Exercise Together!

Daily movement can be a vital part of our daily routine. For some, it’s about remaining grounded and focused through following a program and spending time with yourself. For others, it can be about reaching fitness goals and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Being a mom can sometimes feel like you have to put your own desires on the shelf for the day as you tend to your littles. However, we can get back to our favorite sports while also spending time with our family! Not only should we claim that time again but it’s also giving us an opportunity to show our kids how important it is to continue to invest time in yourself not only as a mother but also as a person. Check out these tips below to help get in some family movement!

1.) Toddler Yoga Stretches/Salutations

This one could be especially fun for toddlers and younger kids. Not only do you get in some good movement and stretches but your little can start to become more in tune with their own body and how it moves. Starting yoga at a young age can also help kids learn how to deal with stress and could help to improve creativity. They can start by mimicking your movements and eventually you can also incorporate partner positions in your yoga session to make them feel that they’re an integral part of the routine. There are plenty of YouTube videos that cover yoga for younger children and can help to get your toddler in the mindset prior to starting your practice together. Give this one a go the next time you roll out your yoga mat!

2.) Hiking With Teens

The next time you lace up your boots to go on a nice long hike, take your teen along for the ride! They may protest at first but once you get out into nature, you can’t help but to be more present. Starting off with a shorter hike may help them to feel more confident as they’ll know that they can handle the hike. Slowly start to amp up the mileage the more you go out. Parenting a teen may mean dealing with lots and lots of emotions, stress and unknown territory. Time together on the trail can lead to plenty of opportunities for organic and enlightening conversations. Hiking can help mitigate stress for you and your teen as well as assisting in sleep which has benefits for you both. Not only do you get in your daily movement but you also get some quality time with your teen.

3.) Running with Young Kids

If you’re a running fanatic, this can be your time to really unplug and spend time with yourself. While your kids might not be able to keep up with your 10k time, taking them out for a one mile run or even training with them to hit up a local 5k can mean lots of time together while also getting in your mileage goals. This will give them a chance to spend time with you as well as hone a skill they might begin to love! Getting kids involved in a hobby that means a lot to you can show them what it
means to stay consistent to reach their goals. Having your kids be part of your fitness journey can be so rewarding because not only do they get to learn how to move their body and find a sport or hobby that they grow to love but they also get to watch you prioritize yourself. Investing time in yourself and your sport, whether it’s CrossFit, yoga, marathon running or just picking up some weights here and there, show yourself and others that investing in yourself is an important and necessary endeavor. Just because we’re moms doesn’t mean we have to give up every moment of our time to others.
Giving back to yourself not only makes us feel good but it also helps us to be our best selves. So the next time you want to get in some movement but your littles are running circles around you, grab them up and try to incorporate them into your practice. If not to just wear them out before nap time! Invest some time in yourself today, momma.

Cover photo courtesy of @holliemooandmummytoo

Other photo courtesy of  @randilynngreene

 

About the Author:
Georgia native Tiffany Ammerman is the thru-hiker and CrossFitter behind the travel blog The Goodish Traveler. She spends the majority of her time traveling, eating sushi and searching for hiking trails. When she's not blogging, Ammerman can be found training at CrossFit LaGrange and teaching art to kids.

You can follow her adventures on Instagram:@the_goodish_traveleror her website:TheGoodishTraveler.com

 

For Mother's Day this year, we launched our Mothers of Fitness community to celebrate the strong women in our midst. Part of the intention of this group was to allow mothers to share their experiences, offer advice to other women in their shoes, and just have a place to gush over something they all have in common--the love of motherhood and health and fitness.

You can join the party here.

We want you to meet Molly Tilove, one of our awesome group 'Momerators' whose path to fitness and maintaining consistency now with twins in tow was filled with challenges, but totally worth it.

How did you become interested in fitness?

Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I was NEVER interested in fitness or working out (in fact, I avoided PE at all costs!). Once I went off to college, I realized all of my friends had gym memberships and maybe I should actively work on avoiding the dreaded “Freshman 15”. I started running, and soon that became a big part of my life!

What inspired you to start posting on Instagram and sharing your journey?

It just sort of evolved naturally. While I was in college, I developed anorexia and spent several years severely underweight. I was obsessed with running and doing body weight exercises, and had a twisted goal of eating less and less each day. After admitting I had a serious problem, got help, and received treatment, I gained weight, but still really struggled with body image issues. While I physically was “healthy” again, I still was struggling horribly on the inside. After years of being a “runner”, a friend invited me to check out a new CrossFit gym opening in the area. I was immediately hooked!

That first year or two, I had shared a few before/after photos from my college days, and now my much stronger, CrossFit days. I was finally starting to see a transformation on the inside - I was no longer focused on what I looked like, but was really proud of my body and what it was capable of doing. The photos I had shared were reposted on a lot of “viral” sites, including Reddit. My Instagram quickly started growing and I started sharing more about my journey, my workouts, etc! It’s been about five years now since that all happened so it’s been really fun connecting with so many more people, growing new friendships and relationships, etc!

What has been the most challenging part of juggling work, fitness, and motherhood?

Life definitely takes a lot more planning now! When the twins were newborns, they slept SO much, so it was easy to keep them in their bassinet or swings and bring them out with me while I worked out, or while I worked in our home office. Now that they’re over one and totally mobile… they have my whole attention while they’re awake! It makes it tricky managing a business with two littles and a husband who has a very full work schedule himself, but I just really focus on making nap times as productive as possible.

Workouts are definitely much less consistent than they used to be, but I still make it a priority to fit them in - whether its including the babies, or waiting until they go down for the night and fitting a workout in before bed. We built out our home gym before the babies were born and it has been SUCH a blessing this year, especially with COVID!

What is your favorite part about being a mom?

It is truly a love like NO OTHER. I never felt more purpose, more passion, or more fire than I have since these babies were born. They give me a whole new reason to be my best. We waited years before finally getting pregnant and they were worth every second of that wait, a million times over. It has been the greatest blessing watching them learn and grow this last year, and I can’t wait for all of the incredible adventures we have in our future.

Do you have any advice for other moms that are thinking about starting or need help continuing their fitness journey?

IT IS POSSIBLE to make fitness and wellness a priority with kids, no matter how much you have on your plate. Even if it’s 10 minutes during nap time, something is always better than nothing! There are some weeks where I can fit in six workouts, and some weeks where I only get two - but staying as consistent as you can and coming and showing up when it is possible pays off. Keeping my health and fitness a priority keeps me feeling good, energized, and truly helps me be a better mom. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so be sure to include things in your life that make YOU a better person so you can be better for the people you love!


How do you take time for yourself? Any favorite self care activities?

A workout is always a favorite activity! Some days though, a hot bath or shower and a glass of wine is all I need after a long day!

How have you been coping with this crazy year in regards to COVID and having young kids?

Honestly, having newborn twins before this all started - I was already basically living the “quarantine life”! It was difficult to get out too often with two tiny babes, especially during the winter after their NICU stays. COVID hit when they were about 4 months old, and life just sort of continued on the way it had been! It’s definitely been challenging at times, feeling like it’s groundhog day for the last year. The little things I did for “me” to recharge really aren’t options at the moment (getting my nails done, meeting a friend for coffee, etc), and I miss the social interactions we used to have!

Being a new mom can feel isolating anyways, but having this never ending lockdown in place makes it feel extra difficult some days. It also makes me sad that the kids have had so much less interaction in their lives than a typical child would have their first year! At the same time though - this bizarre year has allowed both me and my husband to be at home SO MUCH more than we may have otherwise been. I try and look at the positives as much as I can about this entire situation! We’ve had more time together, Erik has been able to be home for more of their milestone moments, we’ve saved more money, and we find joy in the simplest things! With that being said… I am definitely looking forward to a life no longer controlled by COVID restrictions! 🙂

Are you watching any good TV shows or movies now that you want to share?

Oh man! I wish!! I’m hoping once the holiday season is over and business slows down, I’ll be able to start doing a little more reading / TV watching! The few things I always stay up-to-date on, no matter how busy I am, are “This Is Us” and “A Million Little Things”! I’m here for everyone else’s suggestions for good TV shows though!

What are some goals you have going into 2021?

Carrying less stress with me. I am a stresser. We surprisingly had our best year with Belle & Bell yet, but it has made me CRAZY stressed this entire Q4. I get overwhelmed and feel like I have a difficult time being completely present with work OR with my kids. Learning to balance and give myself more grace is definitely a goal. Aside from that - I hope to grow B&B even BIGGER this year, create some amazing memories with the kids, and hopefully get my ring muscle ups back 😉 we just installed a rig in our backyard, so I have no excuse now!

Do you have any products or services (for you or your kids) that you can't live without or are essential to your everyday routine? 

I *LOVE* that we use a meal prep delivery service. We order a la carte meats and carbs from Trifecta and it makes it so convenient for weekday lunches for both me AND the kiddos. Other random stuff we love : our Lovevery subscription for educational toys, our Lillebaby baby carriers, our big playpen that the kids love to hang in while we workout, and probably a billion other things I cant think of right now! For me personally - I rely on RP Strength for my nutrition guidance, and I’m pretty sure protein coffee is what now runs through my veins 😉 (if you follow me on IG, you know I am obsessed with cold brew and then Bowmar Nutrition Pumpkin Spice coffee!)

 What are your hobbies/interests outside of fitness? 

I have had a ton of fun getting into photography the last few years! I also really like hiking, traveling...and eating good food! lol!

FACT:
As boredom increases during quarantine, so does the amount of screen time spent on televisions, phones, video games and computers. The stay-at-home restrictions still have many of us sheltered in place. As a result, device addiction is perhaps more prevalent now than ever, especially in youths, so it's important to have some fun, tech-free activities and sports to help get everyone away from the screens and more balanced.

With remote learning the new norm now, finding an alternative to the activities that keep us glued to the screen all day is critical. Here are a few examples that can fill some of that time, away from the screen.

Basketball or Soccer

For basketball and soccer players, there are plenty of at-home practice drills that can be done while quarantined—from shooting baskets on the driveway, practicing ball-handling drills like dribbling, to kicking a soccer ball into a net or against the garage door. There are also rebounding nets that can be easily set up against the basketball hoop to help with solo practice. So whether you prefer basketball or soccer, just get outside and get dribbling!

Ping Pong

One of the more popular indoor sports is ping pong (or table tennis as it is also referred to). Having a ping-pong table is, of course, the best way to play, but if you don’t have the room or don’t want to spend the money on one, there are ways to accomplish the same thing with just a portable net, kitchen table, a couple of paddles and a ping-pong ball. Another nice feature of table tennis is that you can practice by yourself against a solid backdrop, to start developing your skills, having some fun in the meantime.

Indoor Golf

While golf courses are slowly starting to open up under some restrictions after the complete shutdown of the past couple of months, there is plenty of golf that can be practiced at home in the meantime. Indoor putting greens are very affordable and offer a great opportunity to practice what many consider to be the hardest part of the game. While swinging a club around the yard at a Wiffle ball is very economical, another great option is to grab your sand wedge from the bag, a few golf balls, a bucket, and hit some chip shots from a few yards out in your own backyard. And when it's time to hit the courses outdoors, try the best golf drinks by LIFEAID: GOLFERAID.

Water Balloon Dodgeball 

This is a very simple, but fun twist on the gym-class staple that—while tutoring or wrangling the kids at home—can be a nice release of energy with the added benefit of a cool, refreshing break once the weather heat up. Instead of those old-school bouncy balls, simply replace them with water balloons and have a good old-fashioned game of dodgeball. Be sure to include mom and dad in the fun! And just like the PE teacher always said, never aim for the head.

Photo courtesy of Gaiam.com

Doga

With nothing more than a yoga mat, you can discover the combination of physical and mental exercises that have been popular for thousands of years. The beauty of yoga is that you don’t have to be an expert to reap the benefits. Plus, with doga, it is not your ordinary yoga but rather a yoga hybrid you can do with your canine companion. I mean, who doesn’t love getting to spend more time with their dog while doing an activity they enjoy? Just don’t forget to make sure you and your buddy both have fresh breath for complete peace of mind during your doga session. 

Whether you are young or old, fit or overweight, doga has the power to calm the mind and strengthen the body. It's easy to be intimidated by doga terminology, and complicated poses, but don’t be. Doga is a great sport for everyone and it is also beneficial to your dog to help calm him or her. 

Gardening 

Aside from the sports mentioned above, you can also try planting something indoors or outdoors. Start small, pick up some packets of seeds or a few starter plants you’d love to nurture. You may never know what your green thumb can do until you try! Plus, gardening can be a great outlet to help relieve mild stress and quiet the mind, while also snagging you some fresh air and much-needed vitamin D in the sunshine.

C O N C L U S I O N

However you decide to unplug and get away from the daily ‘screen life’ during these crazy times, just remember to focus on the activities and people in your life that help bring you joy and leave you feeling less stressed. So next time you’re tempted to rush through your day, just pause, put down your phone, breathe, move your body, get outside, and enjoy the moment. Because nothing beats that feeling of creating a little more balance in your daily life.

Cover photo courtesy of Unsplash.com
All rights reserved.

Jordan Fuller

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer who also owns a golf publication site, Golf Influence. He has loved golf since he was a kid and feels golf has been significantly helpful in improving his overall health. 

> > > Stay well.