Tag Archives: workout

Going Strong: Get Fit with this Full Body Babywearing Workout

05/25/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

I’ve been waiting for this day for a while a now; the day I could wear Avery on my back with our Onya! Now that she’s 6 months and over 15 pounds, she’s good to go!

Now that wearing her on my back is an option, this opens up new ways to get in a workout while keeping your baby close (really close). Trying to workout while your baby is sleeping can be difficult, and it’s tough if they wake up crying as you’re in the middle of sweating it out. Do you keep going and hope they fall back asleep or end your hard work and get them right away? Not an easy answer…..like most questions regarding babies!

So, I prefer to have Avery with me when working out as much as possible. She sees her daddy being active, and hopefully will want to do the same when she can move around. Plus, it just makes for good bonding! I’m pretty sure Avery has seen me do enough burpees now that she can’t wait to do them herself. Isn’t that right, Avery?

Well, maybe.

Anyway, having your baby on your back enables to you change the loading parameters on your core and legs, allows you to get on the ground for push-ups. With that, two of the best, most functional moves you can do are squats and push-ups.

Nothing fancy schmancy here, just two simple moves that work your entire body. Like I’ve mentioned before, babywearing workouts offer built in progression. As your baby grows, so will your strength. I put together a video demonstration just to show you the moves and hopefully you find it helpful.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_U2NCaUH7w?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

As mentioned in the video, if you want to make this more challenging than 3 rounds, you can just add rounds or make it into a timed “AMRAP” (as many rounds as possible) session. This, of course, is assuming you have a comfortable and happy baby. Also, I don’t advise doing this right after your baby eats, and I’m sure you know why.

Here’s the AMRAP routine that you can print out if you’d like.

And for an even greater challenge, add another 5 or 10 minutes of continuous work and/or hold dumbbells while doing squats.

Always make sure you are warmed up before starting and above all, have fun getting fit with the help of your growing baby!

Check out my past Going Strong posts for more baby bearing fitness ideas:

This post is part of a new fitness link-up party co-hosted by the great guy behind Disillusioned Dad. Check it out and show some support by linking your post related to diet, health, exercise, and/or well being.

Going Strong

Going Strong: High Intensity Interval Mowing with Fiskars

04/18/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

We’ve all heard of high intensity interval training (HIIT) as a great way to workout in a short amount of time. The most common form of HIIT is sprinting, and for good reason, it will get your blood flowing and lungs burning fast. This equates to an efficient calorie burning, do anywhere exercise anyone can utilize.

I’ve been into long distance running for years, and the hours spent running high miles is rewarding, but there’s not always time to fit in a long run. Lately, I do more sprinting, mostly up a hill, and keep going until my legs and lungs are begging me to stop.

Now that we have Avery, being able to run for over an hour is scarce, and if I do, I have her in the B.O.B. and our dog, Abby, in tow. Not the most comfortable, but it’s not that bad…..unless it’s windy, that stroller is like running with an umbrella!

Luckily, I have a Fiskars Reel Mower to lend a helping hand at accomplishing chores and a workout all at once! Just mowing with a reel mower like the Fiskars provides more cardiovascular activity than the gas-powered alternative, but why not up the ante?

How, you ask? By combining HIIT sprints with reel mowing of course! In the Fiskars StaySharp Max Owner’s Manual, they provide a useful outline of how to mow your lawn with their reel mower. I’ve provided the picture below:

Use this as a great way to plan your sprint mowing workout. I like to get the edging out of the way first as my “warm up” and then proceed to sprint back and forth across the lawn with as little rest as possible.

Yes, corny pose, I know, lets just try and look past that…mmmmkay?

I enjoy making things hard on myself, so as you see, I’m wearing a weight vest. This just adds another level of difficulty and helps keep me primed for when I mow wearing Avery and she doubles in weight.

Caution: DO NOT sprint while wearing your baby!!

To help you out, I put together a little video of me sprint mowing in action. This was during Avery’s naptime which is why I have a hurried look on my face.

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

Again, you do not need to wear a weight vest, sprint mowing is already a great workout.

This is just another way I am enjoying our Fiskars Reel Mower and plan on keeping fit by mowing while wearing Avery in the Onya or by sprinting with a weight vest. It’s a great form of exercise while tending to your household duties, and I recommend you give it a spin.

Do you have any fun ways to fit in a workout and accomplish household tasks? Please share if you do!

Parenting

“Catching Fire” with Tabata Inferno

03/24/2014 R.C. Liley 6 Comments

Sunday at our home was pleasantly uneventful this weekend, just how we like it. I only went outside to bring the trash and recycle bins to the curb and pick up dog poo. Yep, good times……

After a fairly restless night because of someone….

Me, he's talking about me... — Me, he’s talking about me…

….we had a slow start to the day which involved cooking a peanut butter protein teff porridge for Kelley and consuming several cups of coffee. Then, being the crazy people we are, we sat at the dining table and stared at our computers while Avery had a morning nap.

She hasn’t been having the best sleep in her new Zippy, and we’re thinking we tried to make the switch too fast. So we’ll do the swaddle again and make a slower transition. Although, it’s hard to not have her in the Zippy because she’s so freakin’ cute!

No, see, I'm wide awake! — No, see, I’m wide awake!

Once Avery woke up, we spent a little time with all three of us laying on the nursery floor. It started with Tummy Time for Avery, but then it ended with Back Time for Mom and Dad while holding Avery. I think she’s a manipulative baby!

As the day progressed, Kelley laid Avery down for another nap and we decided to finally start watching “Catching Fire” that we bought a few weeks ago. Choosing a movie is a huge commitment when you have a baby in the house, so it needs to be a good one!

We enjoyed the first part of this three part series, “The Hunger Games”, and have been looking forward to this second installment. After pausing several times to try and get Avery back to sleep and then just giving up and bringing her out to watch the movie, we finally finished.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a “What the Crap?!” strictly because of the ending, or lack thereof. I get that this is a series, but at least giving us a little more would’ve been nice. As I said, this is a huge commitment! Other than the non-ending ending, it really was a good movie and I am ready for the third and final one to come out.

It was getting late and Avery’s bedtime was drawing near, but first we had a workout video to do. Kelley has been loosely following the Supreme 90 Day workout videos, and today was Tabata Inferno.

Tabata has become pretty popular in the fitness world and is a protocol of doing 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds. So, it ends up being 4 minutes total. This video has you doing 7 different tabata routines with a 1 minute break in between. I consider myself to be in good shape, and this video will really make me sweat! Here’s a full list of what you do if you’re interested:

Avery hung out in her jumper next to me during the video and she was good up until the last part. I think was the part with burpees really confuses her; what do you think?

I'd rather do Tummy Time... — I’d rather do Tummy Time…

Immediately after the video, Kelley jumped in the shower while I made a smoothie and prepared dinner. But, before dinner, we had a very tired and fussy baby to bathe and put down for the night. It didn’t take long until Kelley had Avery in her crib and we wound down for the night. What a day!

I didn’t walk with Avery in the Onya on Saturday or Sunday, but I did wear her around the house both days. We went for a run in her stroller on Saturday, so that’s the only reason there was no walk. Total time for both days was about 40 minutes and I used the chest clip front carry each time. I think I’m warming up to the chest clip versus the cross straps for regular activities, and Avery is starting to enjoy it too!

Are you a fan of “The Hunger Games”?

Do you have any favorite workout videos?