Making Every Day A Workout
by Lisa Druxman on March 11, 2016 in Active Parenting, Lisa Druxman, Stroller Strides
No time to workout now that you’re a mom? Try turning every day activities in to a workout. Let me show you how to fit fitness in to your life!
Walk – Yes you’ve heard it before but it’s true. Walking can be a workout, especially if you’re pushing a stroller or carrying a baby in a front pack carrier. Whenever possible, give yourself extra opportunities to walk to where you’re going, even if it means parking the car in the farthest parking spot from where you’re going.
Take the stairs – I fully admit that carrying a diaper bag, a baby and even a stroller up the stairs is not going to work. But the more you carry your baby up your own home stairs (while using good posture of course), the more of a workout you will get. It’s a Stairmaster times two when you’re carrying the weight of your baby!
Participate with your kids- Are your kids in soccer or ballet or some other physical activity? Find out if it’s ok if you walk around the field or even participate with your child rather than watching from the side lines with the other parents.
Pick Up Those Toys – Of course we want our kids to do it, but picking up toys can be a great workout! Here’s how to do it…Stand in front of toy and bend down, lowering your bottom. Keep back and abs strong. Basically, squat down, squeeze up and pick up the next one!
Tighten Up That Tummy – No matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing, tighten up that tummy. You can work your ab muscles when you drive, when you walk, when you pick up toys. Contract abdominal wall without holding in your breath. Imagine you’re trying to fit in to a really tight pair of jeans and if you let your tummy out, they will pop open!
Home “Gym” Workout
Sit on a chair and place a pillow on your lap. Bend forward at the hips. Hold on to a can of soup or even a milk jug, if you can do the weight, and slowly raise arms. Squeeze shoulder blades together. This should focus on posterior deltoids (back of shoulders) and upper back.
Sit on chair and do bicep curls with milk jugs. Don’t forget to put milk right back in the fridge so it doesn’t go bad!
Lay on your back on floor. Hold a soup can in each hand and open arms wide (palms facing each other). Squeeze chest and bring arms together overhead. This exercise focuses on the pectoralis (chest) muscles. Of course, good old push ups do the trick, too!
Stand with your back against a wall in your home. Slide your body down until your legs reach a 90-degree angle. Thigh should be parallel to the ground and knees are right over your knees. Hold this position as long as you can! Work up to two minutes!
Sit on a chair with legs about hips width apart and feet and knees facing forward. With arms in front of you, pull yourself up to a standing position. Use your glutes and thighs. Slowly squat back over chair as if you were about to sit down (but don’t really do it) and squeeze back up.
The list of exercises can go on and on. Think about traditional gym exercises and how to re-create them in your home using your environment.
The more you move, the more calories you burn. It’s consistency that counts; not where you do it. Try to be active and purposeful in all of your daily movements and you’ll start to see a difference.