Exercising and Kids

[MedievalGirl]

My biggest challenge right now in getting exercise is my toddler. When his big sister was little I went to gym all the time. She had a few bad days when they had to call me back to the kid room but mostly she was great. He hates it. I've not been as consistent in going as I was when she was little plus we moved to a place with a less cozy childwatch room. 

He is also not good with other kids there. He was suspended for a week because he twice bit other children. When I went last Wednesday a little boy saw my son and said "Oh no, not him again." 
 

My little guy is 19 months old today and he is getting a bit better at using his words so I am hoping that will help. I'm also just going to the Y for 30 minutes at a time and only using the elliptical instead of doing a full work out. I'm hoping he'll get used to it and I can slowly add in more exercise. 

Working out at home just doesn't seem to work. Nap time is spoken for. I'd love to do kettle bells or a sledgehammer drills but I fear him or my two older girls running up on me. Even doing stuff like planks is a pain. If only the 25 pound toddler didn't wiggle when sitting on my back. LOL

 

Any suggestions? 

[El Exorcisto]

What about when they go to bed? When I started my daughter was a little young to handle herself so my wife and I just waited til she was passed out to do our training.

[MedievalGirl]

That's a good idea. Both DH and I tend to think of exercise as a morning thing. He was lamenting his lack of exercise time. I'm the stay at home parent and he has to get up pretty early. Getting all the kids to bed has been exhausting lately. 
 

[Nyx]

I go to the gym in the morning before they wake up or during my lunch break, which doesn't work if you stay at home.  Certain exercises are doable with kids (e.g. running with the kids in a jogging stroller) but I know exactly what you mean about them climbing all over you and getting into dangerous situations.

 

My younger son used to be a biter, and once when he sat down next to another kid at a birthday party, the kid stood up and started sobbing, "I don't want to sit next to him, he'll BITE me!"  It's simultaneously frustrating and sad.  He's gotten a lot better now (2yo) that he's talking more and learning other ways to express emotions, but he will still occasionally bite.  I hope that your little guy gets better with age.

[El Exorcisto]

If training is important to you then you'll make time. If it isn't a priority right now, and no one would judge if that were the case, then let it slide until you can make it a priority. Whether you do it before they wake up or when they go to sleep, doing it is far more important then when you do it.

 

Also remember that what you do now is setting an example for what your kids will do later in life. If they live with you training regularly then they will likely pick up the crazy idea that it is something that they are supposed to be doing to. The earlier you can get them exposed to living a better life the more likely they are to follow your lead. Teaching a kid at an early age that excuses are just wastes of breath is always a good lesson as well.

[MedievalGirl]

Okay. I know the difference it made when I was a serious gym goer previously. No other kids were being hurt back then. 

[Erick the Red]

I have a few little ones (12, 9, 7, 5, and two months).

I can deeply sympathize.

 

(By the way, we used to be very active SCAdians, but don't do the events now mostly because of competing time requirements between kids and other interests.  We had an active rapier group in my shire and would practice weekly.

 

To the task at hand:

Some suggestions if the kid watch isn't working: 

Exercise together.  You do your thing (I like using the sledgehammer for a lot of things, see this post for ideas) and your kid gets a job as well (a rubber mallet of his own?)  Make a game of it?

Go on a daily walk together?  This is not as intense as what you might do on your own (although if the little one is on your shoulders, this might be a pretty intese workout), but it will help all of you, and develop good bits for you and them as well.

 

I don't have a lot.  I think that if you are consistently trying you will succeed though.  Good luck.  PM me if you want to chat at all.

[Archer]

We invested in a home gym and work out after the kids go to bed.  A few hundred bucks spent on used gear (craigslist) for weights, a squat rack, pull-up bar, etc. saves money compared to a gym membership too.  Then you only need to walk out your back door, or into your garage, instead of drive to the Y.

[sjr243]

I agree with the home gym.  With my two little ones I would either get up uber early or wait until they went to bed to use the dumbbells I had lying around.  I would then strap them into the stroller and would run with them.  I would make a game of finding letters or various objects for my oldest to point out.  Do you have any friends with children you could do a co-op with?  Watch their children in exchange for them watching yours to get at least a little work out in.  Good luck!

[Lammis]

This is so much later!  But I totally sympathize with this and am going through the same challenge.  

I don't have any solutions, other than just trying to get in as many 'mini sessions' as you can.  Right now I do 30 squats while brushing my teeth.  If I get that done and go for some long walks, short bike rides with the kid and some playing out in the park?  I can't really do more.  There are only so many hours in the day and I have to be sleeping for some, working for others, and you know...making sure my house doesn't actually fall down or become a health hazard.  

 

But it's way frustrating.  For sure!

[El Exorcisto]

If it isn't a priority then don't beat yourself up over it. If it were a priority then you would make the time for it. You can do a bodyweight routine with nothing more than the floor and a chin-up bar and knock it out in a half hour or less. I haven't met many people that can't give up a single TV show or come up with a half hour of expendable time over the course of a day.

 

I understand how hectic working a full time job, raising a kid, starting a new business, and scouting real estate prospects can be. Time is still found to get an hour under the bar four days a week.

[Elastigirl]

Maybe rearrange the way you think about it. Instead of a block of time, do it in segments. While your kid is playing or watching TV, do 10 push ups. While he is having lunch do 10 squats, while he is napping do jump rope for 10 minutes. Even if that is all you do, it is something.

 

I would swap out your elliptical at the Y for weights, pull ups , body weights exercises or rowing machine. You can throw the kid in a stroller (or carry him) and go on walks or runs.

 

Does your Y have a pool? Mine did. Just playing with your kid in the pool is great fun and exercise for the both of you

[KGB]

Our Y opens at 4:30 AM, and I'm there by 4:45 if I'm going to get a workout in.  I have to be back home by 6 when my husband leaves for work.  I tried going in the evenings, but I'm just too exhausted after a full day at work. 

 

I also like the above suggestions about "mini" sessions throughout your day.  You could get a lot of work in during those times when he's otherwise occupied.  I have an almost-2-year old, and he still naps 1.5-2 hours a day.  If I were home with him, I would use that time for body weight workouts or pick up some cheap used equipment, as suggested above.  I read a bit yesterday about the "Angry Birds" Workout, which might be helpful to you.    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/03/10/angry-birds-workout-plan/

 

If you're afraid he will run up on you while doing dangerous exercises, it's a good time to invest in a baby gate and teach him the importance of boundaries.  Same for the older girls.  They could easily learn not to bother mommy while she's working out. 

 

Sorry, just re-read and saw that "nap time is spoken for."  That's a big useful hunk of time, so it's up to you to decide what you'd like to do with it.

 

Once you've made the decision to make it happen, you'll make it happen.  You can do it. 

[Djaaz]

Time to start a bodyweight routine! I have 2 girls at home and as soon as they lay in bed I get down to the basement to start my routine. No need to go to the gym, no expensive material to buy (except maybe a pullup bar and a dip station).

[Lammis]

I started this with the last challenge and it was really, really life changing.  I'd never done body weight routines on my own and having the 6 week challenge to focus on it was a total game changer.  I can now do a really decent workout in less than 30 min and I don't leave my living room.  

 

So yeah, come home, get into workout gear, kid goes to bed, I work out, then eat dinner.  It's all done by 8pm.  Amazing.  Life changing.  Really!

[Rotengar]

We have a group workout with another couple who need more motivation than we do, we actually alternate who watches the kids its a good way to keep things running smoothly. We also include them in our body weight workouts rule is if you're holding a kid you get to do half the reps (so hold the 25lb on your chest while doing situps is a lot more work than without.)

[vinoex]

Last night I had an excellent workout.  Impromptu dancing in the kitchen while fixing supper.  Lots of jumping, bouncing, and otherwise frolicking.  

Repeat circuit 5x 

One set body weight

One set with a 20 pound 2 year old

One set with a 35 pound 4 year old

 

[TurtIe]

I'm in the home gym boat. I've got two under two, so most of my workouts come after they go down at around 7:30pm- which is time much better spent than simply sitting in front of the TV or laptop like I otherwise would be.

[Harbard]

I'm in the home gym boat. I've got two under two, so most of my workouts come after they go down at around 7:30pm- which is time much better spent than simply sitting in front of the TV or laptop like I otherwise would be.

Same here.  That was pretty much the only way I was going to get lifting back into the schedule without also scheduling some marriage counseling