Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Alright girls! Literally put on your gym shoes and start working out!
Its so easy to use your kids as an excuse to not exercise...before today! Here are some exercises that you can do at home with your kids and they will love it too. Before you begin these exercises go outside and jog with your kids in their stroller; if you cannot run, walk very briskly for a minimum of 15 minutes. If it is too hard at first to run the entire time, jog for as long as you can and finish your 15 minutes by walking (quickly). If you do this every morning, eventually you will be able to run the whole time. If it is rainy have a jump rope and jump for 1 minute and rest for 30 seconds; repeat this cycle for 15 minutes as well. You will be shocked at how difficult it is! I promise you, if you are disciplined and do this every day you will see results!!
Now for the exercises:

Squat Thrusts

Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, holding your baby out in front of you. While keeping all of your weight in your heels, sit back as if you were sitting in a chair, really stick your booty out there :) Keep your chest up and do NOT let your knees go over your toes! (If they do, it is because you aren't keeping the weight in your heels and/or your bum isn't sticking out far enough.) As you stand up, press your baby up until your arms and legs are straight but not locked out. Repeat doing 3 sets of 10 repetitions


Plea Squats


Again with the weight in your heels, hold your baby in front of you with a wide stance and toes pointed slightly out. Lift one heel off the ground and squat down, your knees should follow the direction your toes are pointing. Pulse up and down keeping your heel off the floor do this 10 times and then switch heels. Repeat this cycle 3 times.

Hamstring/Glute Buster



You can do this exercise with a stability ball or a chair. Put a chair up against a wall so it will not slide. Put one heel up on the chair and scoot as close to it as you can. Pushing through your heel, lift your hips off the floor as high as you can and squeeze your glutes. Repeat 3 sets of 15 for each leg. I am not on a mat in this picture but I recommend being on carpet or a yoga mat.

This step is very important! Cool down by going on another 15 minute walk/run and stretch :)

7 comments:

Sarah said...

awesome ideas!! Thanks!! And congratulations on this past weekend..you rock girlfriend!

p.s. Do you have any ideas on how to get rid of the extra flub around the tummy area? So far this is the only thing I can't seem to get rid of...

christy said...

this is the best way to exercise with your kids! this morning i used free weights, and glenn used...haven! he sometimes upgrades to heavier kids when needed!
how much can cohen bench?

Mark and Katie said...

thank you for all your ideas and great example of a fit mama!!

Marie {Make and Takes} said...

I love the workout with Baby. I bet the babies love it too, playtime with Mom. I'm going to need that soon to get my post-prego body back in shape.

christy said...

alanna i have a question: is there any truth to the theory that if you eat more you'll teach your body to burn more? for example if i eat only 1,200 calories or 1,800 calories i am training my body to only burn 1,200 or 1,800 etc. i have seen this theory a few times and i would like to know what is the real deal there. thanks!

kristenita said...

love it!
I will have to try these with my 27lb chase-weight!

chase also loves when we do push ups - he will either lie on the floor right under us (like he did when he was teeny & LOVED it) or slap our backs while we go.

Alanna said...

Sarah, check today's post for the answer to your tummy question.
Christy, that theory is kind of right but it totally depends on what kind of food that 12oo calories is and how many meals it took you to eat them. If you eat more often, and you are taking in enough protein and "good" carbs you will send your metabolism sky rocketing! Girls biggest mistake is that they figure if they only eat once a day that they will lose weight..WRONG! If you only eat once a day after 72 hours you will send your body into starvation mode and it will slow down your metabolism and store/hold onto EVERYTHING you eat! If you eat healthy food and are religious about eating every 3 hours you can take in way more calories and your body will still burn it! Exciting huh?