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Fitness Minutes at Home with the Kids --by Joan Price ©2003Joan Price. May not be reprinted without permission. [These excerpts from The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book by Joan Price, M.A., with Lawrence Kassman, M.D. (Adams Media, 2003) may not be reprinted without permission.] Think you can't exercise because you're home with the kids? Here are some things you can do while keeping an eye on them, and most are activities you can do with the children! Standing Rocker. Rocking your baby to sleep feels wonderful to both baby and mom. If you stand while you rock your baby, it will feel the same to the infant, but you'll burn twice as many calories as sitting in the rocking chair. And if you walk around the room holding your baby, you'll burn even more. Mom's Stroller Workout. Take your small child for a walk around the block in a stroller. Walk briskly rather than leisurely. At intervals, stop and do one of these muscle-strengthening exercises, holding onto the stroller handles:
Tiny Tots Workouts. Toddlers are naturally active. Encourage this with activities such as these:
Sit on the Wall-The phantom chair is a great quadriceps (front of thigh) strengthener: Stand with your back against a wall, and slowly slide down, walking your feet away from the wall so they stay right under your knees, until your thighs are taking your weight and you look like you're sitting on an invisible chair. Hold the pose until your thighs tell you to get up. Dyna-Band At Home Workout-You don't have time for a full-body strength-training workout? While dinner cooks or baby sleeps, choose a couple of muscle groups and train them with Dyna-Bands, stretchy, latex resistance bands that work your muscles as though they're lifting weights. Dog Walk-If you live in the country or have a fenced yard, it's easy to open the door and let the dog out on his own. But if you let Spot take you and the kids for a 30-minute walk instead, you'll burn 125 calories (as opposed to the 2 calories you'd burn opening the door). Plus, your children will use up that extra energy and your pup will be grateful and much healthier, too! Crunch Each Room-Before dinner, do 10 abdominal crunches in every room of the house. Keeping knees bent and feet flat, lie down on the rug, lightly cupping your ears. As you exhale, pull your abdominal muscles in and let that muscle contraction lift your chest, then shoulders, then-if you're strong enough-shoulder blades. Let your head rest-don't pull on it. Fitness motivator Joan Price is a Sebastopol, California-based author, speaker, fitness consultant, and line-dance instructor. Her book, The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book, includes more than 300 exercises that fit into your day, wherever you are. Special offer for Moms and Dads with small children: Get FREE first class priority shipping when you order The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Book, a set of Dyna-Bands, and a step counter! Write "kids special offer" in the comments section.
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