exercise with toddlers

Is it possible to exercise with toddlers? yes, yes it is. The human baby is naturally dumbbell shaped and can be easily maneuvered to perform curls,overhead press,bench and even rowing movements, obviously as your strength increases more babies will be needed, but a baby is a perfect tool for a fitness novice.

:laugh: Ha! This made me laugh. There will be no additional babies for me!

I should probably clarify. I'm a working mom with a full time job so i get home from pickup up the kids around 5:30-6. They don't go to bed until 9. There are no evening naps. I may have to suck it up and do a video after they go to sleep or before they get up. Sidenote: I am absolutely NOT a morning person and the thought of waking up any earlier makes my eyes twitchy! My preferred method of exercise is running or going to a boxing class, but neither of those is in option right now. Thanks for the tips guys. I will definitely try the walks in the regular stroller and the dancing games. At least they'd get a kick out of it. I'm not sure how kindly they'd take to me bench pressing them, but it's worth a shot

In the case of work outside of home moms... I just do it during my lunch break. I will either extend my work day by 30 minutes to go to a zumba class or I will make my way to a park or rec center and do something there for about 30 minutes.

you can work out with toddlers, even pets, but really you'll find that weights are easier as they dont squirm as much and sometimes the toddlers dont weigh the same so you have different weights on each arm. Squats arent too bad, or lunges, but bench presses & barbell lifts are tough.

however they are the "epitome" of resistance training! particularly in the "terrible twos"

Is it possible to exercise with toddlers? yes, yes it is. The human baby is naturally dumbbell shaped and can be easily maneuvered to perform curls,overhead press,bench and even rowing movements, obviously as your strength increases more babies will be needed, but a baby is a perfect tool for a fitness novice.

as your strength increases, the baby gets bigger.

my kids love being dumbbells and/or barbells. the oldest will even say she's a barbell and her little sister is a dumbbell. However they're not really heavy enough for a proper workout. My husband makes a good barbell for calf raises though and practicing fireman carries, and it's a goal of mine to do ATG squats using him as a barbell.


On a more serious note... OP you could wait until they're in bed and exercise then. I'm quite fortunate in that I can get other people to watch them e.g. when I do weights (I time my workouts when other people are able to do this), because there's no way I'm risking them being anywhere near me when I'm doing weight lifting. If they're in the house I lock myself in my room so they don't walk in e.g. when I'm just about to fail on a squat or something and have to dump the barbell. (that's when someone else will be in the house keeping an eye, I'd never do that if I'm the only one with them)

Regards cardio - aerobics videos they can try to join in but they tend to get under my feet and I don't want to risk stepping on them or knocking them over. Treadmill - won't use that when they're around either.

Taking the kids to the beach to run around is a good option in the winter, but it's impossible to exercise outdoors where I live (almost tropical, 100% humidity at times)

Workout videos and it inspires her (14mth old) to sit on mom's tummy when it's crunching time lol Adds some weight, I dance and I do squats holding her.

I have a four year old and a 3 year old, and I work out WITH my kids. Teaches them good habits, they LOVE it, wears them out, and its "US" time instead of "ME" time. Plus its kinda funny sometimes to see them do the exercises Also, my 3 year old looooovvveeessss yoga, and sometimes I am impressed by how much of it she can actually do (I always help her and dont let her do anything too hard, I am a beginner myself anyway so we arent doing any crazy poses in this house lol)

http://fit4mom.com/

^ Formerly known as Stroller Strides. They specialize in helping moms find time to get in shape while having children around. Like some of the others said, I would try to find a double jogging stroller second hand. They're usually around $80. If you live in a warmer climate, it's about to be swimming weather. You could put both kids in floats and swim them around the pool in them.

I stayed home with my two boys when they were little. The only thing I go do was wait until I picked my wife up at her work at the end of the day, and then I would get out of the car. She worked about five miles from our house. I would run home, and get there about half an hour after she did.
That was all I could do, and it was pretty good.
I know that does not help you much, OP. I guess my point is: Sometimes you get what you get, and you have to make do with what you can, even if it is not ideal.
I know at the time you don't see it. But you will be surprised how fast this stage in life passes.

Is it possible to exercise with toddlers? yes, yes it is. The human baby is naturally dumbbell shaped and can be easily maneuvered to perform curls,overhead press,bench and even rowing movements, obviously as your strength increases more babies will be needed, but a baby is a perfect tool for a fitness novice.

:laugh: Ha! This made me laugh. There will be no additional babies for me!

I should probably clarify. I'm a working mom with a full time job so i get home from pickup up the kids around 5:30-6. They don't go to bed until 9. There are no evening naps. I may have to suck it up and do a video after they go to sleep or before they get up. Sidenote: I am absolutely NOT a morning person and the thought of waking up any earlier makes my eyes twitchy! My preferred method of exercise is running or going to a boxing class, but neither of those is in option right now. Thanks for the tips guys. I will definitely try the walks in the regular stroller and the dancing games. At least they'd get a kick out of it. I'm not sure how kindly they'd take to me bench pressing them, but it's worth a shot

I understand this, NOT a morning person!!!! (So it is killing me that my beautiful 7month old baby girl has decided that she like to get up at 5am :sad: :yawn: ) anyway Lol I also have a 6yr old, that I homeschooling and a 4 yr old. I try to do a video (Jillain Michael's on You tube) while my daughter is napping, the older boys play or watch movie but a lot of the time I do it after everyone is in bed. Not easy but I am worth it! I know you are tired after they finally go to bed (I feel ya! ) but you are worth it, fight for you! I hope you can find a time that works good for you and your little ones! As they grow it WILL get easier! I wish you the very best! Good luck! :flowerforyou:

i do tricep extensions using my nieces and nephews and they love it :laugh: