I love exercising. It makes me feel strong and fit. It gives me energy for my day and clears my mind. I usually like to exercise in the morning before the kids get up, but that doesn't always work out. When the baby wakes up early though, that doesn't stop me. I put together this little routine for exercising with baby that both Hailey and I love. We use it whenever she wakes up during my usual exercise time or when we just want to play together!
One thing to note, while I have seen many a cute picture of mommies doing push-ups or planks over their baby and giving their baby kisses, this will not be included in this routine. Unless you are super comfortable with these exercises, I don't advocate doing them over a baby. Baby safety comes first. That said, when prepping for your workout, you might want to whip out a yoga mat and make sure your space is clear.
The workout
I like to start my workouts with a bit of cardio, so put on your favorite song and have a dance party. Either hold your baby in your arms or put them in a walker and let them dance too! I usually go with some 90's alternative, or Spice Girls, or No Doubt, but you can dance to whatever you guys like!
Next is squats with baby lifts. We are using our abatement as our weight here and they actually like it! Hold your baby in front of you around their waist. Squat down. When you stand, lift your baby up above but slightly in front of your head. You should be able to keep eye contact with your baby. Repeat for a set of 12.
On to butt lifts with baby. Lie down on your back on the yoga mat with you knees bent and feet planted on the floor. Sit your baby on your hips. Lift your pelvis up until you form a straight line from knees to shoulders. Be sure to hold baby in place. Depending on your baby, you can do slow ones or a lot of quick lifts. My daughter likes the quick ones.
Now we have baby chest presses. Stay on the floor and hold baby with on hand at the chest and the other at the hips. Use your baby as your weight for 12-15 chest presses.
Now it's back up for lunges. The closer you hold your baby to yourself the easier it will be, so choose your hold wisely, lol. Then just lunge back alternating legs for a total of 10 lunges per leg.
Time for some baby curls! Hold your baby with both hands on their waist. Lower baby so that your arms are almost straight. Then lift baby up using only your arms to chest level. Keep your elbows in by your sides. Fun bonus: give your baby a kiss with each lift! Repeat for a total of 12 curls.
Finish off with some plie and twists. Here, you hold your baby close to your body and do a center plie. As you straighten your legs, turn your whole body to one side. Your hips and shoulders should all be facing that side and the back foot should be on the toe. For added intensity, you can hold your baby under the armpits and when you do the twist, lift the baby up to form a straight line from your back foot to your baby. Repeat this exercise for a total of 20 twists, 10 per side.
Repeat the entire routine 1-2x for a complete workout routine! Below is a quick run through of the exercises without all the explanation. If you want, you can take a quick screen shot of it to use when you workout. On that note, here's a tip. When using a picture on your phone as reference for a workout, set the picture as your lock screen wallpaper. That way you can refer to it quickly without having to keep unlocking your phone.
Routine
Dancing for approx. 3 minutes
Squats with baby lift - 12x
Butt lifts with baby - 20x
Baby chest press - 12-15x
Lunges with baby - 20 alternating sides
Baby curls - 12x
Plie and Twists - 20x alternating sides
Repeat 1-2x
I definitely hope you try this routine out with your little one! Not only do you get a great all around workout, but you also get quality time with your baby at the same time. How awesome is that?!
Let me know in the comments if you are trying this out!
Cheers,
Emily
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