The short answer to this question is: of corse! You actually have a lot of time to exercise in your day. And however busy you are or you think you are, your baby doesn’t need your constant attention the whole day. She sleeps sometimes, she plays with toys, or just hangs out by herself. It is actually good for your baby to have some time on her own. As long as you are close to him and listening to the baby’s needs, you can squeeze a great workout when you plan a little bit ahead.
I usually stay home with my 6 month old son the whole day on Tuesday. Does this mean, I am stuck at home and my workout is postponed to the next day? Not at all. First, I realized, that I have a good park near my house. Than I made my mind, that as soon as I feed the junior, I will get out there and do my workout. It’s a done deal.
Outdoors workout with baby
There is a chin up bar and nice long grass patch 15 minutes walk from my home. So I feed my baby, put him into the stroller right away, or into my car and walk briskly, or drive to the park. Than I warm up with little bit of jogging around. And drooling junior is having a lot of fun with this, if he already didn’t fall a sleep.
Than I come to the chin up bar. This doesn’t have to be a chin up bar, it could be a tree branch or some bar on a playground for kids. Don’t worry you won’t look weird doing chin ups and push ups on kids playground. You have a kid with you! And your kid needs healthy and fit mother and father. And everybody understands this. You might actually have parents joining you for a little workout. It happened to me few times. You are going to be a great example for them. Don’t feel weird, just get it done.
My target is 111 chin ups, 200 push ups, and five 70 yard sprints. Your numbers will be differed. It will depend on how fit you are and how consistent you are with your exercise. Let’s say you are just starting. Than maybe finishing 10 chin ups and doing 30 push ups and three 70 yard sprints will be more than enough to make you sore the next day. Anyway, be careful and start slowly. Also, if doing a chin up is a problem for you, get an exercise rubber band and do some rows instead.
Than I do my firs set of chin ups. And I do maximum I can do. After a little brake, I do my firs set of 50 push ups. I take a brake stretch a little walk a little playing with baby, who is having a lot of fun seeing his dad hanging on the bar doing pull ups and huffing and puffing. Than I do a next set of chin ups, I switch grips and do a different grip pull ups. And I do again maximum repetitions I can do. Here are all kinds of grips you can use doing chin ups and pull ups. I than do my next set of push ups. After finishing my 111 chin/pull ups which I usually do in 7 sets or so and finishing my 200 push ups, I do my five 70 yard sprints.
This all takes me about 35 minutes. It is a very intensive workout and I feel pretty good after it. After I am done with my outdoors workout with my baby, I take my shirt off and walk around the park for another half an hour or so getting some sun.
The result? I am done with a perfect intensive, fat burning, muscle building, health enhancing workout. I feel good. Was it a problem, that I had a baby all day? Not at all. My son is actually getting his first lesson in healthy active living at 6 months old, watching his father work out. And he also seems to be having a lot of fun with it.
Staying indoors
If you really have to stay at home while watching your baby, no problem. Do your workout at home. Plan ahead. Have a couple of dumbbells at home. Just remember, that they have to be heavy enough for them to work effectively on your muscles. Next, install one of those home chin up bars, that you can put between the door. You can do push ups anywhere in your home. And instead of doing sprints, you can do some squats, or if you are already pretty fit, some squat jumps.
Now, when your baby is playing, or sleeping or just lying in the crib, do a set of chin ups, than another set of shoulder presses, than push ups and finish the circle with some squat jumps. Take a break. Go ahead smile at you baby, play with him for a little bit and than do another circle. Finish 3-5 circles and your workout is done.
You might say, that you have to do the dishes, or you need to clean or cook or do another household chores. Your house is a mess when you have a baby, I know. But I am going to tell you to let the chores be and finish your workout first. The chores can wait, or they don’t need to be done at all. Your health and fit strong body and clear relaxed mind is way more important than household chores. And I am sure, that your partner understands that too. If not, get rid of him if you can.
No excuses!
Having a baby and staying at home to watch him doesn’t have to mean stop to your exercise. It can actually mean, that you will get fitter than you have ever been before. You actually have a plenty of time on your plate. Yes you do! No excuses! I used to take them. But now, I am a stay home parent sometimes too. Don’t try to convince me, that you don’t have any time. You have plenty of time! Like I said before, if you think you don’t, don’t vacuum, don’t do dishes and exercise instead. And more important, you have to do something for yourself too. It’s necessary and your baby want’s that from you too.
The key is in planning. Know what kind of workout you want to finnish tomorrow, be flexible and finish it. Your baby, you, your health and your workout are the most important things today! Combine them. It’s very doable. It really is. I am a parent and I always make it happen.
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