Working out of the house mommas?

thatjessie

Alright ladies I need to get into a work out routine and FI works crazy weird hours and I am the mommy of a 2yr old! Any tips on things I can do to get some work out in? We go for walks as much as she allows but it's still hard! Thanks!

puokgirl

Make a game out of it and she'll have fun with you.  I used to do these with my niece and nephew when they were little.  I didn't really have a routine per se, but doing these whenever I could definitely helped.

Go to a park and play tag.  But if she's too young to "get" tag you can always play the tummy eating game - if you catch her you'll eat her tummy (blow raspberries or tickle).  This one was easy to do in the house when it was raining outside because we had a route we could run and hide in.  When they got older we'd race down the hallway too.

Have her sit on your foot and wrap her arms and legs around your leg.  Walk around the house with her that way, then switch legs.  She might be a little young for that one though.  I was lucky - I had one for each leg so I was nice and balanced.

Dance with her - pick her up and dance.  Pick fast songs and songs that she recognizes.  Make sure to do lots of spins and dips, raise her into the air, etc. My niece and nephew are 6 and 8 now, and they still like to do this one with me.

Play the jump game - hold both of her hands and then count down before she jumps.  When she jumps lift her as high as you can.  When she gets to be a bit older you can have her hold your arm as you lift it up to shoulder height.  The kids love that weightless feeling.

To stretch you can do "head, shoulders, knees and toes".  There's a song that goes along with it.  With each repetition you go a little faster until you're both laughing so hard you can't do it any more.

When she's napping, you're watching tv or waiting for something to finish (coffee, the microwave, etc), add in some light exercise - squats, calf raises, crunches.

When I was hurt pretty bad at work, I had to do some back exercises.  The kids thought it was an awsome game and they ended up on the floor with me doing the movements.  Then we'd snuggle for a sec on the floor before we got up to do something else.

If you have a Wii Fit, and you unlock the level, there's a way to do "free jog" or "free step aerobics".  You can set the timer on it for up to 30 minutes, and do these two exercises while watching tv.  You can also pause the exercising if you need to.

[Deleted User]

Do you work?  I am a mommy of an 18 month old and I work full time.  If it were not for my lunch breaks I would never be able to work out.  It is kind of a bummer that I can only get a 30 min work out in, in order to make it back to my desk in an hour (with getting to the gym, changing, quick shower after etc) but 30 mins 5X a week is a lot better than sitting at my desk!!   

HTH!

thatjessie

p thanks! we do alot of park trips and she's such a dancer! thanks for all the other ideas!

Kari~ I do work full time out of the house. And my gym is about 20 min from my office I would end up with 10 min work out if that! I do try to get in some walks when it's not 100 degrees out.