It can be hard to get a workout in when you’re a parent. With small children around your needs tend to take a back seat. You might be lucky enough to get a workout in at home or at the park, but it will more than likely come with many interruptions for juice, milk, snacks or diaper changes. It can get discouraging and most parents would just give up attempting to get any workout in with their little one(s) around.
Working out releases endorphins which make you feel great, it can give you a huge energy boost, it improves your mood, reduces stress and anxiety, not to mention all the usual health benefits, like cardiovascular health, weight loss, lower blood pressure and better sleep. Which means fitness should be a priority, but that can be difficult when many people think that for exercise to be effective, it needs to be long, sweaty, and agonizing, but that’s not the case. Here a few muscle building/fat burning movements that as a parent you can fit into your day that don’t take any time. These are movements that can be done while the kids eat their snack, run around the playroom or are outside playing at the park (ideally working up to 10-12 repetitions of each exercise).
1- Squats
Stand feet hip-distance apart, with your toes forward. Lean your chest slightly forward, bend your knees and bring your hips back as if you were going to sit in a chair, then stand back up. Keep your weight in your heels and make sure your knees stay behind your toes and don’t come out over them.
2- Chair Dips
Sit on the edge of a sturdy chair, park bench or couch, with your hands next to your hips. Slide your bottom off the edge and bend elbows to 90 degrees. Be sure to keep your back close to the chair, then push back up.
3- Modified Push-Ups
Get down onto your hands and knees with your knees together. Walk your hands out in front of you and lift your feet. Move your hands slightly wider than your chest. Your head, neck, back and bum should all be in a straight line. Keeping your core engaged, bend your elbows and lower your chest towards the floor. Press back up.
4- Lunges
Keeping your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up, engage your core. Step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle. Make sure your front knee is directly above your ankle, not pushed out in front over your toes, and make sure your other knee doesn’t touch the floor. Keep the weight in your heels as you push back up to the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side.
5- Bird-Dog
Balancing on your hands and knees, lift your right leg and left arm and extend your leg to the rear and reach to the front with your arm. Keeping your spine straight, hold your position. Repeat with the opposite arm and leg.
6- Glute Bridge
Start by lying face up on the floor with your arms to the side, your knees bent, and your heels on the ground. Lift your hips off the ground until your knees, hips, and shoulders are in a straight line making sure to squeeze your glutes as you reach the top of the movement. All of your weight should be balanced between your shoulders and your feet. After holding for 2-3 seconds, slowly lower your hips back to the ground and allow them to slightly touch the ground before completing another rep.
7- Standing Side Bend
Stand with your feet a little wider than hip distance apart raise your arms up over your head and interlock your fingers. Squeeze your head with your upper arms and engage your core. Bend sideways to the right, squeezing your waist on the right side. Keep your neck as neutral as possible, looking forward, not down. Pull your left ribs down to return to standing upright. Switch sides, and bend to the left to complete one rep.
8- Knee Cross Crunch
Stand with your shoulders in line with your hips, and extend your right arm up over your head and your left leg out to the side, toes are facing forward. Engage your core and lower your right elbow and raise your left knee, crunching them together on a diagonal line. Return to start and repeat 10-12 times before switching to the opposite side.
Being a parent means that sometimes you have to be creative at how you sneak in your workouts. When your children see that you are making fitness part of your day, they will learn that you’re not only getting fit for yourself but you’re getting fit to be a healthier parent for your children too.
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