Once upon a time, you used to dread leg day, shun the Stairmaster, and sleep through that spin class. Now, though, you find yourself aching to put on a clean pair of sweatpants — one that isn’t completely covered in crumbs. Life just isn’t the same now, since you had children, and you’ve been losing some serious muscle or packing on the pounds. Now that you’re taking care of at least one little one, you no longer have time to take care of yourself.
Not only do you want to improve your fitness and prepare to enter into old age gracefully. You also want to set a good example and model healthy habits for your kids. However, you’re busy, and you don’t have time or energy to wake up and hit the squat rack at 5 a.m. Instead, you’re going to have to find some more creative ways of working exercise into your routine. Here’s how to fit more exercise into your life, and maybe include your little ones, too.
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Take Them to the Playground
The nice thing about playgrounds is it’s very unlikely your kid will ever say no. What kind of child turns down a day on the monkey bars, the swing sets, and that corkscrew slide? Taking your kids to the playground can build up their strength, as they climb, swing, run, and jump. Pushing their swings, lifting them up, and running after them can get you in shape as well. If You’re not just burning calories and building muscle; you’re engaging in valuable bonding time.
As a bonus, some playground equipment is actually designed to give adults a workout too. At your local playground, you might find exercise equipment like parallel bars, pull-up bars, and even cardio machines like ellipticals. Still, even if you don’t have this specialized equipment, you can use your kids’ jungle gym to crank out some reps. Try pull-ups on the monkey bars, step-ups on the stairs, and incline push-ups on just about any surface.
Get Out Into Nature
Not all kids love hiking, especially not if you treat it like a totally mundane walk in the park. However, it’s easy to get the youngins enthused about nature if you turn it into a game or an adventure. Consider creating a scavenger hunt, collecting interesting items along the way (if allowed in your area). Or download a bird or plant identification app, and try to find the most interesting specimens along the trail.
Older kids might also enjoy being in charge of navigating, such as interpreting maps or learning how to read a compass. They might like finding animal tracks or taking photographs of beautiful scenery, wildflowers, or tiny creatures. Whatever you can do to get them engaged, do your best to make it fun for the whole family. Long walks are one of the easiest, cheapest, and most enjoyable ways to build more cardiovascular exercise into your lives.
Get Into the Game
One thing parents and children have alike is that no one can resist the allure of throwing a ball. You don’t need to arrange a formal league; it’s easy to arrange a quick pick-up game when you’ve got all the equipment at the ready. Try installing a basketball hoop in the driveway or setting up soccer goals and a ball in the yard. You might find yourself squeezing in a quick round of your favorite game while you’re waiting for your spouse to warm up the car.
If you don’t have the outdoor space, another option is to move the games indoors. Interactive and virtual reality games — like dance and movement-based games — are easy to set up on your home TV. If that’s too high-tech for you, consider throwing an impromptu living room dance party every so often. Put on your favorite tunes, work up a sweat, and challenge each other to a limbo or breakdancing competition (if you’re spry enough).
Go Carless
If your kids are older and you live in an area where it’s safe to do so, try going carless for some family outings. For example, consider riding bikes to the grocery store or walking together as a family. While this isn’t always a practical option, especially in the rural or suburban U.S., it can be a good option for city dwellers. You have to go there anyway, so why not get some exercise getting to the store and then carrying back shopping bags?
If your kids are too young for this, consider attaching a kiddie cart to the back of your bike. Or, get a harness or shoulder mount to carry your kids while walking. If you want them to get more exercise, try throwing on rollerblades and have them walk in front and “steer” you with a rope. Just make sure you’re the one actually in control of the wheels so no one gets injured (or sent rolling off into the distance).
Keep it Moving
Of course, there are plenty of other options when it comes to getting moving with your kids. You could sign up for a kid-friendly yoga class, parent-child karate, or other age-flexible activity. This list, however, tries to keep it budget-, schedule-, and location-friendly, to make exercise accessible. Most of these suggestions are modifiable, so you can get moving no matter where you live or how little time you have.