Baby in Tow? Get Your Workout In With Baby and Stroller

Many moms have good intentions of exercising during baby’s naps, but oftentimes self care gets put on the back burner.  If you find yourself struggling to get your workouts in, try using your baby, stroller, and a little bit of gravity.

I recently spoke to the Morris Plains Mom’s Club about prioritizing health, and would like to share some of the exercises we discussed that will help take off that baby weight.

Stroller exercises:

1. Walk or Jog with the Stroller.  Once you are medically cleared, begin by walking or jogging.  Take it at your own pace, and be flexible with yourself.  You don’t want to overdo it from the gate, or you could set yourself up for being overly sore, or worse, injury.
2. Walking Lunges.  Once you’re ready to ramp things up, add some forward lunges into your walking routine.  Start with your feet together.  Hold onto the stroller, and with your chest lifted, push the stroller while stepping forward with the right foot, then sink down to form a right angle, and let the left knee bend down towards the ground without touching.  Then, bring the left leg forward in the same manner, sinking down into a right angle, and allowing the back knee to come towards the ground without touching, repeat, and off you go!
3. Stroller Squat.  Push the stroller away from you as you squat back, keeping your chest lifted, then pull it back in as you stand back up, squeezing the shoulder blades together.  This is a total body exercise that targets the upper back, helping to improve posture muscles that may have weakened during pregnancy, causing you to round forward.
4. Crunches.   On the ground in the sit up position facing your baby in the stroller, roll up and touch your baby’s feet, then roll back down.  This is a great baby bonding exercise that will whip your core into shape.
5. Use Your Baby for Resistance.  Hold your baby to your chest and do squats, pointing the toes out to target the inner thighs; lie on your back and use your baby to do a chest press, or sit against a wall with the legs at a right angle with your baby on your lap. 
   

   A baby on your lap while sitting against the wall in a right angle will provide a great challenge to your core and lower body. Try holding for 30 seconds, then slowly sink to the floor to rest, then repeat 2x.

6. Be Creative.  Bring rubber resistive tubing to target any missed body parts.  It’s light, portable, and convenient.  Use a park bench to do pushups or dips, or a jungle gym for pull ups.

Time is a hot commodity.  Make staying healthy a priority for you and your baby!