Saturday, February 4, 2012

Exercise




Now that we have the food aspect going GP under our belts, we are looking into adding exercise to our routine. 


I am a person who loves to be outdoors. I love hiking, walking, rafting, etc., but I haven't been able to do this much in the last few years. Boo. Even though we live on a lot of land, it's difficult to navigate, and the roads are surprisingly busy, and has many hills, so traffic can't see you coming until it is already upon you. I'm definitely not taking a group of kids to walk on the road... so I don't quite know what to do. Our schedule is already so busy, we can't really take a 20 minute drive every day to go walk someplace safer. So ... darn. 


And then it's not just having the time to exercise. You have to factor in showers and hair and all that other stuff.  


We do have a Tread Climber (by Bowflex) which is amazing. I highly encourage this machine. It's actually fun to use, easy on your joints, and burns so many calories without that feeling of "I think I'm going to fall over and die."  Then problem I have now is a very clingy two year old who will not allow me to get on the thing unless I'm holding her, or she gets to stick her hands in the moving parts. So, yeah, that won't work. 


I really want to get back into walking or doing some kind of exercise. If you have kids, and have any thoughts on how to make time and possibly include kids, all the while not falling behind on housework and tending to people, let me know. :D


In the meantime, I found this link on Mark's Daily Apple. I think there are at least a few things I can do in between giving baths and washing dishes.

8 comments:

  1. That is basically what I do. i have been doing primal blueprint fitness and it works well. Almost everything takes no more then a 1/2 hour. Its not hard to fit in. Even with kids at worst case scenario my 3 yo doesn't want to participate I just throw on her favorite video and I can do the work out routine. Good Luck. I bet you will see faster improvement when you add in the fitness aspect.

    Matt

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  2. I do Tabatas 3 days a week. They're short (roughly 4 minutes) and intense enough to keep me in shape and because they're so short, I really have no excuse not to do them.

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  3. It is important to model exercise and activity for the kids, though. You need to drag yourself outside, maybe right before dinner while it is in the crockpot? Just go out. Play hide and seek in the woods---if it is hilly, climb them! You don't need premade paths, just grap a pair of clippers and figure out which way you want to walk. In a few weeks, you will have paths.

    Besides, your dogs will love you. Play chase with the dogs, or the kids, or flashlight tag. Exercise doesn't need to involve special clothes or washing hair.....

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  4. I feel ya on this one for sure. For YEARS I didn't exercise because of the "wanting kids to have 10 fingers" factor and gained fat all the while. We had a 5 year break in babies and I finally lost all the weight...then Mr. #5 came down the pike (4 months old now).

    Honestly, I would say P90X or Zumba, because it's right there on the television...especially Zumba because it's dancing and looks like a blast.

    Your spunky girls look like they're happy to do anything to get their energy out. I'm a bad mommy. I didn't start back exercising regularly until they opened up an awesome gym near my house with free babysitting. But, I had no excuses at that point and it worked!

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  5. Thanks all! I am looking into the Tabatas deal....

    I don't worry about the kids getting out and being active. They watch little tv, and they are always running around. And they're not fat, so I'm sure they're getting enough exercise.

    I'm more concerned about how do I, as a busy house keeper, wife, and mother, fit in time to exercise and shower. After school is completely out. There is no time between coming home from school and the kids going to bed. And we have no dogs, thankfully LOL

    Well, I will just have to see what I can do. And maybe once Elizabeth gets past her needy phase, it will get easier.

    And, totally, Cori! I would be all over a gym with free babysitting. That's great for you!

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  6. What I did last year (and I should start again) was got some heavy (10#) ankle, wrist, and a (up to 40#)weight vest - the weights are removable so you can adjust it. I work from home, but just moving about doing ordinary things would then multiply the effort and exercise when I couldn't arrange for a block of time or something better.

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  7. I had the same issue. I get up in the mornings before everyone is awake or when Gary gets home he will watch the kids while I work out. He is really supportive and that helps.

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  8. I finally joined a Y close to our home. It became one of our "must" expenses to budget.
    The Y near our home offered basketball, soccer, dance, football, cheer leading, swimming and arts and crafts and babysitting.
    The exercise classes were extensive and the pool and outdoor track were great for me as I like to be outdoors.
    I can't vouch for the staff at all Y's, but the babysitters and coaches were top notch. I was very leery of leaving my children in the hands of babysitters, but our staff had me at ease in no time.
    I don't know if you could fit a membership into your busy family schedule, but the Y saved my sanity at just the right time. LOL
    I particularly loved the fact I could exercise and shower in relative peace.
    I also met other mothers facing the same dilemma of making it all fit and have new lifetime friends.

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