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NBA star's wife uses baby to exercise

11:19 AM on 12/11/2009

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"It's always that last 10, 15 pounds to lose," says Ione Jamison, wife of NBA star Antawn Jamison.

Jamison knows a little something about shedding baby weight. The wife of the Washington Wizards superstar gave birth to her third child, Rucker King, just over two months ago.

"My stomach area, it kind of needs some work now. I have three babies under four years old so it's kind of gotten a little stretched out," she says.

But how does a busy wife and mother find the time to work on herself?

Jamison's answer is to bring little Rucker to the gym and use him to help her workout.

"With the Mommy and Me Pilates, it's really helpful to get the core back, and just bonding with your baby too while doing it," she says.

Called 'Pilates Together,' the class actually incorporates mother and child into each exercise. Instructor Jennifer Hunter says the little one is used instead of a prop or weight.

"It's functional training because you're going to be carrying around the baby anyway. So we're going to use it in a way that challenges your core," Hunter says.

So mothers might lift the baby overhead, hold them up while doing crunches, and even incorporate them into traditional pilates movements.

"You do a couple of reps and you do get tired," says Hunter. "I'm not saying you'll have huge biceps or triceps after that, but you will basically build up great capacity to lift more."

With Rucker in tow, Jamison says she's lifting about 16 pounds, heavier than a lot of props used in traditional pilates classes.

But Hunter says the class isn't just about getting back to your pre-pregnancy bod, she's also teaching women how to lift and carry their children so they don't get injured.

"It only takes one bad movement, where you're not thinking about it or conscious of how you're moving to get injured. And moms, we don't have time to be injured. We have a lot of things to do," she says.

And since so many mothers are constantly on-the-go, Jamison and Hunter agree: Pilates Together is a way to spend quality time with your little ones.

"We just want to be healthy moms for our kids and also you know just have some time to bond with our kids," says Jamison. "You want to look good. You want to be able to fit your jeans again, which is so hard to do. I'm not at that point yet, but hopefully in a couple of months I will be."

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"It's always that last 10, 15 pounds to lose," says Ione Jamison, wife of NBA star Antawn Jamison. Jamison knows a little something about shedding baby weight. The wife of the Washington Wizards superstar gave birth to her third child, Rucker King, just over two months ago. "My stomach area, it kind of needs some work now. I have three babies under four years old so it's kind of gotten a little stretched out," she says. But how does a busy wife and mother find the time to work on herself? Jamison's answer is to bring little Rucker to the gym and use him to help her workout. "With the Mommy and Me Pilates, it's really helpful to get the core back, and just bonding with your baby too while doing it," she says. Called 'Pilates Together,' the class actually incorporates mother and child into each exercise. Instructor Jennifer Hunter says the little one is used instead of a prop or weight. "It's functional training because you're going to be carrying around the baby anyway. So we're going to use it in a way that challenges your core," Hunter says. So mothers might lift the baby overhead, hold them up while doing crunches, and even incorporate them into traditional pilates movements. "You do a couple of reps and you do get tired," says Hunter. "I'm not saying you'll have huge biceps or triceps after that, but you will basically build up great capacity to lift more." With Rucker in tow, Jamison says she's lifting about 16 pounds, heavier than a lot of props used in traditional pilates classes. But Hunter says the class isn't just about getting back to your pre-pregnancy bod, she's also teaching women how to lift and carry their children so they don't get injured. "It only takes one bad movement, where you're not thinking about it or conscious of how you're moving to get injured. And moms, we don't have time to be injured. We have a lot of things to do," she says. And since so many mothers are constantly on-the-go, Jamison and Hunter agree: Pilates Together is a way to spend quality time with your little ones. "We just want to be healthy moms for our kids and also you know just have some time to bond with our kids," says Jamison. "You want to look good. You want to be able to fit your jeans again, which is so hard to do. I'm not at that point yet, but hopefully in a couple of months I will be."