Strength Training for a beginner

LindieAndie

Hi all,
SAHM here. I've been losing weight for about 6 months, I've got my diet and lifestyle down pat, I also get a lot of cardio in, now I want to start doing a bit of weight/strength training to build muscle.

I'm fairly limited in what I am able to do with a kid chained to my ankle. I get two hours through the day while he is sleeping so I can include some workouts then, but I can't leave the house. I've found a gym down the road that does a pump class and offers free childcare, but I feel like once as week isn't enough.

The extent of my strength training is lifting a 11kg (24lb) toddler :P but I honestly do carry and lift him a lot since he's at that awkward phase between crawling and properly walking. Lifting an 11kg weight 50 + times a day has to count for something, hopefully.

Can anyone give me any pointers of things I can do from home, areas I should focus on and how often I should start in the beginning?

I'd love to get into using kettle bells but can't justify the cost at the moment, but the thought occurred to me that I could do similar exercises using my LO, haha, he would certainly love it!

TIA.

concordancia

Toddlers make for excellent strength training.

Lift toddler over your head repeatedly.
Hold toddler in front of you at waist level, lift up towards shoulder bending your elbows (bicep curls).

Depending on your leg strength:
Lay on your back, bend your knees and place your feet on the toddler's tummy. Lift into the air!
If you have really strong legs: lay on your side and have the toddler straddle your top ankle, do leg lifts.

Get the toddler to ride you piggy back while you do push ups against a step.

More realistically, get a boot camp DVD or at least purchase a set of dumbbells and do what you remember from your pump class at home!

Angela4Health

I'm in a similar situation. I have to work out when my one year old son is napping every day. I have some dumbbells that I purchased and a couple of dvd's that I do, and I just ordered Supreme 90 day.

You can google it and find some tips on what you can do with just your body weight though, i.e. push ups, etc. I would really recommend getting some resistance bands or some dumbbells though.

Delorice

I purchased a kettle bell that included a workout DVD at walmart for only 16.00, it is well worth a minor cost for such a great deal!

Mtsidad

That's a great suggestion, Delorice! thanks.

LindieAndie

Fantastic. Thanks for the ideas, will definitely give these a go. I need to build leg strength and I'm sure he'd love being propped up on my feet.

LindieAndie

I'm not in the US, but that price is amazing. Hopefully I can find something comparitively cheap over here. How heavy was the kettle bell?

Delorice

They had a variety of weights. There was a 5 pound, an 8 pound and a 10 pound. All came with the DVD and were made by Danskin. Good luck!

suejonestx

There are plenty of websites that have workout plans for home, including http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/home.html. Some require weights, but I noticed one routine that simply uses your body weight with exercises such as squats. I totally understand your situation as I have a toddler. My solution is to get up really early and workout at the gym before my kid and husband wake up! Doesn't work for everyone though. Good luck!