Fit Mommy Friday: Find time for a Walk

Walking is some of the easiest, cheapest exercise a Mommy can do. Walking whenever you can is a great way to get fit and stay fit. It is fun exercise that is easy to tailor to your schedule.

To get yourself walking:

Find businesses within walking distance for some of your regular chores. Visits to the bank, small grocery trips, or shopping at the card shop or drug store can be done by foot. Try making your next visit to the doctor's office, post office, or church and opportunity for a stroll.

Modify your children's activity schedule to accommodate walking. We walk to dance class in good weather. We also walk the kids to soccer practice when we can.

Walk to school with your child. Later in the day, walk to school and pick them up.

Take an evening walk with your spouse and children, or by yourself. We visit a local playground together or go to the baseball field to play or watch evening games.

In bad weather, join the mall patrol. I did this when my daughter was small enough for the baby carrier. All the grandmas and grandpas would ooh and aah over her. They loved seeing her grow. Now that she's bigger, she will come with me and we walk together!

On regular errands, park far from the building and double your walking distance.

Walk to work. If you must drive, try parking a few blocks from your building. Walking a few blocks each day will add up over time.

When you have an appointment on a different floor (we do this at the doctor's), take the stairs.

When you go to the mall, park at the door farthest from the store where you're planning to shop. Walk to and from your car either inside (in bad weather) or outside the building. Most malls have a nice sidewalk that runs all the way around the building.

Plan to arrive 10 minutes early to appointments, especially if they are in a neighborhood that's good to walk in. Use that ten minutes for a stroll in the sunshine.

Walk to the playground. When you arrive, walk a lap around the perimeter of the park before playing. When it's time to leave, do it again before you go.

If your spouse is home to watch the children or if they're old enough to be home by themselves,wake up early for a morning walk with other moms on your street. We have a 'dawn patrol' that goes out for 20-25 minutes every weekday.

Think about the fact that there was actually a time before cars when people walked everywhere. Walking is great for the environment and your health. It's an easy green choice to make.

You can start small, but start today. It's easy to find time for a walk!

- Midwest Mom

Fit Mommy Friday: Posture Check

You cradle your newborn baby.

You haul groceries and a loaded diaper bag to the car.

You pick up your four-year-old when she falls down, kissing her boo-boo as you carry her into the house.

You bend forward to load the dryer or to wash dishes.

You spend time every day typing at your computer (okay, maybe that's just me.)

Now that you're a Mommy, have you noticed that your posture has changed?

Because so many of our Mommy-jobs involve stooping, reaching forward, and holding children and things in front of us, stooped shoulders are a hallmark of motherhood.

Don't believe me? Look at the Moms in front of you next time you are in line somewhere, next time you're in church or at a movie or a sporting event. You'll see what I mean.

Poor posture can lead to achiness and injury, but it is relatively easy to correct. Here's how to begin.

First, Check your posture:

Stand with your back and the back of your head against a wall. Does it take effort to press your shoulders to the wall? Or are they naturally touching the wall, too?

Now, lift your arms beside you, even with your shoulders, palms facing outward. Does that make a difference in the way your back feels?

Next, Straighten up:

Next time you're in line waiting for something, pay attention to your posture. Stand straight, as though there were an imaginary string at the top of your head pulling upward. Or, imagine that there is a book balancing on your head.

Roll your shoulders forward, upward, and then back. Let them rest in the "back" position and let your arms rest comfortably down. You should feel like a coat on a coat-hanger.

When sitting, try to sit toward the front of your chair with your back straight. It will help you to engage the muscles in your abdomen and upper back. If you cross your legs, cross them at the ankles instead of the knees.

Now, Lengthen and Strengthen:

Stretch your back daily by reaching upward and stretching all the way forward. Return to the top stretch and reach one hand up and over your head. Repeat on the other side.

Focus on the muscles around your upper back and shoulders. Shoulder Presses, Rows and Upright Rows will all help you hold your shoulders back instead of slumped forward.

Finally, exercise your core (abdominals and lower back) with simple daily exercises like push-ups and planks. Keeping your core muscles engaged as you go about your daily life will make good posture second-nature.


Have a great weekend, everyone!

- Midwest Mom

Fit Mommy Friday Pint-Size Personal Trainers

Well, it's Fit Mommy Friday again, so I'm handing out another fun tip for Moms who want to be more active and raise a healthy family at the same time.

Today's tip: Get a Pint-Size Personal Trainer

Most moms I know take a look at their kids and wonder, where do they get all that energy? Well, what if we could channel that kid-energy and get a little workout at the same time? Well, you can when you play The Fitness Game.

Here's how you play:

1. All the players stand in a circle. In our case, there were four of us: myself and my three children.



2. Take turns being the Trainer. The trainer leads the rest of the group in any type of exercise he or she chooses for a pre-determined amount of time. Our turns were five minutes long. We played long enough for each of us to have one turn (20 minutes total) or two turns (40 minutes total) depending on how much time we had in the schedule.



3. The trainer is completely in charge, but he has to make sure that the exercise he teaches is fun for everyone. If he wants us to do something we've never done before, he has to teach the skill. (It was so fun seeing my oldest teach my three-year-old to do jumping jacks). The timer doesn't run during teaching -- only when we're exercising.

This week, my Pint-Size Personal Trainers came up with some very inventive stuff when it was their turn to be the leaders. Oddly enough, each session offered a nice balance of cardio and strength training. They even included stretches when they needed a breather toward the end of their turns.

Sit-up peek-a-boo: Players pair up. Each 2 players lay on their backs with their feet touching and their heads in opposite directions. As they do crunches, they say peek-a-boo to their partner and count to three before they lay back down. We did sets of twenty.

Jumping ABCs: My daughter wanted to jump and sing the ABCs, so we each took turns leading the song. Four ABCs worth of jumping is a lot of jumping, let me tell you!

Frog jumps: One of my sons had the idea to do frog jumps. We started in a squatting position with hands on the floor, stood up and jumped as high as we could with our hands in the air. As soon as we landed, back down to the floor went our hands and we were ready to jump again! We did thirty.

Foot fire: My oldest loved the "foot-fire" drills in his soccer camp, where the team ran in place as fast as they possibly could. He chose that drill for all of us when it was his turn to be the trainer. We all ran fast while he counted to fifty -- mighty slow.


It was fun to see what new ideas my Pint-Size Personal Trainers would come up with each time we played The Fitness Game this week. I don't think we did the same exercise twice! Have fun giving it a try with your crew, and here's to more healthy, active families!

- Midwest Mom

Dreams Really do Come True

Can you tell what we've been dreaming of lately? Here's a clue...

Does that give it away? No? Then how about this?

Hmmm? Got it yet?

Well, when we woke up this morning, we had quite a surprise. There were seven inches of the white stuff piled in the front yard, on the street, on our back sledding run, on the cars, even on the bird feeder and garbage can lid. The weatherman told us only to expect an inch.

Aren't surprises wonderful?

So, instead of going to school, we did a little of this...

And we did a little of this...

We even (because some of us are crazy boys) did this!

Yes, those are icicles in his hands... (oh, brother!)

We had tons of fun playing snow tag and making snow angels so deep they almost buried us. Thanks to an industrious neighbor thrilled to use a brand new snow blower, we didn't even have to shovel the walk! (The driveway? That's another story... Hubby might need a hot bath later.)

All in all, there's nothing like a little fun to keep your mind off the heavy stuff. And a little dream come true never hurt anyone.

- Midwest Mom

Fit Mommy Friday

One of my New Years goals was to be more active. More specifically, to find ways to work exercise and activity into my routine on a daily basis.

So, to help me along that path, I thought I would start Fit Mommy Fridays, where once a week I give a fitness tip or let you know about an activity we use at our house.

(Of course, that means I have to come up with something different every week... get the picture?)

I crave variety when I exercise, but I also don't have a lot of time. So, this week I figured out a way to turn a household chore into a mini-workout. In my view, if it gets my heart rate up for 15 minutes or more, it's a good thing.

We'll call it The Laundry Basket Workout.

Some people do laundry every day. Me, I wait until the hamper we have in every bedroom is overflowing full. That means once or twice a week, it's laundry day.

We also have a two-story house with a full basement. Where do you think our laundry is? The Basement, of course.

So, the workout is this.

1. Distribute the clothes evenly among several laundry baskets or hampers, making sure none of them are too full to carry. Make sure you have sneakers on and that the steps are totally clear -- no toys or books or shoes!
2. Carry each hamper all the way to the basement (down 2 flights of stairs) and run all the way back to the top floor -- full speed. Without pausing, get the next hamper and repeat until everything is downstairs. (Make sure not to go so fast that you loose your balance. Safety first.)
3. Once all the clothes are in the basement, walk slowly up the stairs again with walking lunges. (Step forward on one leg, lift the other behind you, squeezing your glutes. Then step with the rear leg to the next step.) If you want the lunges to do more work, try holding a 3-5 lb. weight in each hand.
4. Keep the laundry baskets in the basement until everything is clean and/or folded. Repeat the process up the stairs, starting with bringing each basket carefully up the steps and jogging down again and finishing with a set of walking lunges.

Altogether, it took me about 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after the laundry was clean to complete the exercise. It felt good and it was completely free of charge (no gym membership required.) Too bad laundry day only comes a couple of times a week.

(OMG, did I just say that?)

- Midwest Mom

The New Workout: Home Repair

I am now buff.

(That is, if "buff" means so sore I can barely move.
Maybe what I meant to say is "I'm old.")

For the past week, my husband and I have been working on our house. We've been up on ladders scraping and painting, re-glazing wooden windows, and putting up new soffits. (That's my new vocabulary word, by the way. It means the horizontal piece that connects the outer edge of the roof to your house.)

And now I understand why roofers are always, well, buff.

Balancing on a ladder and working above my head has tired out muscles I didn't know I had. Every night this weekend, my husband and I turned into zombies in front of the fireplace, not moving because we were too sore or stiff. And when we got up in the morning, we did it all again.

Now, hubby is replacing the roof on the garage. He's working furiously to finish the project before it rains on Wednesday.

My work is only half-done. I'm scraping, priming, and painting our front porch -- even though my arms feel just about ready to fall off.

The kids have thoroughly enjoyed this week. They've been playing outside from breakfast until sunset every day, collapsing in a tired heap along with us. I can't help feeling that today will be different for them, though. They're back to school for the first time in three weeks. Our Fall break is over, and it will be back to the books. They'll come home full of energy just as I am dragging my limp-noodle arms behind me into the house.

Pray they don't decide to get in a tickle-fight later.

In my newly "buff" state, I don't think I could defend myself.

- Midwest Mom

Ready for Soccer!

Soccer season is starting again in our area. Primo had his first practice yesterday, and it looks like his team will be a great bunch. He is playing U8 on a team called the Racers, and for the first time in the four years he's been playing, he actually has friends on the team!

Last year was our first in the U8 division, and Primo's coach was quite talented. He treated the group like they knew what they were doing and took the time to teach them about the greats of the game. My son really grew in skills and enthusiasm as a result of that experience.

This year's team is a little younger (of course, my son is a little older, too). So, it will be fun to see them gain confidence and start working together. After last night's practice, we already know they're experts at having fun!

What we like about our soccer league is that it is entirely run by volunteers. We have been so blessed to come to know some really fantastic families through our son's participation. I'm sure this season will be no different. Besides, what better excuse is there to get outside as a family and have fun together?

We'll keep you updated with photos and recaps. We're looking forward to a great season.

Midwest Mom

Giving Primo his Props

You think you know your children, but every so often they give you a true glimpse of what they're made of... on the inside.

My oldest son is a runner. My husband and I call him 'Primo' as a way to talk about him in his own presence. He's seven, so that kind of trickery still works on him. Every Monday of the summer, he races cross-country in a program put on by our local running club. His race is the mile and he loves it. He usually finishes first or second in his age group, and we encourage his enthusiasm for the sport. On non-race days, he will often run with his Dad, who also ran cross-country years ago. I love it that they share that time.

Sometimes, however, Primo's races don't quite go as planned. His toughest obstacle this year has been the starting line. It is not as well-regulated a start as it could be, so when the starter's whistle blows, there is a tangled stampede of 6 to 9 year olds running like mad for the first 50 yards of the race.

We've tried to have him stand at different places along the line, but there is always pushing and shoving... it's been tough on him (and even tougher on his mother watching him).

That is, until last night.

The whistle blew, and what a start he had! He was running strong and fast with an excellent starting sprint. Of course (you knew this was coming) until a large-ish boy a head taller and 20 pounds heavier tripped and fell right into him. The boy got up and continued running, but my son lay there like a slapped mosquito. Needless to say, I ran.

By the time I got to him, the starter and Primo's soccer coach were at his side. He was dazed from a sneaker to the head and he had scrapes on hands, elbows, and legs. His face was contorted at the injustice of the whole thing. It had been his best start ever! I did my best to keep my cool and give him a quick check.

He was crying out his rage. Quietly I looked him in the eye and asked, "So, do you want to race? Or should we sit this one out?"

His green eyes narrowed and he set his jaw. "I want to race."

He then proceeded to run the best race I have ever seen him run. Even after standing there for at least a minute and a half while we checked him out, he finished in the middle of the pack. I couldn't believe it.

I thought, what toughness! This is MY SON.

I have never been more proud than I was last night... and still am. What is even better, though, is to see his pride in himself. To stumble and fall but to get right back up again, to use the experience to move forward, do better, run faster... what an amazing step for him. I am so grateful for the blessing of being there to see it. I'm even more grateful for my amazing son.

- Midwest Mom

How to Beat High Gas Prices: We Did It!

I was so proud of my kids yesterday. Over the past two weeks, we've been working hard to get past illness and bad weather. We've been taking longer and longer rides on our bikes...

Well, yesterday, we finally did it.

We went grocery shopping by bicycle. And it worked great!

Our grocery store is 1.5 miles away, and even though we live in the Midwest, there are some hills along our route. Part of the trip involves a busy road with a bike lane, too. So, I wasn't entirely convinced that we'd be able to make it. But I put my 7-year-old in the lead and everyone wore their helmets, and the ride went perfectly.

When we got to the store, it was great to see how proud the kids were to tell everyone we'd come on our bikes. They must have told twelve different people who work for the store! The ladies at the bakery department were so delighted, they passed out chocolate chip cookies all around. (Talk about positive reinforcement!)

One thing I wasn't personally prepared for was the way I would have to control what I bought. Not because of the cost -- I'm used to that by now. But because I had to be sure not to buy things that weigh too much. I needed milk and Pull-ups and bread, but I couldn't buy a ton of canned goods or a 12-pound turkey on a trip like this. (Fortunately, hot dogs weigh a lot less.) And that added weight in our bike trailer sure made the ride home more of a workout for me. Did I mention there were hills?

The best part of using our bicycles to run errands -- aside from the fact that I'm not using my car and paying through the nose for gasoline -- was just the sheer fun of it. Our little group met other cyclists, adults out for some exercise or kids on their way to the pool. It was a great time. We will definitely do it again.

And the way my children ate when they got home -- we'll have to go again soon!

Midwest Mom
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