4 Tips for Exercising with your Baby/Toddler

One of the main reasons mom's give for not exercising is that they don't have time.
I get it! I'm a mom of 3 myself and how we have the time to do anything is beyond me. However, with a little creativity you can accomplish a lot. Here are 4 quick tips for you!

  1) Make it short and sweet. If you focus on a HIIT style of workout (High Intensity Interval Training - where you train at 90% effort i.e. where talking is difficult), you can get a bigger bang for your buck. Current research says we can get away with as little as 4 mins of this type of exercising and still reap major benefits. I like to put on the TABATA app (20 secs of exercise, 10 secs rest for 4 mins) and depending on how that day is going for me I'll do anywhere from 4 - 12 mins (so 1 - 3 tabatas). Furthermore, my little one is very entertained by the app counting down every time. Here's a link to the one I like to use: tabatatimer

  2) Use your child in the exercises, but ensure you maintain good form. Here are a few exercise examples:

  •  Squats: hold your child in front of your body (one arm through the front holding between the legs, the other across the chest and under the armpits). Place your feet hip distance apart. Maintaining a nice long spine, connect your abdominals & pelvic floor and use the baby as your weight to squat up and down (imagine you are sitting back on a chair).
  • Bridge: great for glutes and opening up the hips! While you are lying down on your back, knees bent & heels aligned with the back of your knees, let the baby/toddler sit on your stomach/hips facing you. Hold your child's waist or under armpits and begin to lift the pelvis and lower it. 
  •  Squat with arm presses: start the same way as exercise A, but this time hold your child under the armpits either facing you or away from you. After performing a squat, lift your child up in the air fully extending your arms. 

  3) Get them involved - either by giving them their own little mat (I love to use these yoga dots from Creative Kids Yoga (Yoga Dots – Creative Kids Yoga), put some child friendly props out, get a timer going and count down together. Alternatively, put some music on - kids are natural movers and they love dancing to music. Celebrate the wins, keep it short and make it fun!

  4) On days where you can, get outdoors with your child. If possible, walk to get there (that's exercise). Find ways to play along at the playground - hang on the monkey bars (great way to release the shoulders), do some squats, step ups, play tag...you get the drift.

 Before you know it you've gotten way more than the 4 minutes in, some bonding time with your child & a happy mama.

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