Stay-at-home moms, do you ever feel like you don’t have a second of baby-free time to workout? Working moms, do you ever feel like you don’t want to spend another minute away from your baby when you get home from the office or off the clock? I feel you.
Having been in both positions, I understand it can be extremely challenging to prioritize working out as a mom. Your life revolves around your kiddos – and rightly so. When I’m at home all day with my son, I only have nap times to get anything done, and after showering, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and work, I often feel like I have little time for a workout. When I get home from working all day, I know I only have a small amount of precious time with my baby and am not willing to give it up for a workout. But what if there was a way to have your cake and eat it too! Here are two ways that you can incorporate your little one into your workout to help you prioritize your fitness while spending quality time with your precious little human.
USE YOUR CHILD AS RESISTANCE
Holding your child while you perform exercises such as squats, lunges, bicep curls, overhead press, bridges, etc can provide a great added resistance to your exercises to increase the difficulty and improve your strength training. Kids grow so as you get stronger, you can naturally increase your weight. For younger kids, you can hold them in your arms or against your body. For older kids, you can try koala position or piggyback for a weighted vest vibe. Have a toddler? Feel free to add silly songs, a safe toss here and there, or turn them upside every now and then to really get them giggling and enjoying your workout as much as you!
LET YOUR CHILD PROVIDE PERTURBATIONS
Perturbations is a fun word for outside forces that throw the system out of balance – in this case, the system is your body. Allowing your child to run around you and touch you while performing core stability or balance exercises will provide perturbations that will increase the difficulty of the exercise. A significant part of your body’s job is to maintain balance and stability in reaction to outside forces and occurrences. This is what allows up to stay upright when your kid runs up and hugs your leg or when a stranger bumps into you at the grocery store. Children are great at providing these outside forces at unpredictable times, speeds, and places. And for the older kids, who doesn’t love being asked to push mom around a little bit? These perturbations with help improve your reactionary balance and stability, which is an essential part of our muscle function, and your kids will think they are playing a fun game!
Babies and little ones can be great motivation during a workout – especially if you make it an enjoyable experience for both parties. Added bonus, your child not only gets to see you move your body but gets to participate in this movement which will help to nurture a love of exercise and movement at a young age. There is nothing more fulfilling than knowing you prioritized your own wellness while fostering your child’s development!
Life Changes Physical Therapy is all about helping your reach your functional goals while fitting into your life and schedule. We travel to you and can provide you interventions for pain relief and improved function while incorporating your little one into your treatment and home program. We NEVER want you to feel like you have to choose between your wellness and your little ones so we will always work to find a solution that best fits your life. If you have pain, have difficulty participating in your desired activities, or want to improve your wellness, call Life Changes Physical Therapy to schedule your evaluation today!