Staying Fit With Littles: Working Out Amidst “Distractions”

I am not a gym person. Some people can wake up super early, and get their kids out the door to the gym and to the gym’s childcare program. Others get their kids on the bus and make it to the gym before or after they head to work. There are so many different ways that a gym is a great addition for families. That wasn’t an option for our family’s lifestyle. Because of this, for the past few years, I’ve been refining my art of exercise at home. The goal is to be Fit With Littles.

That Homeschool Family

From the beginning, we decided that we would homeschool our kids for as long as it made sense for our family. My husband and I were both homeschooled – in fact, that’s how we met – and our experiences as homeschooled students were wonderful.

A Good Day

A good day ideally looks something like this:

• Breakfast and handwriting worksheets while the older kiddos eat
• Reading history or science (one or the other) after breakfast while they color or play with LEGOs at the table
• Watching and engaging with some sort of kid’s exercise video or playing in the basement with our indoor swings
• Following this little “recess” with lunch and history or science – whichever we didn’t read earlier
• Beginning the afternoon with subjects that are more one-on-one, like English or math
• (Ideally, my second grader and kindergartener take turns playing with the 2-year-old while I focus on the subjects with the other)
• Having finished these subjects, we might play in the basement on a cold day or try and tackle some music or art

Again, this description of a day with good attitudes and perfect schedules is ideal. More often than not, our days do not look like that.

A Bad Day

A bad day often consists of us managing (somehow) to tackle an essential subject (like English and/or math) while fitting in as many of the other subjects as we can in no particular order. Bad days are often filled with big feelings and big tears (from everyone!) Days like this are completely exhausting, and often I feel empty by the end of such a day. But they have provided me with valuable opportunities to practice grace for my children (and myself).

It’s fair to say though that most of our days tend to be somewhere in between those two descriptions, containing elements of each of the two descriptions you read above.

The decision to homeschool means now that I’m not only their educator, I’m also a stay-at-home mom – emphasis on the stay-at-home part. We are home a lot, which means I’ve had to get very creative with my workouts.

Little’s Workout Videos

I’m very thankful for one thing that came as a result of the pandemic: an incredible increase in workout videos for kids. When I first started my journey to learn how to work out from home, these videos were a tool I utilized the most. They’ve proved especially helpful in cold winter months when we all have far more energy than we can handle and far less time to spend outdoors (keep in mind, I’m writing this post in the middle of winter!) While my kids follow along with the instructions or examples in the videos, I will often do my own workouts on my mat nearby.

Kid’s Yoga Videos

We started with kid’s yoga videos, which are often story-based. These videos are frequently engaging for all four of us. Even my youngest enjoys trying to keep up with her older siblings. We loved the yoga videos so much that we visited Five Below, and each one picked out their own yoga mat.

After a year and a half, they all still use those same mats (though it may be time for some upgrades). Kid’s yoga videos have provided my kids with a structured way to release built-up energy. I also believe, it hashelped them build habits of focus and self-control.

Dance Videos for Kids

Did you know that there are also Zumba videos for kids out there? (It’s true!) I haven’t found as many dance videos as yoga videos, perhaps due to the fact that for some reason, my kids don’t love these as much as other exercise videos. All the same, we will occasionally work them into our rotation. If anyone out there knows of some good Zumba videos for children, I’m all ears!

Themed Kid’s Workouts

I’m not sure how to describe this next category other than to call them themed kid’s workouts. My kids love these. We’ve found video game exercises, superhero workouts, movie and TV show character challenges, and more. Some are more engaging than challenging while some are admittedly far beyond an appropriate level of difficulty for my children. Having said that, the point remains: we like to try various new videos, which has been a fun way for us to get moving together while staying entertained, especially during these cold, wintery months.

Movement Toys

When I started my fitness journey, one of the things I wanted was for us to have a space for our kids to get out as much energy indoors in a safe and structured manner as possible. After my third child’s arrival, I’ve often felt unable to take all three of my children (who, at that time, were all under five) outside to play at the same time.

When we would go outside, we’d play in our tiny, townhome backyard, but with our neighborhood’s playground closed due to the pandemic, I needed a space for my two big kids to move with a variety of fun and engaging toys to help release some of that built-up energy.

Does anyone else frequently sift through their children’s toys and throw or pack away anything they haven’t played with in a while? That’s exactly what I did to make room for more of these movement toys.

Indoor Swings

Our indoor swings may have been the greatest give we’ve ever given our children – besides, of course, the gift of siblings. If you don’t know what these are, just google “indoor swings” and you’ll find out.

On December 24th, 2020, at one in the morning (I guess that’s technically Christmas morning!) we installed these swings in our basement. It took some time and a quick phone call to Pop-Pop for me and my husband to find the studs in the ceiling (we are not handy people), but we managed to have a blue and a green swing hanging for them on Christmas morning.

I am not exaggerating when I say these swings have been used every day since their installation. Our kids have figured out multiple ways to sit as they swing and they have discovered a few flips and spins they can do as well. These swings have improved my children’s balance and confidence tremendously and I truly believe the swings have helped our oldest with some anxiety issues.

Indoor Slide

We currently live in a three-story townhouse, so space is always a consideration when I purchase toys for our children. The Christmas after my third child turned one (2021), we added a simple, collapsible slide for our basement. While it certainly doesn’t get as much use as the swings, it’s a fun option on occasion.

Trampoline

A children’s trampoline was another addition to our active basement. We purchased the most popular brand you could find when you Google “children’s trampoline.” My biggest problem with this was that since it had a 50lb weight limit, only one of my kids could jump at a time. When my very tall, oldest surpassed the limit, it was clear the trampoline’s quality was in question. The handlebar soon detached from the trampoline and every piece started to come loose.

Christmas 2022, I requested from one of the grandparents an adult trampoline with a larger weight limit so my 7-year-old could jump just as freely as her 2 and 5-year-old siblings. This product does just what I want it to and contributes to our “anything is something” lifestyle.

My In-Home Gym

When I began my health journey, I knew I would need some equipment to get me started.

Stationary Bike

In high school I loved biking, so I started looking into stationary bikes for our home. My first stop (as with most of my purchases) was online. I looked for the most compact and simple bike with good reviews because I wasn’t sure this was the type of workout I would want to commit to long-term. I found a bike for a little over $100 with good reviews and made the purchase.

When the bike arrived, we found it very simple to set up and by the end of the day, I had a stationary bike. My husband and I both said that even if we just used the bike every once in a blue moon while watching movies at night, it would be worth it.

Our bike has very few features, but it is compact and has the basic functions of a stationary bike (which is all we were looking for). I don’t use this bike often anymore, but it’s small enough that it’s now sitting in the basement with all our kid’s movement toys. Occasionally the big two will jump on and do their best to use it (their legs don’t quite reach the pedals yet). Sometimes I’ll do a light ride while I read history to the kids. So it certainly isn’t our most-used piece of equipment, but it’s something! And anything is something, right?

Yoga Mat

This is my everyday item.

After I decided to get back in shape and after the bike purchase, I loaded our three kiddos into the Dodge Grand Caravan and made a trip to Five Below for cheap yoga mats. I let the kiddos pick out their own colors and we brought them home. My children have worn those things OUT! There are pieces falling off the mats and as I write this I realize we may need another Five Below trip. *facepalm*

On my last birthday, my sister replaced my Five Below mat with an extra large yoga mat. It just makes sense that a full-grown woman should have a yoga mat that’s larger than her 5-year-old son’s. I love my mat. It’s bright blue and huge and the color makes me happy.

Yoga Blocks

When I began working out again I noticed my wrists were SO WEAK. Anything in a plank position was so difficult! So I decided to modify my pushups and planks by using yoga blocks to “raise the earth” to my hands (as the yogis say). I would use the blocks and do the exercises on my forearms so my form was correct, but my wrists didn’t hurt as much.

Let me be clear: I’m not a physical trainer. So that’s probably not the correct way to go about things, but it’s what I did and it worked for me. Now that I’ve been working out for a while, I’ve built up a lot of grip and wrist strength so I don’t need these nearly as much.

Booty Bands

These are life-changing! Not really, but they ARE body-changing. I love glute workouts and I found that after a while, fire hydrants and donkey kicks weren’t really doing it for me anymore. I added some booty bands and BAM! I’m still feeling the burn!

10-Pound Weights

This is a recent addition.

When I started this journey, one of my motivating moments was walking up our stairs. Yes… stairs!

On the occasional night when we would stay out late with the kiddos, we would pull into the driveway with at least one child asleep. When I would carry that child up the two flights of stairs to their room, I would feel winded.

I remember thinking . . . I have to carry my children.

I want to carry my children.

And I want them to remember me as a mom who would carry them for as long as they wanted to be carried.

(Ugh… why am I starting to cry as I write this?!?!)

But anyway… One of my fitness goals has always been to be stronger for my kids. To increase my strength, I had 10lb weights on my Christmas list, and – shout out to my brother & sister in law – I got them!

The Application

My techniques don’t work for everyone. I’m not an expert in anything other than trying my personal best to be healthy. A lot of you may be reading this thinking, “This is cool, but I’ll go to the gym, thanks.” That’s totally cool! That works much better for some people. But for all my stay-at-home parents, homeschool mamas, part-time work mamas, or dads trying to balance a full-time job and spending quality time with their family… maybe you can relate.

Working Out Throughout the Day

Friends, I do calf raises while waiting for the microwave to beep.

I do tricep dips on the tub in the kid’s bathroom while waiting for my 2-year-old to poop on the potty.

I do squats sometimes while my 7-year-old reads me a book for her English curriculum.

We walk to our neighborhood’s playground whenever the weather is nice enough and I have the emotional brain power.

We do what we can, but I truly believe that even the little changes, even the tiniest shifts can make a big difference. It did for me and my family.

Find Exercises That are Enjoyable

Okay, y’all . . . I’m going there: running is the worst!

Some people love running and that is AMAZING! But maybe it’s because I’m a stay-at-home mom and/or my husband is a pastor at a church and our lives are insane, but I don’t have the time I would want/need to dedicate to running to make it worth it.

I love strength training so much and from what I hear, it keeps the calories burning throughout the day (and as I said, my goal is to be stronger).

Yoga brings me joy because deep breathing combats anxiety with which I struggle (but that’s another blog post for another time). When you are holding a yoga pose, there is only one thing you can think about – the pose itself. It’s so hard to think about the laundry list of things to do when you are literally trying not to fall on your face in crow pose.

I don’t think you’ll find something that creates habit change if you chose something you hate. At least, that was my experience.

Find Routines that are Interruptible

Here’s another reason I love strength training: I’M A MOM! Ninety percent of my day is spent being interrupted. And there are all kinds of interruptions!

“Mom! Can I have a snack?”

“Hey mom let me tell you this story… (15-minute rambling story ensues)”

“Mama, I have to peeeeee!”

These are beautiful interruptions, but if our lives as parents are this way, why would we expect our workouts to be any different?

I decided when I started workout out that it would have to be something that would

A) Allow for interruptions

B) Draw my kids into the exercises

C) Set an example of self-care for my children

I’m not saying I’ve met all those goals, but that’s why I chose several workouts to work all the parts of my body. So that I can say to the kids, “let me finish these 25 push-ups and I’ll get you that glass of water.” Or, “After I finish these 50 squats, we’ll have lunch.” I think it shows that while I’m taking care of my own health, I can stop, pivot, and come back to these workouts at a later point.

Anything is Something

Here’s my biggest takeaway: anything is something. My husband laughs at me whenever I say this now but I’ll tell you what the phrase means to me…

Many of my best-laid fitness plans have failed.

I’ve tried diets that have crashed.

Some days I still try to be healthy only to end the day drowning the stress of the day in a giant bowl of ice cream.

Even so . . . 10 pushups are better than none.

Five minutes of stretching with make my body feel better than no stretching.

I’m learning to give myself grace and do whatever I can to add health and fitness into my life and the lives of my children.

My days are going to be flawed, and so are yours. But “anything is something” means that I’m going to do my best to eat healthily, move when I can, pray as often as I think of it, take care of my mind, and love others as much as I am able.

The Mindset

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”

 – Dr. John Trainer

Expect to Be Interrupted

I used to be frustrated when I couldn’t get through a workout (or a chapter of the Bible) without my kids asking me for something. But what patience and endurance that cultivates! I’m not great at this, but I’m doing my best to think of every “interruption” as a learning moment for my children and an opportunity for myself to grow in patience and love.

The Summation

Some of you are reading this thinking… this is not possible for my lifestyle. And you may be right!

Maybe you are a single parent who doesn’t have someone to give you the break you need.

Perhaps your child has an illness or special needs that demand even more of your time than you expected when you became a parent.

There are so many “maybes” I could list, but the point of it all is that you are valuable, you are loved. Move when and where you can and remember, anything is something!

Your Thoughts?

Anything I missed? Share your favorite tips and tricks for staying Fit With Littles! I’d love to hear from you!