Keep Fit and Spend Time With Your Babe!

 After being with our 4 month old granddaughter and her parents for 2 weeks at the family cottage we came up with a parent and baby workout that keeps everyone fit and happy. I thought I would share it here in case there are some other young parents out there interested in giving it a try.  You can use a baby “Bjorn” for some of this or just hold her snuggly into you. Be sure to support the baby’s head if necessary, depending on age.  First up, plies. Stand with your feet in a fairly wide stance with your toes and knees turned out. Bend and extend the knees for 15 repetitions. Next up, light jogging on the spot. Avoid excessive bouncing for the babe’s sake. You can do this as long as you like. Next try split squats. That’s with one foot ahead of the other in a wide stance, flat foot in the front and heel lifted in the back. Keep your upper body straight up and down as you bend and extend the knees once again. Perform 15 reps on each side. If you have space you can always do these as walking lunges instead. Torso rotation can follow. Hold a bent knee plie position and without twisting the knees, rotate your upper body from side to side as far as possible. Be aware of not going too quickly, don’t want the babe to throw up. Repeat all of these exercises as a circuit as many times as you like before taking the baby out of the carrier and trying the next set.

In the next set give some push-ups a try. Lie the baby down on their back on a mat and do the push-ups over them. You can add a baby toy around your neck to keep the babe’s interest if you need to but usually the little one will be quite entertained by you going up and down over their face. After 15 or so push-ups, you can certainly do them from your knees if you prefer, try a high plank, with straight arms, over the babe. The toy may be appealing for this. The baby playing with the toy around your neck will keep you in the plank position longer. Lifting one leg in the plank will add intensity. To get another ab workout, try sitting with the baby resting their back against your thighs. Lift your feet so you are in a “V-sit”. Bend your knees in toward your chest and extend them out. The weight of the little one will certainly add intensity. This exercise really got some giggles from the babe which kept mom going longer. Nothing like giggles from a baby to bring a smile to everyone’s face!

These few basic exercises not only help mom get back in shape and dad or grandparents to bond with the little one, they also pacify the babe, especially while in the “Bjorn” and a sleeping baby may be the result. If parents are looking for a longer more difficult workout, just leave the babe with the grandparents. From what I see, most, like us, are more than willing to spend time with the little ones. Keep fit and spend time with your babe!

#fitness #fitmom