Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Fitness With Kids

Exercising has always been a bit confusing and overwhelming for me. Since I made a goal to become fit and to lose my baby weight, I decided I needed to come up with a plan that worked. The only thing I've ever really done is walking. That's great when you don't have to tote toddlers and babies around, but that is not an option at this season of my life. Well, there is the treadmill, but staring at a basement wall for an hour isn't exactly something I love to repeat every day. A few months ago, I stumbled across a fitness site especially for Christian homeschooling moms completely by accident. The ideas were brand new to me. Some of you are well acquainted with interval and strength training and 20 minute workouts. I wish you would have told me earlier! If you're not, stop by on Friday and I'll have some links for you.

So, what does a workout look like when you have kids? I'll tell you about one of our early fitness sessions:

I get into my hot pink workout clothes (a la thrift store) and head to the gym (aka my living room). I set Jerrod (my almost 1yo) up in the corner with his basket of toys. He looks at his mother curiously--hot pink is NOT one of my normal wardrobe colors. Jessica (my 7yo) is all excited to work out with Mom. We're going to do intervals. Then, I find out my new cell phone doesn't have a timer on it. I do what I always do when I don't have what I need--I look online. Swagbucks helps me find an internet timer that seems to be easy to operate. I get Jeffery (my 4yo) set up at the computer and explain how to do the timer. He practices a few times until I'm pretty certain he can do it alone. His assignment is to press the button to time me for 20 seconds, then call (from two rooms away) "Go!" When the timer stops, he is supposed to yell, "Stop!" Jessica and I are supposed to exercise at full intensity until he calls stop, have a brief rest to help him reset the timer and do it again (and keep repeating).

Jeffery starts the timer and yells, "Go!" We start in, huffing and puffing. About 3 seconds into our exercise he calls again, "Are you going? Did you start yet?" I ignore him, but Jessica is doing a version of the exercise that appears to be modified for a 90-year-old with a broken hip, so she has plenty of breath to yell, "Yes!" By this time, the countdown is complete and he yells, "Stop!" I reset the timer and begin the next round. After about 4 or 5 reps, he yells, "Go!" Then he repeats his question. I ignore him again and Jessica fields the chatter until he calls, "Stop!" again. A little more tired from the extra reps, I walk in and reset the timer again. This time I give him a little longer to start it and yell, "Go!" I am going at it as intensely as I can. One rep...two reps...three reps....10 reps? "Jeffery," I pant, "Is it time to stop yet?" No answer. Jessica, who wasn't doing much anyway, runs into the other room to investigate. "Mom!" Now it's her turn to yell. I stagger into the room and see Jeffery staring at a screen I've never seen before with that "deer-caught-in-the-headlights" look. "O.K. That's it for today!" I give up in exasperation. "Whew! Good. I was getting tired!" Jessica replies.
Photo by huladancer

I've since found a timer that simply rings on its own, and I do my workouts before the kids wake up.

1 comment:

  1. Oh LOL I wish I could see this!!! ha ha ha ha Why did you decide to do it without them??! That's what was keeping you interested in the excersising! LOL JK They are a hoot and a holler for sure! ;0)

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