Hey everyone. I hope your week has been fantastic and you have fun stuff coming up for the weekend.

Myself, I’ve got a birthday party to attend. My nephew is turning 10 years old!! He’s growing up way too fast, let me tell you.

Anyway, that ( and a couple of requests from my gang over on Twitter ) got me thinking about how you moms (and dads) with small children that you mind all day can get fit and stay that way.

Is ‘having kids’ REALLY an excuse not to get in shape?

Kids Love Moving

I’d have to say … ummm…. NO !!

“But the kids are always under foot” you say?

EXCELLENT!!! Kids make for a great piece of workout equipment.

You think I’m kidding, don’t you? LOL

I’m not.

There are several ways to get a great workout in within the day if you know just how to ‘play’ it.

Yes, gang! ‘PLAY‘ is the operative word here.

Kids love to play, right?

So, what’s stopping you from either joining them … or better yet, having THEM join you in your workout?

Let’s start with the easy suggestions.

Kids love to tear around the room at the highest mach-speed they can manage right?

Little bundles of energy, those tykes.

I can’t believe how high my heart rate gets when I’m out visiting the nephews and they want me to run around with them, or swing them upside down by their legs (well, the three year old maybe, not the TEN year old! haha, yikes, I’m strong but not THAT strong…)

So, tear around with them.

Play tag in the backyard (or in the house) or hide and go seek.

You could even pull those old clunkers out from our own childhoods like Kick the Can and Marco Polo.

Feel free to offer up piggyback and horseyback rides.

Swing on the swings, if you have them (or if you’re at the playground).

Just because you’re the grown-up is no reason to actually ACT like one!

Merry-go-rounds need pushing … teeter-totters need riding, slides need sliding down. Your kids will LOVE it if Mom (or Dad) plays, too.

If it’s Summer, a dash or thirty through the sprinkler will not only be refreshing and fun but gets that heart rate up quite nicely, thank you very much.

How about setting up a slippy slider and the hose and having some good old fashioned slippery Summer fun in your bathing suit?
Kids Running with Parents

Why should all the fun be left to the physically young? The young-at-heart will be more than welcome to play along.

If it’s Winter, build a snowman … or better yet, a snow fort!

Do you know how much kids love forts?

Once you’re finished building the fort you can make up some great games to play in it.

Or grab the sled and head to the steepest hill. Climb up, sled down, repeat ad nauseum and tell me that’s not a great bout of interval training.

And talk about the bonding session. What’s better for bonding with your kids than doing what THEY love to do?

Ok, so you’ve had your fill of kid-oriented activities and just want to get down to some good heavy lifting but you’re worried your kids will get in the way?

Or that it’s not safe for them to be around the equipment?

There ARE ways to manage that.

Make your weight training session into a game. But first, make sure you either have some toy dumbbells or some VERY light dumbbells for the kids to use.

Now, its “Copy Mommy” time. Modify that old game of “Simon Says” that we used to play and make it into a fun session of ‘copy cat’.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with handing your tykes very light or toy dumbbells to follow along with what you’re up to.

Have you ever noticed your kids copying you when you’re doing housework?

This is second nature to kids. They love to learn and grow by copying the grown-ups.

So get to work on your routine and let them know it’s “Copy Mommy” time.

Not only will they get some great exercise but they’ll be so busy trying to copy you and keep up that they won’t have time to think about coming closer to your heavier equipment.

It won’t even be a curiosity to them. They have their own set. Just like that toy vacuum cleaner or toy oven in their toy cabinet.

And hey, if they do decide to wander too close to the equipment, a quick reasonable explanation of ‘grown-up toys and ouchies’ should do the trick.

And if doesn’t then offer to let them try to pick up one of your heaviest pieces. Since they won’t be able to, that should bore them pretty quickly.

But if they’re getting the attention they crave, in the form of a game of “Copy Mommy” chances are pretty good they won’t be hanging on your leg like they might be if you’re doing dishes and trying to get chores done.

Kid Showing Off Muscles

If you want to do some good indoor cardio get them to compete with you.

How many burpees can YOU do?

How many can the KIDS do?

Or see who can jump rope the longest out in the backyard.

I bet they beat you.

And believe me, when they beat their parents at something they consider a grown-up activity, that’s the most fun a kid can have.

That’ll be something they can’t wait to brag about to Granny or Daddy when they get home or show up for a visit!

Or, you can make a game of racing to the fence then seeing who can walk back the fastest (over and over and over again).

And that’s GREAT interval training for you.

What if the kids have some pals over for a play-date?

Well, that’s another opportunity for YOU! Grab the wagon, and tell the kids to hop in.

Let the kids have fun trying to get as many of themselves on the wagon as possible then you can have fun trying to pull them around the yard.

Like clowns in a volkswagon!! HAHAHA

Serious fun for kids. Serious work for grown-ups looking for a good workout.

Seriously!

Skeptical?

Don’t believe me that kids are into this kind of ‘playing’ or won’t want to do the “Copy Mommy” thing?

BAH! Here’s PROOF!!

… and MORE proof:

The possibilities are endless, and you don’t have to wait for the kids to be down for a nap.

Involve them wherever possible and feed your energy with their energy.

You’ll be the fittest family on the block, not to mention the CLOSEST!

BY THE WAY!!!

If you liked these ideas you’re going to LOVE Scott Tousignant’s NEW Unstoppable Fat Loss Program.

I’ve never seen so darn many ‘get fit at home’ ideas in one program.

If you want to get at fit at home (with kids underfoot) check it out now, you’ll be amazed.

==> Unstoppable Fat Loss

Have a fit, fun and fantastic day!
Girlwithnoname