Is Your Baby Tougher Than You?

Life is busy. Whether you have a busy career, small children at home, or grandkids nipping at your heels it can be difficult to fit in a regular work out, am I right? We are thrilled to welcome a guest today, who is here to help us work our butts off – literally! 🙂 Let’s give a warm welcome to Melissa and be ready to get inspired – and fit!

My baby is definitely tougher than me.  She can scream at the top of her lungs all night, spin around on her belly all day, stand on her toes as long as I will hold her up, pound on piano keys as long as I will allow, kick her legs in a tub so water is EVERYWHERE, stretch her legs high enough to chew on her big toe for hours, and also chew on a insane amount of toys.  Could I do what she does every day? No way, I am not tough enough.

Ever hear how exercise can relieve your stress, reduce depression, boost self esteem, help that waist look SUPER good in that new dress, AND give you more energy for the day? The benefits list could go on and on.  Why is there not a list of HOW to get that workout in?

As a mother of one child and having read many books on HOW to schedule your child, the “schedule” still never stays on “schedule”.   Getting my workout in as a baby-less lady was somewhat simple, the thought frequently crossed my mind, “Oh, I don’t want to wake up this morning so I can sleep in (what is sleeping in?)? I will just fit it in later in the afternoon…or I will have time tonight as well.”  With a child; the sleepless nights are many, making early morning schedules hard to maintain, the nap time that is supposed to happen at this time gets canceled which ruins the workout DVD plans, the usually happy baby that would normally let me do crunches around them while they entertain themselves decides it’s a cuddle and hold only day…the list could go on and on with the little things those cute Lil’ ones throw at us that stop the normal workout from happening altering the “schedule”.

Here are 5 tips I have for you to fit that workout in when the “schedule” does not follow the “schedule”.

1. Aerobic exercise is an important part of every workout. The days your child does not let you get your run in…run from them (JK).  Start a fun activity for your kiddos (depending on their age: if smaller than age 1, they will enjoy laughing at you, if older they will enjoy participating).  Start by jogging in place, throw in some jumping jacks, and maybe even some jump rope.  Continue non-stop until the children get bored or a dirty diaper needs to be changed.

2. We all know lifting weights can help tone our tummies and other fun mommy areas.  Those days where your child gets sick and can’t leave the house, they won’t let you sit them down, Use your child as a weight.  Start by holding them close to your chest and doing around 20 squats (depending on the weight of your child).  Continue with lifting your child up and down above your head around 20 times (again depending on the weight of your child).  If you still have some time before bath time, do some lunges while holding them closely in and push your child in and out in front of your chest 20 times.

3. Flexibility a key to being able to maneuver our children around and important in any workout.  Stretch, stretch, stretch is the last thing I want to do during my relaxing 5 minutes without kiddos.  So, again let’s find a way to fit it in when we cannot.  While bending down to wipe that snotty nose, hold 15 seconds, wipe and come back up.  Repeat if necessary.  While folding the daily laundry, sit with your legs in a widened stance, make sure to put the laundry basket in front of you and hold for 5 seconds as you grab the next item that needs folding.   As you go to reach for that binky that has dropped a million times, reach sideways, hold 20 seconds, come up, and repeat as necessary.

4. Balance will help us reduce injuries and stay on our toes! Long night with a sick baby, have no fear balance expert is here.  While washing the dishes, balance on one leg, switch every 30 seconds to 1 second as your balancing skills improve.  Start a fun game with your little ones, balance on a pillow (fold the pillow over and each stand on one leg and see who can stand the longest).

5. When all else fails, follow your kiddo everywhere.  If your baby is doing tummy time, do some tummy time.  If your 5 year old is running back and forth in the back yard, follow.  If your child is sitting in an awkward yoga pose, try to come up with a less difficult yoga pose to hold.  If your baby continually climbs up on a chair/bed/couch and back down again, follow their lead.

Remember, a mom’s workout can be more difficult than a gym workout if creativity allows.  If you are wondering now, does she really do this? Yes, I really do this on bad days, makes me feel better about my workout plans.  Are there days I don’t even get this in? Yes, sometimes all I do is survive.  I hope these tips help you become more creative on those hectic days on how to fit a few fun energizing minutes of exercise in, helping us become tougher than our Lil’ munchkins.

Thanks, Melissa! No excuses, any more! I love these ideas. If you have any tips for working out at home, let us know in the comments!