Really want to make physical exercise part of your daily routine, but have an infant that doesn’t allow you to get any personal time for yourself?
I’m a new mom with an infant that is 5 months old. Ever since my 6-week postpartum appointment when I got the ‘green light’ to exercise, I was determined to get into my pre-pregnancy state.
I had a gym membership so there was no reason not to, except that I always dreaded all the time it takes to get back and forth from the gym and adding the time spent inside. I just imagined that towards the end of it, my baby would be crying out of hunger, waiting for me to come home.
So, I started going on short runs around my neighbourhood. That worked really well as it took out all the travelling. But, it only lasted until summer came into full swing and unless I went running before 6:00 am it was too hot to go out!
It was at that point that my two sisters, Feige and Zissy, told me about the Nike Training Club they came by and said I should give it a try.
It was the best exercise app I ever tried. What I love most is that you can choose everything from the workout, to the time duration all to suit you!
At first, when my baby was in the ‘newborn’ stage where most of the day was spent sleeping, this went really well. I managed to get at least 30 minutes of exercising a day. Some days even went so well that I was able to increase the time to 45 minutes!
After a few weeks, it became part of my daily routine, and my husband even joins me on most days!
As time went on, it became a little more challenging as my baby is more active and awake more often.
We usually try to wake up before the baby does, and then all we have to do is sneak out of the room and quickly do our exercise for the day.
Though, That is a rare occurrence and he is usually awake during exercise time.
For the most part, he is happy to sit back and relax as he watches my husband and I work out. He always looks so intrigued and probably wondering if his parents have gone slightly crazy.
But then comes those days that are really challenging and even a few minutes of exercise seems impossible that day. No matter what, he senses that I’m about to do something personally for myself and he doesn’t want that happening.
That’s when I realized it’s possible to do some movements while holding a baby. It is a win-win for everyone – the baby is happy and you at least get in some exercise even if it’s only 15 minutes.
Check out this 15-minute work out for when your baby only wants to be held!
My Tips:
- Do 10 reps of each of these 4 moves and the repeat it twice to make 3 sets – depending on how long you break for in between it will work out to 15 minutes.
- Rest in between each set
- Do the moves slowly with control, you don’t want to trip and hurt your baby
- If you can’t manage all 10 reps of each move or all 3 sets, start small and build
The Physical Exercise
1. Weighted Lunges
Notes: Don’t trip! you can also hold your baby to your chest with your arms wrapped around them.
2. Weighted Squats
Notes: Lifting your baby adds in an arm workout too but if your baby is super fussy, hold them close to your chest.
3. Hip Lifts
Notes: When you get into the lift, pause and hold for as long as you can. Make sure your glutes are engaged.
4. Push-Up Kisses
Notes: You can do modified push-ups with your knees on the floor to make it easier and then build up to full push-ups.
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Go Mushkie and Sholom!