Top Fitness Tools for Moms
September 26, 2011
It’s not always easy for a mom to get in a workout, but we’ve got a variety of fitness tools that will keep you active no matter where you are.
Shoes
If you were to grab a workout “on-the-go” style or were heading to the park with your kids, what fitness gadget could you grab and go?
What’s your first thought? Mine would be my shoes. Can’t go grab a workout in flip flops now can you? Make sure you have a pair of shoes accessible for a quick jog, sprinting on the grass, or even jumping jacks.
Equipment
Many moms try to squeeze in a workout while their children are napping. But what if you don’t have any equipment?
There are lots of things around your house that you could utilize for a workout, such as a chair, the kitchen counter, or 2 boxes of kitty litter. Or invest in some weights and keep them in the hall closet.
Phone
Your phone is a valuable asset. For those of you with an iPhone or something similiar you can download both your workout music and your stopwatch on to it. One thing I love to use is the “Tab Timer” which I use as a Tabata timer. This is a 4 minute round of high intensity exercise where you do 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest. Also, if you’re working out with kids, they LOVE the beeping timers that go with the phone. Between you and your kids, come up with four exercises and play the “how many can you do game?” every time the phone beeps you will be either working or resting.
Jump Rope
One jump rope can do wonders for a high intensity workout! I use the Rogue Fitness jump ropes, which are designed for speed. If you’re just starting out, you’ll need to relearn how to jump and then work towards learning a double under which is two spins of the rope for one jump. One workout we use regularly that all moms can do is “Annie”: 50-40-30-20-10 alternating between sit-ups and double-unders.
Kettlebells
Every woman needs a kettlebell. They are pricey to start out, but, you only need one or two. Simply learn the basic kettlebell swing, and then you can put it in workouts. I’d recommend starting out with a 15 pound kettlebell and gradually gaining fitness for a 25 pound kettlebell. There are many ways to use a kettlebell, its simply a matter of doing some research but you can get a high intensity, short in duration workout with just this one piece of equipment.
Body Weight
Finally, you have your body weight. No equipment is required to do push-ups, leg lunges, air squats, burpees or handstands. I like to play little games with my students such as, “let’s see if we can do 9-6-3 together” like 9 Air Squats, Push-ups and Sit-ups, and then we repeat the series for 6 and then for 3. They love it, it’s challenging but, it can keep their interest.
In closing, if I could say one thing to motivate you to exercise, it would be “how do you want to feel when your 60?” Do you want to be able to lift your grandkids or push the stroller? You’ve got to move now in and get those muscles strong so that when you are older, you will be playing golf and having a good time.
