When you’ve got a baby it’s hard to exercise. Especially in the early weeks when the baby WILL NOT LET YOU PUT IT DOWN. It must be held all the time, so what’s a parent to do?
The answer is you incorporate the baby into your exercise. Because despite what everyone says, we don’t all breastfeed and those of us who do don’t all magically lose weight because of it.
Here’s my daily exercise routine. I do about 1000 reps of each about a million times a day.
The Hip Sway
A useful one for those times when baby will not rest until you aren’t resting.
While standing and holding baby, move your hips from side to side, like so:
A bounce must be included if the baby is at all particular. Which, let’s face it, they always are.
Plus the bounce is great for your quads.
The Three-Step
You can’t always get outside for a walk with the baby in the stroller or a carrier. So when you’re stuck inside and need a little walk, the three-step is always a good idea.
You can do it with just one bounce, as written, or you can bounce each step. Because fussy babies demand it.
The Seated Bounce
When you’re tired of standing, you can still get some exercise while seated. Just put baby on your lap and pull up the coffee table or an ottoman.
While the illustration shows a bounce, you can also sway your legs back and forth to replicate a swing. Having a pacifier on hand may help.
The major problem with the Seated Bounce is that as baby gets older, their legs get in prime position to kick you in the boobs. Ow.
Baby Curls
Can’t ignore your biceps, right? Here’s a video illustration of baby curls. These are best when baby is in a good mood and has a little more neck control.
And last but not least:
The Nap
Put baby down for a nap. Pick up baby 2 minutes later when baby screams. Repeat all day long.
Have any of your own baby exercises? Share!
I stole the classic bob-and-weave move from boxing and I do a modified version with newborns while I’m trying to rock them to sleep – basically a wide leg squat combined with a speed skating leg pump (side to side). Unfortunately my stick figure drawings aren’t as great as yours, but you kind of get the idea right? Great for your inner thighs and butt. It incorporates a little bouncing motion with some spinning (which all my babies have loved).
How about some squats and lunges while wearing the baby in a front pack. I also did baby bench press with an older baby.
My boss is a crazy workout-o-holic. she does all sorts of things with the (now ~23lb) baby–today she was holding him and swinging him up to touch the window behind the sink (hard to describe) which was a big ab/arm workout…she also uses him to do squats and lunges with. i use him to do twists and bicep strenthening by lifting him up above me, and occasionally when i’m lying on my back i “fly” him on my bent knees and use that as a core workout! he doesn’t like it much but some kids do
i swear, every ounce of muscle on my arms is from lugging a kid around. hehe.
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I’m sorry, all I heard was “cutebabycutebabycutebabycutebaby”.
Although that may be partially because PH turned the computer’s speakers off so I wouldn’t wake OUR child by watching videos of people with THEIR children.
I wonder if I could do baby curls with a one and a half year old?
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I can relate. My son was extremely colicky & had to be rocked ALL THE TIME to avoid deafening screaming & painful to watch fussing, punching at the air, back arching squirming. I developed my special Walk & Rock move to soothe him. I did the Walk & Rock for hours every day for months until my entire body ached – it looked sort of like slow motion speed-skating. I lost all my baby weight & then some (pounds though – I did not end up w/ a svelt physique for some odd reason).
But then I went back to work & sat in a chair & did not have to do the walk & rock & could eat regular food that did not require me to hold it in one hand while walking & rocking baby with the other arm/hand. Yeah.