Meet Laura Reutinger
I’m Laura and I’m 32 years old. I grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from West Virginia University in 2007 and was introduced to military life in 2011 when my husband Colin and I moved to Germany just weeks after we were married.
I’m no stranger to moving in any sense of the word, although I’ve stayed in one place (er, on my couch…) for longer than I care to admit, more than once in my “adult” life.
Upon graduating from WVU and hanging up my soccer cleats for the first time in 20 years, I was officially in self-proclaimed athletic retirement. I moved to Las Vegas, worked 65 hours a week standing on my feet in a crazy Target store and parked myself on the couch after work most days.
I was stuck. Hated my job, missed my family, and was tired all the time. (Not to mention gaining weight and getting frustrated.) I was part of a team my entire life and for the first time found myself alone. Classes at the gym were OK, but let’s be honest, I can’t Zumba.
Enter 2009. I met my husband on a blind date to a military ball in Fort Riley Kansas. Transferred my job to Philadelphia the following year and began preparing for life as a military spouse.
Still struggling to “find my fitness tribe” we moved to Germany, and my husband left for training the day after we moved into our house 25 minutes from post. Not an English speaking person in sight, I set out to explore the town and found some of the most beautiful places to run I’d ever seen.
Couch to 5K got me moving again. I begrudgingly joined my husband at the gym on the weekends and started to become interested in his “crossfit” type workouts. I did what I was comfortable with (wall balls, box jumps and burpees) once he deployed and was quickly approached by a friend in the gym about a “functional fitness” group starting. Long story short, before long found myself in the gym twice a day, and having fun!
By the time my husband returned 9 months later I had lost 30 pounds, was doing pull-ups for the first time in my life and lifting more weight than I had since those good old college days. I found my tribe!
Cue the military orders…we’re moving.
New German duty station and a bigger gym, I managed. And then I got pregnant, and we moved…again. We landed in Columbus in the spring of 2014 where I knew we would stay for at least a few years. I heard about Stroller Strong Moms through a friend that was going to be moving shortly after we arrived. And I didn’t have a baby yet, so I wasn’t sure it was the right place for me until after I had my baby. I continued with my solo gym and running routine through my pregnancy.
We welcomed Vera on September 5, 2014 and it took me 4 months to muster up the courage to leave home with her and check out SSM. A little longer to adjust to stroller running. But no time at all to make attending class every day a priority. Following the 2015 Get Fit Challenge I weighed less than I did before I got pregnant, felt better than I had in almost 10 years and I had instant “mom” friends, motivators and a reason to get moving again that didn’t require childcare.
And the best part – watching my little girl hop out of the stroller at the end of class and start doing squats, with a smile on her face.
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