want to set a good example for my son. If I did not care for my own mind, body, and soul, I could not expect it of him.
Kim: My fitness journey didn’t begin until after having children. Since I had never been consistent with exercise before having kids, once I had them, they became one more excuse I had for not exercising (I didn’t have time!). What I didn’t realize until later was that being in a regular fitness routine makes me a much better mom and role model. I have more energy, more patience, and can lead by example.

CP: What would you like to share with Clever Parents readers?

Kris: We want to reach the people who have really struggled to exercise consistently. We launched ConnectMoveTransform.com to help people change their lives and we look forward to many years of helping others get fit and live well. Because we’re a young business, we’re very open to feedback and to ideas. We invite people to go on our site, become members, start using our services or get in touch with us so that we can help them succeed.

Kim: We’re also in the process of partnering with schools and communities who host race events to support their efforts. For example, many schools hold 5k races as fundraising events. We will work with the PTA and the school, to create a special online training community that they can use to encourage people to train for the race. We’ll provide training plans, coaching advice, and message boards to help runners interact, post questions, and find training partners.

This helps the school potentially increase the number of race participants (and funds) while also helping people in the community get together, set goals, and kick-off and establish a consistent running routine. An online training community, while tailored for beginning or sporadic exercises, is a fun way for all the members of a school or town to interact and support each other. If anyone is interested in having us bring our program to their school or community or if they want to learn more, they can contact us at: info@connectmovetransform.com

CP: What do you think the benefits of having a friend for a workout partner include?

Kris: We truly believe that if you connect with friends while you move your body, you can transform your life. A friend or group of friends will hold you accountable -you may be willing to let yourself down, but not your friend. It’s always awkward trying something new, but when those moments are shared with a friend it can become an opportunity for fun and laughter. A friend or group of friends will recognize your accomplishments better than anyone else and provide praise and pats on the back.

Kim: Having a friend to connect with on a regular basis, especially while you workout, also has a powerful affect on your soul and your mind (especially for women.) There have been studies showing the mental health benefits of connecting with friends on a regular basis and having that type of built-in support system in place. It can help relieve stress, improve coping skills, and address issues like depression and anxiety.

CP: How do you incorporate exercise and fitness into your children’s lives (Kris has an 11 year old son, Kim has two sons, 13 and 11)?

Kris: We are active as individuals and as family. As an individual, he is active year round in his various sports: swimming, basketball, football and baseball. As a family, we enjoy riding bikes and running together.

One unpredicted outcome of pursuing one of our individual fitness goals, running a marathon, was the pride our boys had in us. They never hesitated to share with family, friends, teachers and coaches that we were training to run a marathon.
Kim: I feel fortunate, in that my boys are naturally active and athletic (unlike me at their age!) They are also fanatical about their sports, so they’re not inclined to overdo it in front of the computer or TV too much (their schedule just doesn’t allow it.) Because of what I’ve learned in my own struggles, I’ve tried to foster a fairly healthy lifestyle for us. They’re very in tune with their bodies and food, and what they need to feel at their best. Of course, no one does it perfectly every day, but overall I think they’re getting the message.

CP: Did your book inspire the business or vice versa?

After we completed the ½ marathon, we looked back with astonishment. We wondered…”How did we arrive at this place, a place were fitness was as important to us as brushing our teeth?” As we spent time looking back we realized that the key was friendship. We attributed our success to our partnership, and to the accountability that the friendship delivered. That accountability led to us being consistent, which led to real results over time. We felt that if it could work for us, it could work for others. That’s when we decided to write the book.

As we were writing the book, we realized we could build a business around the same premise. Like our fitness journey, our business journey has taken many twists and turns. At first it was a local business with running classes and personal training services. But, after a while, we wanted to reach even more people with our message and services, so we launched our online business.

CP: What is your regular workout schedule?
We exercise every week day from 5:30-7:00am. Our activity and intensity is fluid and always changing. We modify our approach based on weather, injury, mood, or illness, but we still show up everyday to do something.

CP: Do you have a favorite activity?
Today it’s yoga. But when we trained for the marathon I would have said running. It is natural to become bored with an activity after a while, so we are constantly mixing it up and loving something new.
CP: Is there one activity that you dread?
Kris: I’d love to train for a triathlon, but dread swimming. I have tried swimming, but find it very cardio challenging. I need to get the breathing thing down without gulping in water.
Kim: I’m intimidated by the swimming too; but am even more intimidated by the thought of putting on a swimsuit!
For more information visit www.connectmovetransform.com!