Exercise?!  And just when will I do that?

It doesn’t matter how great your exercise routine is if you don’t do it.

Exercise is one of the things that I have struggled with since my fourth child.  By the time everyone was up, fed, dressed, off to school it was too late.  My day had already started.  Here are some suggestions that I was given:

Well, just get up before the kids. 

Uhm.  Yeah.  I was already up at 6:30 a.m.  A half hour before the children.  It was my time.  I would write in my journal, meditate and read uplifting books in the quiet of the early morning.  I was not willing to get up any earlier because my day didn’t end until midnight most of the time.

Exercise while the babies are napping.

Sure.  That doesn’t work.  By then I’m showered, dressed and I have many things to do while the babies are sleeping.  That is when I would pay bills, balance my checkbook, and other things that required some uninterrupted time.  Sometimes I would do the unthinkable.  I would take a nap with my children.

Take your children for a walk.

Have you tried to get five children of differing ages and energy levels to stay together?  My three little tornadoes (my sons) where off like whirling dervishes running this way and that.  My daughters just wanted to stroll and complain about their little brothers.  That is so not happening!

Exercise after they go to bed.

Huh?!  I don’t know about you, but after homework, chores, dinner, baths, brushing of teeth and dishes the last thing on my mind is exercise.  I still had laundry to fold, homework to review and a kitchen to clean.

My Solution

The shower.  It may sound strange, but it works for me.  Most of the time we stand in the shower while we wash our bodies and our hair.  What if we incorporate movement?  You can get a decent workout.  Here is the routine:

1. Strength.  While the water warms up I do push ups against the wall.  If you lean into them and do them s-l-o-w-l-y you get quite a workout.  It takes about four push ups for our water to warm up.  I usually do about twelve.
2. Walking in place.  You can do this while washing your hair and upper body.
3. Stretching.  I do this when I wash my legs and feet.

When I’m all clean and ready to get out of the shower I straighten my arms over my head, clasp my hands and stretch up as high as I can go.  This signals to my body and mind that I’m done.  I have completed a my exercise routine.

While this may not be the best way to get exercise, but I am at least taking positive action.  It does increase my energy and improves muscle tone in my arms.

Make Exercise Fun

My friend told me she had a gift that would help me walk more.  She gave me a small wooden block with the following instructions:

1. Place block in the middle of the floor
2. Walk around it two times
3. You have now walked around the block twice.  Congratulations!

The new video games that require full body movement are also great.  You would be amazed at how much exercise you can get by playing with your children, spouse, partner or friends.  There are games that you can run in place, pretend to ride a bicycle, jump rope, paddle a boat, and balance on a ball or rope.  There are sports games that allow you to run marathons, participate in archery contests, play tennis, fence, box and many other sports activities.  Are they as good as the real thing?  No.  But they are fun!

If it is not fun, I don’t want to do it more than once (if that).  But, if I can be a flying chicken going through an obstical course?  I’m so there.