Moms and Babies Get a Great Workout In the Park

Fitness Trainer Darcy Zenker runs 10 boot camps a week for new mothers.

There is probably nothing more perplexing for a young mother than to try and shake off the postpartum childbirth blues and find the time to get outside, workout and round quickly back into good physical shape. Darcy Zenker, 31, resident of Rock Hill (we’re moving to Warson Woods soon) has solved that dilemma and more. Zenker is a workout fanatic. She owns her own company Nowfitness. She conducts boot camp training sessions for women all over St. Louis. Those women eager to regain their form flock to her like sheep. Every Monday and Wednesday, promptly at 9:30 a.m. you will find anywhere from a half to a dozen women who gather with Zenker to literally run through their routine. No one leaves the park without having worked up a good sweat. …

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Woman Motivates Others Through Sunrise Fitness Camp

This week, Patch introduces you to Nicole Nester, who has motivated area women through an early morning fitness "boot camp" for close to 10 years.

Nicole Nester was a stay-at-home mother of three little boys when she signed up for a class at the Kirkwood YMCA that took her life in a whole new direction. The class was a fitness "boot camp" taught by a drill sergeant-type with a booming voice and a penchant for pushups. He had her whipped into shape by the end of the summer, and she was hooked. "After having my third child, I just wanted to get out and do something for myself," Nester said. "It made me feel so happy and energized, and I thought it would be cool to do this just for women." So with no professional training -- but a healthy dose of determination and a contagious rah-rah attitude -- Nester launched her own early morning boot camp in her suburban backyard. It was supposed …

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