Calling All Moms!

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!
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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.

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

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. 😁

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.

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!