Since our five children are about two years apart, I was usually pregnant or breastfeeding for ten years. Add to that being the main caregiver of our severely disabled daughter, a lot of my day is pretty much occupied. Yet, I have always managed to find time to exercise. Many mothers of large families are able to work out. There are several ways of doing so. Some get up early, while their children are still sleeping, or maybe put their children to bed early, and head to the gym, use equipment at home, take a walk, jog, or run, get on their bike, or even pop in an exercise video. Others might take their kids to the rec center, utilizing the children’s room, to get their workout done. Then there are mothers who include their kids. You see them walking or jogging down the street with their stroller, or biking with their kids. I always included my kids in some way or another. It just made sense. It made it easier for me, and then I could get the exercise in at any time during the day. So many fun memories come from that for both my kids and I.
I don’t run or jog. I cannot get my but to the rec or the gym, though I have had memberships and tried in the past. I walk and bike, but I mostly enjoy videos. The ones I use have changed a lot over the years. In my earlier years, I tried aerobics. When I put in my video, I encouraged my kids to dance or try to copy me. I would use my infants as weights, sometimes, or even wear them in my sling if there was more jumping and kicking involved. They love the twist and step moves. My infant WAS what I had to lift most often during the day. Depending on how much they ate or drank, or when they last filled their diaper, their weight changed daily, which is really great for my muscles. Not to mention, it doesn’t matter if I’m ready for the next weight level, or how much weight I should add. They were growing! This meant I was gradually adding weight, little by little, day by day, week by week, so the resistance was always there. Everchanging.
Then there was the walking. Like I stated, I don’t run or jog, but the following would work great with either, if that’s your choice. Pulling a wagon or pushing a stroller is great resistance, especially on hills. Our daughter’s wheelchair is terrific resistance, especially on hills. I wore infants in a sling, everywhere. THAT’s a workout! Especially when they’re toddlers! We went on bike rides, as well. Again, using a pull-behind with kids is great resistance! I once biked 8 miles with two in the pull-behind and one in the bike seat, while the oldest two rode with me. THAT was a workout! It was only one time, but it was doable, and it was a great workout!
As they got older, and joined me, instead of my carrying or pulling them, obviously, it got much easier. There were other great ways to include them and get my workouts in. One of my favorite things was to play their favorite sing-along videos. This was mostly the original Wiggles (we’re talking 15 to 20 years ago, here), and earlier Disney movies. We’d dance together to them. I’d try to remember some of my aerobic moves or hold some weights while dancing, or even wear ankle weights. If I got past 20 minutes of this, it was certainly great cardio! It was fun and we laughed a lot! Laughter is great for your whole system! And, bonus, it usually helped wear them out! I was able to start working it into my mornings, as they got older. However, nighttime workouts are nice to tire your body out for sleep, as well. Whatever works for you and your life. I prefer morning workouts, but I stretch at night to relax my body.
In the frontier days, people stayed skinny without workouts, eating plenty of veggies, what meat they could catch or preserve (hunting was exercise), and keeping up with their kids and livestock. They didn’t have workout routines. Life kept them in shape. Now we have more machines to do our work, and we have no time to exercise?! Somethings up with that! You don’t need to find the time, if it’s a part of your daily life, all day, every day. It just works out!
How can you adapt your daily life’s routines into workouts?
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