Keeping to an exercise routine can become difficult when small children are part of your daily life. Your own health and mental well-being needs to stay high on the priority list. However, to ensure this you need to have the ability to care properly for your children. Here are some ideas to work fitness into your schedule with youngsters underfoot.
Involve Children in Fitness Routines
Parents and caregivers who can find types of exercise that not only provide an adult workout, but involve the kids too, will be maintaining their own health and encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle for the family.
Let kids exercise with you. They can do pint-size versions of sit-ups and push-ups, and will love copying you with very light weights or even pretend weights, depending on their ages. Remember that their joints aren’t fully developed yet, so be extra careful to not even hint at stressing their bodies.
Put on great music and dance together! Hand-in-hand or free-style, get down and groove! The children will dance with natural delight, and you can keep arm and leg movements high to keep your heart rate up.
Keep Kids Occupied while You Exercise
For parents who want serious exercise time with fewer or no distractions, there are several ways to fit an exercise schedule around the children.
Exercise indoors during nap time. Home gym equipment and exercise DVDs can all be used while the baby is sleeping. If that doesn’t work for you, try putting the baby in a bouncy seat where you can see them while working out, and they can bounce along with the music.
Trade play dates with other parents. The kids play at one house two days a week, and at the other house two days a week, and both parents get a chance to exercise wherever they want with no distractions. The kids get good social time, too.
Find or start an exercise class with parents and kids. They play while the parents work out. There can be more distractions this way, but you can keep an eye on them while everyone gets exercise and social time.
