Learn to love jogging with a stroller

This article (“Learn to love jogging with a stroller”) from today’s Globe and Mail is about “getting back in shape after having a baby”, but there are some points in the article that can apply to just staying in shape: most important, I think, is the idea that you have to set a day and time for going to the gym/working out and work your schedule around those days. I guess it depends on how important being in shape is to you.

“Routine is really important. […] The idea that you would say, 'I'm going to the gym twice this week' doesn't work, because always something gets in the way. You have to pick your days and work your schedule around those days.”

One new mom is quoted in the article as saying, “Between the pregnancy weight and sleepless whirl of caring for an infant, parenthood is ‘a perfect storm for getting fat’”.

I’m thinking that extra pregnancy weight can be avoided entirely – just look at my SIL! The idea of “getting back in shape” should really be “staying in shape” – no reason to get out of shape during your pregnancy if you stick to a regular workout schedule throughout.

As for the sleepless whirl, here are some tips shared by new moms and dads:

• I treat my daily walk with my baby as a power walk. I set out from home and have a goal destination in mind, and each day I try to walk there a bit faster. This may sound basic, but in four months I have managed to get all my baby weight off with 45-minute walks, daily.
• The only other thing that works for a real work-out session is "Mom and Dad tag team" - I look after the baby while my husband does his Lance Armstrong impression, then we trade off and I go for a power walk. [OR do activities together!!]
• I am an avid cyclist, so I bought a magnetic trainer to set my bike up on. After the kids fall asleep at night, I hop on and do as much or as little as I feel like! I am nursing the baby so if he wakes and needs me, I am there and don't need to worry about him being hungry.
• I joined a moms-only spin class at the local bike shop. I started when my daughter was 12 weeks old - at first to get me out of the house for an hour, and then to help with getting back in shape post-partum. Socially and cardiovascularily fabulous! A great way to meet other local moms, too.
• I put my son in his stroller and run along the canal. It's free and easy, and gets us both outside for some fresh air. Sometimes it's hard to get out the door, but I never regret it.