Exercising with kids can be hard. Finding the time while managing the crazy...can be....more than crazy....it can be -- cray cray. But in our journey to Ironman with two little kids...we learned some things that we think can help you get those workouts in and have fun doing it.
Here is our best advice along with a practical tip to get you started. Hope this helps!
1. Have a plan.
One of the things that really helped us stay committed to
the volume of training for Ironman was a plan. We entered this plan into our
daily calendar, which includes other things like kid's doctor appointments and play dates. If your workout is seen as an extra commitment on top of your work
and home life, it’s bound to be squeezed out of your busy day.
Practical tip: put it in your calendar.
2. Make it fun for
your kids.
If you’re a runner, push a jogger to the park so the kids
can play. If you’re a Jillian Michaels DVD kind of girl, pop it in and let the
kids jump on you while you do crunches. If you see your workouts as an
opportunity for your kids to play, you’ll be more likely to do them and feel
less guilty about spending time away from your kids to workout.
Practical tip: make every workout fun for the kids.
3. Shorter workouts
are better.
Now, because of the goal we set to do an Ironman, many of
the workouts didn’t fall into the “short in length” category (they ranged
between 1 and 2.5 hrs/day during the weekday). But, most people don’t have a
goal to do an Ironman, so your volume of exercise doesn’t need to be high (i.e.
you don’t need to workout for an hour). Thirty minutes of solid, focused, and
higher intensity exercise can do more for you than simply “getting in an hour”
workout. With kids in the mix, it’s easier to get a 30-minute workout in rather
than an hour.
Practical tip: Follow a program that incorporates H.I.I.T
for 30-40 minutes…google it if you don’t know what it means.
4. The art of bailing.
It’s important to bail on workouts. Yes, we’re serious…bail.
Sometimes, things come up in the day that make exercising simply impossible,
and that’s ok. Feeling guilty about missing a workout will only demotivate you
further. So just bail today and try again tomorrow.
Practical tip: Be ok with bailing, but not ok with bailing
two days in a row, being sure that on the second day you don’t “do a bit more”
to make up for the day lost. Just lose that day and move on. Your body will
never know the difference.
5. Sign up for
something.
If you’re into Crossfit, sign up for a competition. If
you’re a runner, sign up for a road or trail race. If you’re a cyclist,
consider a charity ride. If you’re a walker, try a walk-a-thon. It’s not about
competition (at least for us), but it is about having a goal and seeing it
through. And make it not just your goal, but one the kids can get excited about
with you. There will be times when the kids will say, “I don’t want to get into
the jogger,” or “Why are you on the bike trainer again?” See these as
opportunities to talk about your goal, and how they are helping you to
accomplish it. We often talked about the Ironman race and described what the
day would be like for the kids to watch it. Soon, whatever goal you set will
become your family’s goal too. And when you finally achieve it, everyone
involved is a winner.
Practical tip: Sign up for something that scares you a
little and involve your family it.
6. Stop exercising to look or feel good.
We found that because we have little kids, we always feel
tired. They take so much energy. Looking good is not our priority when we wake
up with bags under our eyes and feeling tired always trumps feeling good. If
our goal was to look good or feel good, we would have given up a long time ago.
But we do workout to be healthy. And because this was our goal, it changed the
way our family eats and, we think, has helped us to be emotionally and even
spiritually healthier…and yes, we think we look and feel better now than we
ever have – a nice bonus but never the goal.
Practical tip: Ask your spouse, “What changes can we make
for our family to get healthy?”
7. The art of
distraction and reward
If you’re running pushing a jogger, keep special books, toys
and iPods available for the kids to play with and don’t take them inside the
house once you’re done. Leave them in the jogger. It’ll be their special stash.
Also, during longer workouts (like over an hour), buy something fun and sweet
(or whatever your kids may like that you normally don’t give them) and give it
to them in the final quarter of your workout. Our kids got fruit loops or
goldfish. Other types of distractions we used included working out during meal,
snack, or nap times. And many of our workouts had a built-in reward at the end
by arriving at the pool or park where the kids could play.
Practical tip: choose your best distraction and your
sweetest reward, and that double-edge sword will give you ninja status
8. Think tomorrow’s
workout today
Every evening before bed, we set out the things we needed
for the next day’s workout. Sometimes it meant setting-up one of our bikes on
the trainer in the living room or having the whole family’s swim gear packed
and ready by the front door. Doing these little things saved us lots of time
when the hardest part is getting the family ready for the day so that we can
exercise. This will prove especially helpful on days you roll out of bed
feeling extra tired and unmotivated. It’s harder to talk yourself out of exercising
when it’s all prepped and ready for you.
Practical tip: Set your gear out the night before, even down
to your socks in your running shoes, and your water bottle already filled.
9. The babysitter
balance
We didn’t want someone else watching our kids every time we
worked out because we wanted to do this as a family. But we also didn’t want
fear using a babysitter also. Some of our babysitters are like second mommy’s
to our kids now, and we are so thankful for the relationships our kids have
with them.
Practical tip: Utilize, but not over utilize, your
babysitter.
10. Make your
workouts fun for you.
If you hate running, don’t run. If you love walking with a
friend, give ‘er. If P90X is fun for you….go for it. If you like rock
climbing…join a rock gym. We’ve found that a happy experience of exercise makes
for better parenting and it inspires your kids to want to try it for
themselves!
Practical tip: try a few different things until you find
something that you can get psyched about.
Once you find it….working out will be something you look forward
to.
