Well-off parent, happy family, cliché but true. In a busy family life with babies and children, taking care of your own health and adequate exercise can easily be forgotten. Starting exercise after a long break raises a wide range of questions.
When a former active rider becomes a couch potato, the threshold for going for a run rises. Where can I find time? What and where do I train?
A short workout is better than no workout at all
Personal trainer, exercise instructor and founder of the Play & Train exercise service Maria Gahmberg creates comfort for busy people. Maria stresses that all kinds of quick and light movements support well-being and health, so everyday activity, beneficial exercise or physical activities with children should not be underestimated.
When starting exercise, it’s good to remember that daily pleasant moments of exercise are quite enough. You don’t have to run with a watch around your neck.
– Exercising regularly and often for small moments supports health and develops better than irregular, rarely repeated hard training, Maria reminds.
When parents ’daily lives are busy, it’s sometimes worth going where the fence is at its lowest. The laundry lining can wait until the next day and the spinach shops in the store are food too, if these choices allow the parent to go for a run, for example.
It’s more enjoyable to start exercising when you’re not torturing yourself with sports you don’t like. Finding a favorite form of exercise can take a while and therefore you should try different sports whenever possible.
In the beginning, it is important that exercise leaves you feeling energetic and cheerful. This way you will slowly get hooked on the good feeling produced by exercise.
Invest in good equipment and find a companion for exercise
When you have found the forms of exercise you like, it is worth investing in the right kind of equipment. For example, if you like walking or running, a good stroller and seasonal outdoor exercise equipment will make exercise much more pleasant.
You don’t have to pay a fortune to start exercising, but for example you can look for equipment inexpensively in Facebook flea market groups in the area.
Peer support and club motivate to continue a mobile lifestyle. If you enjoy guided exercise, look online for common hobbies for parents and children in the area.
You can also ask for support from personal trainers, who also guide small group training sessions outside while the children are sleeping in the pram or create a personal training program for those who move alone.
If you enjoy moving around with a friend, arrange regular training dates at the park. Social contacts are important for exercise, especially if you care for a lot of children alone at home.
Tips from a personal trainer for starting exercise
Once the exercise has taken off, it makes sense to turn to a professional. The personal trainer staves and motivates you to move and tailor the best forms of exercise for you.
To our delight, Maria shares her own tips with which she has accommodated exercise in a busy family day with children. Pick up the best tips for getting started and get moving!
- Stroll the stroller and do muscle exercises outdoors while the child is asleep.
- Shop with carts and treadmills. You can get extra weight from the full food bags.
- Always run or walk when going to the park or daycare.
- Do muscle fitness exercises in the park, while the child plays on his own.
- Jog when your child learns to ride next door.
- Play active hippie games with children.
- Do a home workout in the living room while the child watches children’s programs.
Exercise belongs to everyone in the family, and childcare shifts should be rotated so that both parents get to exercise in turn. An adult is an important role model for a child as well, and children should be encouraged to engage in exercise from an early age.
Thus, starting an exercise goes very well in a busy day when you take small comfortable exercise moments into your every day.
