Kids Are Not An Excuse!

 With my kids home all day it can take some creativity to get in a workout.  With summer break quickly approaching and for all my fellow homeschool mommas, I thought I would share a tactic I use to fit in a good weights workout.

 Come up with an unusual activity that requires little to no supervision.  (Think something that would get their imagination going.)  I pulled out some old sheets and made a tent in the backyard using a tree and deck chairs.  They sat in their eating bomb pops and talking. 

When they lost interest in the tent, I pulled out a digital camera and they made scavenger hunts for each other.  One person takes pictures of different places in the backyard; in one of those places they hide an object.  The goal is for the remaining people to go to each location and find the missing toy. (My oldest ran up to the two youngest saying “I need your help! Someone stole my ball.  But I found their camera; can you use the pictures to find it?”) 

While they use their imagination and work on their “getting along” skills, I lift weights on the deck.  You might be wondering what kind of weights workout you can get outside on your deck. 

I have a list of exercises from P90X that I can carry with me wherever I go (works great for road trips).  Some exercises that work well for hand weights are:

• Shoulder Flys
• Scarecrows
• Y-Presses
• Side-Leaning Tricep Extensions
• Overhead Tricep Extensions
• Bicep Curls
• Hammer Curls
• Weighted Circles
• Fly-Row Press

And of course- PUSH UPS!

 You can even get your kids to try some push-ups!  Watch Asher in the series of pictures below...

 And he's off!

 After using hand weights to strengthen the upper-body, it was time to work on the legs.  Can you tell by my expression that I was working hard??

 Lunges are a great workout that you can do without weights.  To make them harder go slower and pause for a few seconds at the bottom of the movement (I am pausing in the below pictures).  I did 10 regular lunges and one with a pause then switched legs.  I did two sets and my legs were toast.

Moral of this post- Don't let your kids be an excuse!  You can get in a tough workout and also be a good example to them of healthy living!