Creative Ways to Get Some Exercise In

I was reading a recent issue of Parents magazine the other day (heyo free subscription with the purchase of an owl-shaped humidifier!) and there was an article about exercises you can do to help with the whole being-a-mom thing… how to strengthen your back for optimal baby-lifting, etc.

Looking it over, I had a rush of motivation to follow this regimen. I pictured myself tearing the pages out of the magazine, tacking them up somewhere, and making it my new Bairn’s Naptime Exercise Extravaganza. 

Yeah. Reader, if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know I’m not so good at this sort of thing. I have great intentions for training plans and the like, but my execution is, shall we say, lacking. I mean, I never even got as far as tearing the pages out of the magazine. I don’t even know where the magazine is right now, or if I even kept it. #mombrain

Thinking about this and feeling bad about my inability to be organized and motivated, I started reflecting on how I’ve been getting exercise since the Bairn arrived. Clearly I’m not doing my Super Mom Parents Magazine routine, nor am I running very often. So what am I doing? With no further ado, here is my own special kind of exercise regimen:

Awkwardly Distributed Weight Lifting

As he approaches one year of life, my Bairn weighs probably somewhere around 19 pounds. He was a teeny jellybean of just under 5.5 pounds when he was born, but his growth spurts have all come on suddenly, leaving me almost constantly surprised about how heavy he is. I tend to carry him around on my right side, balanced between my hip and the crook of my arm, leaving me feeling super strong yet hunchbacked and constantly tired on one side. I need to start lifting weights on my left to balance out. 

Giving my right side its usual workout while decorating our Christmas tree

Improper Core Work

When the Bairn was tiny, he screamed and cried a lot because he has a dairy sensitivity and we didn’t know about it, so all the cheese and milky iced coffee I was consuming was giving him terrible gas pains. Before I realized what was happening and cut out my beloved dairy from my life, the only way to calm the Bairn down was to hold him while bouncing exuberantly on an exercise ball. Drew and I bounced him so often that it quickly became a crutch, both for calming him and for getting him to sleep. Exercise balls are great for strengthening one’s core, unless one is bouncing while hunched awkwardly over a crying baby. For months. 

Fun fact: we bounced on this ball so much it burst. While Drew was on it. Holding the Bairn. (Everyone was ok… except maybe Drew’s bum for a few days… and the ball)

Hamstring Bootcamp

When the Bairn started cruising and showed interest in walking around the house, we got him a walking/balance toy:

The trouble is, it’s not wide enough to provide good balance, and the wheels also don’t have anything that might resemble brakes. So, left to his own devices, the Bairn tends to either tip over or face-plant as the van peels away on our hardwood floors. So Drew and I – at least until the Bairn gets a better sense of balance – shuffle backwards while bent at the waist, holding on to the front of the van so our Bairn can cruise along happily. It either causes a sore lower back or burning hammies. I like to think burning hammies is at least benefiting my body, so I convince myself it’s exercise. 

These Boots Weren’t Made for Walking

The neighborhood by my work is in the midst of intense redevelopment, with multiple demolition and building sites. One result of that is that my usual route from the T to my building is now a giant hole surrounded by fences. As I shuffle under scaffolding and hunch against the cold, I try to focus on how the longer walk is good for me. The fly in the ointment is that I can’t seem to find warm, work-attire-friendly boots that fit my post-baby feet comfortably, and so my shuffle tends to be a limp most days. 

Being a Dairy Farm

While not exercise per se, nursing a baby apparently burns about 300-500 calories per day. Moo. 

The Time-Honored Winter Tradition of Shoveling

Our first snowstorm of the season happened the day after the Bairn had surgery (it was routine, and is all good now!), and the day Drew was suffering flu-like symptoms. So while the two of them slept off their respective ailments, I shoveled like a madwoman and cleared the whole driveway and both sidewalks in about an hour, which is a new PR for me 💪🏻

Maybe someday I’ll find that Parents article again, or will finally  make it back to the gym. But until then, I’ll be continuing my janky exercise regimen for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned for any new exercises I might uncover!

Are there any non-traditional exercises that are part of your normal routine?

Do you have any recommendations for warm boots or shoes that are comfortable and work appropriate and aren’t snow boots? These have to exist, right?!