Today, my daughter and I went to the playground. As I bounced on one of the pieces of equipment with her, I realized that I was getting a decent core workout, as long as I structured it right. Exercise was critical to me when my daughter was a baby. It was a way to get out of the house, and it was a way to model good behavior and self-care. When my health was nasty and my sleep was even worse, exercise became a way to tell myself that I was doing something to take care of my body, and that this would only get better over time.
How can you get fit on the playground with your baby? There are a lot of ways to use normal playground equipment to get fit and have fun with your child at the same time! Here are some ideas I have tried:
• Swing with your baby on your lap. As you move back and forth, lean back a little and hold your abdominal muscles in, then out.
• Bounce gently on the bouncy equipment while your baby is in the carrier. Babies love gentle bouncing – my daughter would go to sleep almost instantly when I began to walk, but when she was teething, she needed a bounce. Use the bouncy equipment and think about your core muscles and work on your posture.
• When your baby is on the baby swing, use the time between swings to move your shoulders back and stretch gently. Or use that time to do subtle side-to-side twists and stretches.
• Teeter-totters with the bouncy bit in the middle are a good way to work your core muscles if you move your legs up. With your legs down, they are a way to do some assisted squats! Put your baby on your lap. Best to try this when there is no one on the other side of the seesaw, or you may scare away the neighborhood children.
Have you used playground equipment to exercise? Or am I the only strange one out there who sees bouncy playground equipment as a core workout?