Happy Monday, y’all!
We’re right in the middle of what can only be considered the dog days of winter. Some folks might be dreaming of summer sunshine, but there are equally passionate people who stubbornly insist that winter should stick around forever because sweaters and snuggling are LIFE.
Hi there, hello, you can just call me Equally Passionate People.
Anyway, we’re also right in the middle of quitting season. New Year’s Resolutions are disappearing faster than my money at Target, which is approximately the speed of light.
I always say I’m not making workouts an actual resolution, because those have a tendency to fail spectacularly. But I do tend to put forth more effort right after the new year, so I guess I’m still partially on board for new year, new me?
One of the things I’ve been trying to be more intentional about this year (all 3 weeks of it) is including EV in my workouts. I do the bulk of my training while she’s at school; I’m fortunate that I’m able to skip my lunch break and leave a little early so that I can squeeze gym time in before I pick her up for the day.
But on the other hand, I have very strong opinions about encouraging physical activity in kids. Really. Just ask me how I feel about kids and electronics. 😉
So I’ve been looking for ways that EV and I can work out together. So far, we do some inspired by, but probably not actual HIIT. We do some of EV’s favorite yoga poses together, and we do a lot of dance parties in the kitchen.
Basically it’s a whole mish-mash of things we do – intentionally – to stay active at home. Sure, cleaning her room burns calories and it’s technically an activity, but it’s not the same as structuring our day to include fitness. The difference between those two, for me, is huge. My childhood was largely unstructured, so it took me awhile to grasp the importance of purposeful fitness activities. I’d like to think that I’m giving EV a boost in the right direction here!
If you’re looking for some ways to model fitness time for your babies or include them in workouts so that you can get yours in, here’s a little roundup of some at-home workouts from fit mama bloggers around the internets:
These are some of EV’s favorite moves – she loves it when I’m sweating and struggling and flinging her around. Not even kidding. My baby lunges are more of a ‘heave my kid and hope I don’t fling her across the room’ lunge.
This post is pretty basic, but it’s a good rundown of a typical EV-and-I workout. We don’t jump rope often because mama has zero skills in that department, but we do sprint, squat, and lunge, and EV absolutely loves lounging on my back while I plank for all 2.5 seconds I can manage before I lose it all.
This mama has a great handle on toddler-friendly moves. EV loves the sumo squats and toe taps. Mama, not as much.
How about you? Do you set aside time for family workouts, or is that a weird thing to do?
Happy Monday, friends!
xoxo, alohilana 