Workout at Home with Baby Tips (Two under Two)
Before having babies, I would get up at 6:00 every morning and hit the gym before work. I liked to get my workout in before I started my day. Now that I have two babies under the age of two, my workout schedule had to change. I still love to work out, I just have to do it differently. Here are a few tips I have found to help me still get in a workout with small children.
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Walking
Walking is the best place to start. You can usually start this workout as little as six weeks after giving birth. Most of the time six weeks postpartum you will be able to push a stroller as well. Your doctor might clear you to do workouts but you are going to want to be easy on your body and start small. Take your baby for a walk. As your baby grows you can begin speeding up your walk to eventually running if that's a goal. If you have multiple children, this is still a good place to start. Depending on the ages of your older children, they can walk with you or ride bikes.
I have a Wonderfold wagon I use for walks with my babies, this is great if you have multiple small kids. Click here if you are interested.
Short Workout Videos
Before having babies, once a week I would plan out my workouts. I would then spend an hour or so at the gym doing the workout. Now that I have babies, this is lower on my priority list. I still want to work out but I don't have aS much time to plan out my workouts or do them. So I started letting someone else do the planning for me. I went to YouTube.
You can find all different kinds of videos on YouTube, completely free. Finding short workout videos is the key if you want to do workouts alone. You can find workouts that last 10 to 20 minutes. This is great for a quick workout during naptime. Or a workout when your kids are distracted for a few minutes. (Check out sensory bins for a great activity for your kids to be distracted). Another great thing about short workout videos is you can do multiple ones a day to add up to a half-hour or hour workout. You can do a warm-up video in the morning, go on a walk with your kids, and finish with another workout video. That's easily a half-hour workout.
My favorites are MadFit, Train with gainsbybrains, and Caroline Girvan
I have come across this channel called modest movement. I have only watched a few of her videos. However, she workouts in modest clothes if you are interested in doing a workout with someone dressed modestly!
Workout with Babies
Simply work out with your baby. This is honestly the thing I do most often. It can be a little difficult at times but it still works. Involve your baby, hold them when you are doing squats. Let them ride your back during a push-up. As they get older, have them do the workout with you. My one-year-old daughter loves to imitate the workout I'm doing and it's adorable. You might not complete every sit-up because a baby is sitting on you, but you can still get in a good workout. Your baby is going to feel like you are playing with them and they will love it.
Get Up Early
Another tip to work out when you have a baby is to get up earlier than your baby. You don't have to get up at 5 am every morning to get in a workout. If your baby doesn't wake up until 8 you can get up at 7 and get in your workout. This will set up your day for success. Once you get your workout out of the way you don't have to think about it for the rest of the day.
Working out with a baby is possible, you'll just have to do it a little differently.