Tag Archives: exercise

Going Strong: Peek-a-Boo Push-ups

02/27/2014 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

I am always trying to figure out ways to fit in exercise should the time come when I can’t actually do as laid out in my current routine. With Avery, this happens more often than before, and it can just be difficult when you’re a tired parent to baby.

Being my stubborn self, I will be sure to find a way to work something in for the day. And hey, when there’s a will there’s a way; right?

That said, I wanted to share a pretty simple, but fun way to get some exercise and entertain your kid or kids. We all know the game Peek-a-Boo where we cover our face, ask “Where is (insert name or daddy/mommy)?”, and then uncover our face saying “Here I am!”

Sure, it’s fun for the kid (usually), and us parents/friends/relatives love to see their smiling faces. But, why not try to make it more fun for the both of you and get a little a exercise to boot? Enter “Peek-a-Boo Pushups”.

The thought just came to me today, and although I’m sure it’s not hard to figure out what to do, I made a little video to demonstrate with Avery…

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZ6KZ5WgMc?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Yeah, I’m great at cutting my head off, huh? I could say I planned it like that, but I’d be lying. Hey, at least you get to see the cute baby. Avery is still not too sure about peek-a-boo, so hopefully her lack of enthusiasm will change as she ages.

Doing just push ups may not seem like much to some of you, but at least it’s something, and that’s better than nothing. Plus, with a little creativity, you can put together a good routine to work your whole body.

Try making it a great learning and playing time for your child, and a full body workout for you by doing burpees, lunges, push ups, and thrusters together.

Here’s a sample routine that includes burpees and baby thrusters as I demonstrated in videos from a past post.

Do 3 – 5 rounds (however many your kid will allow) of:

Burpees x 10 – counting out loud to teach numbers
Lunges x 10/leg – while holding your kid or having them watch
Peek-a-Boo Push ups x to failure or however long your kid keeps interest
Baby Thrusters x 10

There, by counting your reps you can teach your kid numbers and how to count, and playing peek-a-boo provides entertainment. I get this a very dependent on your kid being cooperative, but I am sure most will get a kick out of this. Plus, they’ll see their parents being active which will hopefully wear off on them!

Would you be willing to give this a try? Let me know your thoughts if you do or don’t do it, I’d love to hear results!

Going Strong: Burpees, Babies, and Learning to Count

02/24/2014 R.C. Liley 16 Comments

Babies and Barbells; both perfect for fitness!

I’m a guy who feels the need to do some sort of exercise on a daily basis. If I don’t do something active, I feel lazy and stressed. A little obsessive, yes, but it’s the truth. I know rest has a very important role in fitness, and this is my weak link.

I used to just run, a lot, and have finished several marathons as a result. This was very satisfying and very hard to train, and took a lot of time. I don’t run so much anymore, but do so on occasion. Now my training is more geared towards strength.

Although I am reluctant to stop running after training so hard and long to get to where I was, I didn’t like not having strength. Now I can squat, bench, dead lift, overhead press, and run! But, Now that we have Avery, my structured exercise routines have gone by the wayside and I just hope that I’ll be able to do something close to what I would normally do.

Not one to accept just doing nothing, I try my hardest to muster motivation to get in a work out during Avery’s usually longer morning nap. Sometimes, that doesn’t always work out (ha ha, see what I did there?), and I have to go with Plan B; exercise with Avery!

I started by doing calf-raises while standing and feeding Avery a bottle. I’d tell her what I’m doing and count to 100. Perfect, I thought, teaching my baby to count and getting in some sort of activity. This led to me holding her and doing lunges all around the house while counting out loud. I’d even lunge to our closet, gather dirty clothes, and lunge to the washer to start a load. Teaching, washing, and exercise; that’s basically killing three birds with one stone!

Here’s a video a put together of doing lunges and a great full body move I call Baby Thrusters. It’s just doing thrusters (squat down holding a weight and thrust up with the weight overhead) while holding your baby as the “weight”.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP-3H62N8cw&w=420&h=315]

As I mentioned in the video, babies are perfect for increasing strength as they have built in progressive overload by constantly growing (i.e. gaining weight).

When she’s in a good mood, I’ll put Avery down and do burpees while counting out loud to her. Check out my video of her watching in bewilderment wondering what the hell daddy is doing.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYdYG8PN5Qo?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Since the day we returned from the hospital with Avery, I have been doing 30 burpees every day. Some days I have zero energy or motivation, but I knock them out, all at once. In the closet, our garage, in the middle of our walk, the kitchen, wherever; just gotta get them done.

Give it a shot, commit to a set number and make yourself do that many burpees (or any other exercise) every day. So, when the day is over, you can say that at least you did something. Sadly, that’s more than many people can say.

A few more months, and this won't be easy! — A few more months, and this won’t be easy!

The main thing I’m trying to stress is, although becoming and being a parent is tough all on its own, you can still find a way to keep fit with a little creativity. Even better, telling your little ones what you are doing and counting sets/reps out loud will help them develop their constantly growing brains. Plus, parents leading by example is a sure way to help your kids grow to appreciate being active just like their parents.

Do you have any special ways of keeping active with your child?

If you have any questions on other exercises or fitness in general, please message me and I’d be happy to help however I can.

This post is part of the #FitFamilyFriday link up. Make sure to go there and check out other fitness inspired posts by other great parents!

Parenting

Future’s So Bright….

02/18/2014 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

Too cool for school...or anything. — Too cool for school…or anything.

The song “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades” by Timbuk3 instantly came to mind as we put these shades on Avery today. Yep, here I am already going against my whole taking it easy with the picture taking, oh well!

We had a great Monday with Kelley (a.k.a Going Mom) being off from work. Avery let us sleep another hour extra and she was in her crib from 9pm to a little past 5pm! Score! She even took a 3 hour nap uninterrupted later in the morning too! What’s with this baby?!

Kelley and I were able to get what we wanted to do out of the way; yard work for Kelley and work out for me. Today I have squats on the agenda so I’m really hoping she has another long nap! Squat day is always the biggest challenge physically and mentally for me. Watching a baby monitor is just an extra challenge too since I need focus. Anyway…

Monday was really pleasant. Avery took the bottle from me for a while which was better than the day before, and she also fed from her mom. Best of both worlds. She was hardly fussy and even went on an hour long walk with us while facing out in the Baby Bjorn without a peep!

Avery ended up falling asleep as we neared the end of the walk, but the instant I stopped moving, her eyes fluttered open and that was that. We tried some tummy time, no good, then just had a little play time as she flashed us her heart warming smiles.

We tried once again to capture some priceless shots with the video camera and digital camera, but didn’t get much. The smiles eventually turned into cries so I gave her the rest of the bottle from earlier and then mom provided the rest.

One of the better shots I wanted to share.

Another short nap and she was up with us while I made dinner and played with her a little. It wasn’t a very action-packed Monday, but having Kelley here was really nice and I hate that she has to be at work again. But we have to get paid somehow; thanks dear!

So, not much happened most the day, which is very welcome after Sunday’s Fuss Fest! But then, as night time arrived, we were subjected to mostly this until bed time…..

But she did give us a few more smiles in between. We’ll take it. She also hadn’t pooped in 2 days, and we were treating her like ticking time bomb that even Jack Bauer can’t disarm.

Finally, this Tuesday morning, she graced us with her crap. I figure she was waiting until mommy had to get ready for work so daddy could tend to the cleaning. Fine by me! We had another good night of sleeping in the crib too. I fear the day the streak ends because of teething or her first illness. Ugh, I’ll keep my fingers crossed this lasts a while though!

Now that she finally went I have high hopes she’ll go back to being her nonchalant self with a bright future ahead…

Avery, as the title of the post says, you have a very bright future dear, and I am so happy your mom and I are hear to shine the light! We love you!

Do you like “accessorizing” your children and taking pictures? How do they like it?