Think your body will never be the same now that you’ve had kids? Think again. Amanda and Gray Kirchhoff show us five simple multitasking moves designed by fitness expert Michael Haddin that are sure to get maximum results in minimum time.
Don’t have a spare baby lying around? These exercises are just as effective using weights or other heavy household items – but they probably won’t giggle as much!
The Walk and Lift
Set your baby in the middle of the room. Starting from a distance a few feet away, run to the baby. Squat to pick up the baby. Lift the baby over your head. Squat to set the baby back on the floor. Run back to your starting point. Repeat five times.
The Round Robin Lift
Stand with your feet together and your baby on the floor about two feet in front of you. Keep your left foot stationary and lunge forward with your right leg. Pick up the baby and return to standing. Lunge again to set your baby back on the floor and return to standing. Turn your body 45 degrees to the left and repeat. Keep turning 45 degrees until your back is to the baby; then lunge with your left leg and keep your right leg stationary. Continue to turn 45 degrees until you’re facing the baby again.
The Baby Wood Chop
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and your baby sitting on the floor next to your left foot. Squat to lift the baby, then raise the baby over your right shoulder. Squat to return the baby to the floor. Repeat five times then switch sides.
The Standing Twist
Stand with your feet slightly apart holding your baby in your hands in front of you. Keeping your feet and hips facing forward, twist your upper body to the right then to the left. Repeat five times.
The Play Date
Find a place where you have a bit of space. Holding your baby in your arms, run a few feet then stop. Lunge with your right leg while at the same time hold the baby at arms’ length. Run a few more feet then stop. Squat to touch your baby to the floor, stand and lift the baby over your head. Run a few more feet then stop and lunge again, this time on your left leg. Repeat five times.
Proper form
To perform a squat properly, keep your back straight. Bend from the knees as though you’re about to sit on a chair, keeping your shin vertical. The crook of your knee should form a 90 degree angle. You should feel the weight in your heels, not your toes.
Why it works
Haddin says functional fitness is the key to getting fit, no matter who you are. According to Haddin, the traditional exercises most people do in the gym rarely mimic the motions they use in real life – how often are you called upon to bench press something? Functional fitness moves, like the ones we’ve demonstrated here, imitate movements you do every day. Follow these tips to get the most out of your baby workout.
Instead of limiting yourself to exercises that only move front to back, do lateral moves that use all the planes of your body.
Combine strength moves with cardiovascular to get even more effective workout. Mix up and create a circuit of these moves to really get your heart rate pumping.
By doing these moves standing up, you work your core muscles (the ones in your stomach and lower back) every time you use both your upper and lower body in one move.
Work your way up by adding more weight or doing more repetitions – babies make good weights because they just keep getting heavier.
Any heavy object will work, but if you are going to use a real baby, make sure you have a firm grip before lifting him or her up over your head, or the whole exercise could end in tears.
Laura Fulton
