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Mum About Town went along to check out a Buggyfit class at the Knightwood Centre in Chandler's Ford.

I never really thought you could make a whole exercise class out of pushing a pram around.

If I wanted to lose weight that way all I would have to do is hike it up to the local shops more than once a day, or whizz around the park in double-quick time.

I also thought that as the mum of a one-year-old I had done my fair share of pram pushing so a Buggyfit class should not present any significant problems.

How wrong was I?

After the warm-up (which left me the hotter side of warm) we embarked on circuits around the field that could be taken at your own pace but, being a group activity, it was a bit embarrassing if you didn't manage to keep up with the crowd.

It is that this point that you start to burn fat, and - given I had a lump of a one-year-old in my pram compared to the wee little babies in some of the other prams - I felt the others should be carrying some sort of weight handicap.

But, no, in the interests of not sounding like an unfit moaning mum, I pressed on. The conversation I had struck up with some of the other mums quickly dried up on the second circuit as by this point I was panting quite significantly.

Ben, on the other hand, was loving the brisk-paced walk which, on reflection, is a far cry from the jaunt to the shops I was referring to earlier.

The second part of the session was a series of toning-up exercises in a sort of circuit-style arrangement. Making use of the park bench we were put through our paces with a series of tricep dips, press-ups, crunches, and squats, all with a bemused set of children looking on. I could be wrong, but I swear I saw Ben smirk as I attempted my penultimate lunge.

The session finished with a little ramble along country paths which, for the millionth time, had me wishing I had opted for an off-road buggy.

I remember laughing at the shop assistant who sold us our pram when she suggested the off-road option, as it conjured up visions of a 4x4-style vehicle - but in fact I had underestimated the state of pavements and roads in this country so the saleswoman definitely had the last laugh.

When we go back to the car park I was delighted to hear the session was over, not because it was awful - quite the opposite - but I was absolutely knackered. I was amazed just how exerting pushing a pram around can actually be.

I also improved my posture - as there is a technique to pushing a pram you know - and had a thoroughy nice morning meeting other mums. All in all, it was a morning well spent, and one I was reminded of every time I got out of bed for the next few days.

2:14pm Tuesday 26th August 2008

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