Raising a child is both a blessing and a challenge that will require you to rewrite your daily schedule. A baby and later a toddler will take up so much of your time that you will virtually be left without free time. Unfortunately, this means that gym time becomes a thing of the past, as the only weight you lift is the bodyweight of your son or daughter (or both). However, once you give this issue a little thought and realize once more the importance of staying fit, you will find a way to exercise while raising a toddler.
The importance of planning
You have probably heard of the saying: “Life is what happens while you plan.” The person who came up with this adage probably didn’t have kids, as taking care of the youngest members of your family takes up a lot of time. In fact, free time is so scarce that risk ruining it unless you plan carefully. If you are able to squeeze a minute here and there, there might open a whole hour of free time once or twice during the week that you can use to hit the gym. This also implies that you have to be determined to exercise because delaying your decision to pick the dumbbells could spell the end of your healthy lifestyle once the toddler wakes up upstairs and screamingly asks for food.
You’re in this together
There are countless examples of couples who both led physically active lives before they had children, and some even met at the gym. As we stated earlier, determination is key to balancing exercise with raising a toddler, so spousal help is more than welcome. If both of you were physically active prior to marriage, then there is no reason to get back into shape together, supporting each other every step of the way. For instance, while you are at the gym, your husband/wife can take care of the child and you could do the same thing for them. Of course, emotional support from other members of the family is appreciated as well, as you start to realize that you are not alone in your effort to be a physically fit parent.
Jogging and walking
Once you have secured am empty time slot with the help of your loved ones, the time comes to determine what activity you will undertake. We spoke about getting a gym membership but you can always go back to the basics and start jogging in the park or along a riverside. All you need is a good pair of running shoes that you can research on Walk Jog Run to find the model that suits you the best. Since they come in all shapes and colors, your running shoes could become a fashion statement and an affirmation of your individuality.
An additional benefit to running is the opportunity to spend time in nature. In fact, people who get no exercise at all could benefit substantially even from walking. The choice of taking the stairs instead of the elevator could do wonders for your health. The same applies to cycling or walking to work instead of driving. If you perform these activities while carrying the toddler in your hands then he or she will act as extra weight that will increase the intensity of the provisional training session. This is just one example of how parenting and staying fit do not cancel each other out.
It’s not all fun and games
As you have seen from the pieces of advice listed so far, to exercising and raising your child at the same time is learning to combine both duties. You are going to have to be inventive and turn a day of fun and games in the park into a training session for yourself (and your spouse). If the toddler sees a ball and toddles toward it, help them learn to balance by engaging him or he actively in the sport they choose. Playing catch and throw or simply passing a ball using your legs is an ideal way o develop their hand-eye coordination and for you to stay active.
It’s all in your head
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started,” Mark Twain was famously quoted saying. This could not be truer in your case, as one of the biggest problems young parents have to tackle is the mental “no-go” they experience. They are afraid that they are not ready to exercise and that taking care of their child take precedence but after one year you are more than ready to get back into shape without your toddler losing anything.
A toddler is no longer a baby and this means that you have enough free time to start exercising like you used to. For starters, get into the park and start jogging, as well as use every opportunity when you are with your child to actively engage the whole family.
