Having a baby was the best thing that ever happened to my biceps. They haven’t been so cut since college, when I rowed on the crew team.
The plethora of Mommy-and-me boot camps that have sprung up around the country had me thinking that I would need to put aside serious time and money to get my body back into shape. Lacking both, I feared I’d be out of shape for the next 18 years.
By the end of the first month, however, I stopped worrying about it. I felt like Richard Simmons, only I had a baby strapped to my arms rather than Velcro weights.
Holding my squirming 10-pound weight, Laila, I’d spend hours dancing in the living room (just like aerobics class!), going on power walks (better than a treadmill!) and practicing the Olympic Baby Toss (no free weights needed!).
It began to dawn on me that a baby is exercise, and if I played it right, I’d not only get more exercise than I ever did when I had a desk job, but the two of us would have more fun. I remembered back when I rowed, every set of stairs looked like an opportunity instead of an obstacle; from yoga, I knew that every moment of the day offers a chance to perfect something, no matter how small.
So instead of dreading belly time, in which my daughter would lie on her stomach and scream her head off while I tried to do the dishes, I’d get on the floor with her. A set of push-ups resulted in 10 kisses that distracted her; stomach crunches were more fun for both of us with her across my shins. A few 10-minute workouts throughout the day were a great way to ease my body back into shape.
Walks at first felt like forced marches, as lack of motion instantly resulted in an unhappily awake baby. But a screaming baby is harder to deal with for a sleep-deprived mom than a sleeping baby. So I made the best of it, venturing farther and farther afield (with extra diapers, food and a change of clothes — a practicality that has its positive side when building muscle and endurance is the goal), to parts of town I’d never been to. Steep hills were a bonus; I found my glutes again.
As she’s gotten older, exercise has only become more fun. Leg lifts and scissor kicks turn out to be hilarious in these parts; something about toes overhead makes her laugh uproariously. A home yoga practice is no longer lonely — and never has it been so funny, as she tries valiantly to balance on one leg and strike other poses. Her downward dog, however, is already better than I could ever dream of achieving.
Then there’s the park. Early on, I figured out that my daughter was not the type to quietly draw with chalk while I nursed a latte and chatted with other moms. I could resent this — it looks like a nice life — but these are the only years of my life when it’s OK to climb the jungle gym and occupy the swings.
Swinging, in fact, is great for upper-body strength (especially when complicated by hanging on to baby), as well as the abdominals. (And did I mention it’s fun?) The monkey bars are perfect for pull-ups or abdominal crunches; play structures of all sorts can do double-duty for a variety of push-up variations, as well as back, arm and leg stretches.
My 2-year-old daughter has become my best teacher and most encouraging coach. She’s always testing her body, trying to get stronger, better, more adept. No couch is too high for her to surmount, no ladder too intimidating to try to scale. (And she never doubts my abilities, no matter how impossible the task.)
Now, stairs with stroller? No problem. Stroller-carrying is at least as productive as bench-pressing 25- pound weights and works on balance, too. Carry her, as well as 30 pounds of groceries, while pushing the stroller? Sure; better to get the workout and hear her babble contentedly than listen to her scream.
In the end, I realize that I’m indulging my daughter’s demands to run around like a nut (with me in pursuit), be picked up and spend every moment possible outside, but there are more than enough opportunities to teach her limits and self-restraint. And at the end of the day, she’s happily exhausted, and I’m not resentful that I can’t get to the gym. Indulgent? Yes — but healthy and happy too — for both of us.
Tara Q. Thomas is author of the “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics.” She can be reached at .
Mommy and me exercises
1. Find a carrier you like and walk everywhere, or get a baby trailer for your bicycle. It’s far better on the back than the twisting needed to get a kid in and out of a car seat.
2. Get on the ground. Your baby will thank you, as will
your back, after nine months of carrying a load around on your belly.
3. Consider everything an opportunity rather than a chore. Sure, at 10 p.m. you might not feel like yet another walk to get the kid to sleep, but which is worse —hanging about listening to her scream, or taking a relaxing spin around the neighborhood before bed?
4. Use the park as much as your kid does. Use monkey bars for pull-ups and ab crunches; on the swing, pump as high as you can, using only your upper body, then only legs. Or put your hands on the swing and push out as far as you can reach; without moving your feet, draw it back in. Killer workout.
5. Get an exercise ball. It’s good for everything from gentle bouncing to stomach crunches with baby on belly.
6. Incorporate your baby into your routine, whether it’s a run, bike, yoga practice or simple stretching; an active lifestyle will be second nature to her by the time many other kids have become lured by the TV and couch. And you will have more of a semblance of the life (and the body) you want.
Tara Q. Thomas
