Wholesome Wednesday: Exercising When You Have Kids

I've found it to be difficult to get into an exercise routine since having children. I just don't have the time to do jumping jacks, touching my finger to my toes, running on a treadmill, and doing push ups. Okay, I lied. I've found that if you really want to do something you will find time for it. I don't like doing those types of exercises so I just don't.

I do like to move my body though. Whether it be running in the yard with the kids, taking a long walk, walking the dog at a brisk pace, or going up and down the steps with countless baskets of laundry to put away I like to get that kind of workout. And it works. I seriously believe that in our day to day life we are able to get adequate exercise to mantain a healthy lifestyle by doing our everyday things. We don't need a separate machine to help us stay in shape. Granted, our lifestyles are not so "natural" as they were 100 years ago. There is less physical labor and a lot of desk jobs or other work that depends more on the mind than the body. I can see how someone who sits behind a desk for 8 hours a day could have a need to go "sweat it out at the gym". But I am speaking for myself here and I think that as a mother to three active children and a homemaker with a home to take care of I should be able to get enough exercise within my daily routines.

I think I do for the most part. Mopping a floor, vacuuming a room or two, hauling laundry baskets up and down the steps, lifting toddlers, scrubbing bathtubs, and all the other various jobs that I do throughout the day are burning calories and getting my heart rate going. Not to mention that digging in the garden, raking leaves, pushing kids on swings, chasing children down, walking dogs, and taking long strolls throughout the neighborhood are all very vigorous activities.

These are all things that can be done with a child, or two, or three. It is easy to get into the mindset that the only productive exercise is the hard workout in the gym or on the exercise equipment in your home but I find that as long as you are moving about and getting things done you are exercising. These things can be done with your children so that they too are getting adequate exercise. Just today I took a very long walk around the walking trail and the great thing about getting your kids to join in is that it wears them out and turns down their energy level for awhile. Both boys fell asleep when we returned home and slept for over an hour which was blissful!

Our bodies don't have to suffer just because we are busy with little kiddos all day. We can truly turn our daily activities into our exercise and kill two birds with one stone.

What do you do to exercise while at home with your children?