Calling All Moms!

HillCoutu92

I need to start working out and would love to involve my daughter (20 months old) in my workouts (partly to get rid of my excuse to not exercise (too busy w/ work & baby) and partly to teach her good, healthy life habits). The only things I can think of are to take her on walks/runs in the stroller or maybe to the pool. Also, the only time I could do it is between 5:00-6:30 pm.

Any ideas/recommendations?

amgreenwell

I have two kids under two and we do as much outdoors with walking/hiking with the stroller as possible but truthfully the best time for me to work out is in the early morning while the whole house is still asleep.
My husband can get to the kids if they need him (wake up early) but I take that 30 minutes for me and get it done.
I get up about 5 a.m. could you get up early and do it? Kids still know that you are exercising, my two year old grabs my headphones and will say "I'm going running"...so cute!
add me as a friend if you'd like. I have an open diary for friends and try to post at least once a week on the homepage.

hesn92

Do you have a spouse or someone that can be in charge of your toddler? I workout after work but my husband is home so it's not like I'm just leaving him to roam the house and destroy everything lol. I have a TV in my basement where I work out so if I need to bring him with me I can put on a movie for him and there's also train tracks etc. for him to play with. As for running though I just do that when my husband is available. If you did yoga or other workout video's on youtube or something she would probably join you lol. At least until she got bored. Otherwise going out for walks/hikes with her is a good option.

snemberton

Do you have one of those parks with the obstacle course type paths nearby? She won't be able to do most of them, but she can "help" mommy. Or just do a stroller walk/run, then stop at the playground and encourage her to play for exercise. You can do the monkey bars, quick runs up to the top of the slides, step ups on the steps and other stuff. Just play tag or anything to get your heart rate elevated. I just saw a cute pool noodle obstacle course idea on Facebook as well. Maybe set something like that up in your backyard?

At her age, exercise is mostly going to be about play. You can set the example by making time for it and letting her see that, but toddlers wouldn't do well with a structured exercise plan. My kids are 15-21 now, so it's been a while, but they were pretty healthy overall from just being kids who played outdoors a lot. I've got them doing some actual exercise with me now, but that comes with age.

DomesticKat

Play outdoors. Go to a soccer field and run around with a ball. Go for walks. Go to the playground and play together. Play is exercise for children, and extra steps and running around are good for you, too. If I'm doing structured exercise, I do it alone at lunch time.

DancingMoosie

See if there's a fitformoms in your area. You might like their stroller strides class

ninobodino

Check out diary of a fit mommy on instagram, she posts about workouts, nutrition and inspirational.

critle93

I like to mix up my workouts. I do go for jogs and then let my son play at the park afterwards (15months), I workout at home in his play area where he thinks it's a game and likes to try and do it too. My gym also has a gated area for children in the actual workout room with a tv and toys. I place him in that and I can workout and still see him. 😁

alyangel123

We walk 2-3 times a week and do a trail. Cheap entertainment for them, I don't even notice it as exercise and it's a solid hour walk. A bike carriage looks so much fun, I wish mine would sit in it but they're special needs so I'm always worried they'd jump out whilst I was moving haha

robot_potato

It depends on the kind of time and space you have. I keep a barbell and weights behind my couch and do squats etc when the kids are asleep. If they don't go to sleep my husband takes them for a car ride so i can get my time in. I also got a toddler carrier. It was a good chunk of money, but i can go hiking, long walks, pretty much anywhere and just strap my littlest on my back when he's done walking. And there's certainly a benefit to having extra pounds of kid on your back, helps burn those calories

I've got 3 kids, work full time, and i'm a student, so i know all about excuses. Make you a priority, can't pour from an empty cup.

VUA21

Going for a daily walk/run is probably one of the best things you can do. You get exercise, incorporate her into your activities AND get her going outside! So many people (especially children) spend all day indoors and never go outside to play. Even if she doesn't get into having a daily run/walk, she gets to go outdoors for a bit of fresh air.

Also, there are really good abdominal and total body (body weight) workouts than can be done very quickly (total ab workouts should take no more than 10 minutes).

alyssa_6481

Good for you wanting to involve her and teach her healthy habits!

I have an 18 mo old little girl that loves to play while I workout. She'll get on the floor while I do push-ups or I'll do sit-ups and at the top I'll make a face at her or give her a kiss on the forehead. I've done Zumba and dancing while holding her (plenty of free videos on YouTube!) or she just dances along next to me in her own way.

We also have a barbel and dumbbels in the basement so we have a corner set up with some of her toys to play with. She loves to watch me bench press though and will even pick up the lightest dumbel with both hands and move it to another area. She sits on the floor with me while I stretch and climbs on her bouncer. Otherwise, she also loves stairs so we will spend time just going up and down.

I've also done deadlifts to overhead press with her. Just pick her up off the floor with good form and then lift her slowly overhead. It's interactive and fun for both of us. Another really good one that works the legs are frog or squat jumps. She's just learning to jump well so we will practice together (next to each other).

We do a lot of walks and playing outside as well but on a rainy day or during the winter when outside options are harder and you don't feel like braving the snow (we live in the upper Midwest) it's nice to have some at home options.

Hope that helps!