{28 days} Exercise with your Kids [15-21]
Contributing Writer: Alaina Holland our fitness expert at Holland Family Life This is part 3 of 4 in our series Mommy and Me Fitness Fun here’s Part 1 and Part 2: 7 Ways to Combine Playtime and Fitness. Go check them out!
{Day 15} Patty Cake Squats: quads & gluteus maximus
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Focus: Leg and buttocks toning. With legs wider than shoulder width apart, squat down with your quads parallel to the floor. Hold the squat for the whole song while you play patty cake with your child. If your child will not stay put, do this during their snack time when they are trapped in their high chair! Lift up and squat back down for the ABC’s. Choose a third song of your choice.
Do: 3 different educational songs while holding the squat during the song.
Note: Make sure you do not sing the song any faster than normal while doing this exercise! If you can’t get through a whole song, try again the next day and make yourself stay in the squat position at least one line longer.
{Day 16} Push Up Kisses: biceps, triceps, back, & abdominals
Focus: Arm toning and core strengthening. Get down on your hands and knees in a plank position. Have your kid lie underneath you. Lower down slowly with your elbows bending at 90 degrees. Keep your head in alignment with the rest of your spine. Reach to kiss your little one on his cheek and raise upward back into a plank position.
Do: 3 sets of 8 repetitions.
X-Tra: For a variation have your child sit on your back as a cowboy. This one is a lot of fun and depending on the weight of your child, much more challenging. You can do more reps and do the push ups on your knees if you have your child sitting on your back.
Tip: Count your repetitions out loud so it also benefits your child’s learning.
{Day 17} Airplane Mode: back muscles
Focus: back strengthening. Lay on your stomach with your arms above your head and your feet straight out. One: Lift your arms up off the ground while maintaining your legs on the ground. Two: Isolate your legs as the only ones that lift off the ground. Three: Elevate both your arms and legs together.
Do: 3 sets of 12-15 reps of One, Two, and Three.
Note: Involve your kid by encouraging them to become an airplane in liftoff. Or have them sit on your back as a passenger in the plane. Airplanes always make noises so mom must make a bunch of airplane noises while doing this activity!
X-Tra: There are many variations to working out your back in this position. One is pictured above. Lift your upper body and pull back your elbows while lifting and separating your legs. Lower your arms and squeeze your legs together. Repeat with the lifting of your upper body and that is one count. Do the amount of sets listed above.
Another variation is you can “Swim” by kicking your feet and stroke with your arms like you are in water.
{Day 18} Strengthening Inner Core: abdominals
Focus: Flatten your belly. Lay on your back with your child near by. My son likes to participate in whatever I am doing so I usually sit him on my belly during these exercises.
1st Exercise: Lift legs up in the air and focus on contracting your inner abdominals while you open and close your legs. For a challenge lower your legs 45 degrees towards the floor while opening and closing.
2nd Exercise: With legs together lower them slowly until ankles are right above the ground then lift up back to 90 degrees and repeat.
3rd Exercise: Scissor Kick your legs back and forth like they are scissors cutting a piece of paper. My son gets a big ‘kick’ out of this one himself.
4th Exercise: For the Toe Tap you bend your legs 90 degrees. Engage your inner abs while slowly lowering your toes to barely graze the ground and lift back up.
Do: 3 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise listed above.
Tip: Make sure your back does not arch up off the ground for any of the above exercises. If your back does arch, do not lower your legs so far to the ground. You want to maintain your back flat against the ground during all these abdominal exercises.
Note: The muscle group you should feel contracting during these exercises are the same inner muscles that contract when you say “HA HA.”
{Day 19} Melt Your Love Handles: abdominals, legs, gluteus
Focus: melt those love handles away. Lay on your side with your head propped up on your hand. Stack your hips one on top of the other. Lift your top leg upward and lower back down without resting during the repetitions.
Do: 3 Sets of 15 repetitions on each leg.
X-Tra: Another variation is pictured above. Swing your top leg forward, backward, and conclude with splits in the air for one count. Do the same amount of sets and repetitions listed above. Do not forget to switch to the other side and repeat the exercise.
{Day 20} Stretchy Band Stretch: flexibility training
Focus: Increase your flexibility. My son loves to play with my stretchy bands. When I stretch I include him in the exercise and he thinks we are just playing around. Have your son hold on to one end of the stretchy band and you hold on to the other. With your feet out in front of you lean forward and tell your child to lean backwards. After holding it for 5 seconds (Try holding for longer if your child allows!) lean backwards and pull your kid back towards you.
Do: 3 sets of 8 stretches forward while holding for at least 5 seconds each stretch.
X-Tra: Do the same back forth motion while in the splits.
Tip: Stretching is very important. If you are not flexible do not worry with practice and over time you can become flexible. Gaining flexibility is hard and takes training. With much practice it can be achieved.
{Day 21} Planet In Motion: abdominals, back, & arms
Focus: Fun Sit Ups. Lay on the ground with your child on top of the medicine ball. Hold his hands firmly while you contract your abdominals and lift slowly up until your child reaches the ground standing. Pull your child in again by engaging your abs slowly lowering downward to the ground. Focus on moving upward and downward very slowly. This will strengthen your abdominals. Your child will have a blast flying in outer space on the big planet and want you to do it over and over again.
Do: At least 3 sets of 12-15 slow sit ups.
Tip: Drink at least 8 glasses of water during your day. Drink a full glass before each meal. This will help you not to over eat. Focus on replacing your carbonated sugary drinks with water. Make a calendar goal to not drink any sugary drinks for the next 3 weeks.
Looks like great fun and it’s nice to include the kids since otherwise the exercise will never happen!
OMG, I love this!!! Such cute and fun ideas! I will have to share this with our followers, it’s just too good!