The great outdoors: a mom's view on kicking your workouts up a notch outside the gym

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, August-Sept, 2002 by Kristi Haar

Becoming a mom changes your life forever. And when it comes to exercise, well, it's amazing how many extra steps you take in a day just picking up toys, wiping noses and doing laundry not to mention playing at the park. No wonder it's so easy to wave a fond goodbye to the intense workout program you enjoyed before baby.

I'm lucky to work close enough to a gym that I can escape - I mean train - there on my lunch break three days a week. I like to exercise, and it makes me feel good that I'm doing something for myself... and by myself! But training indoors at the same facility week after week had become about as much fun as getting my daughter out of the McDonald's play area. I knew I was coasting, and that I'm capable of so much more.

Really, my motivation for writing part of this article was simple: When I see a woman jogging down the street, I want to think, "I can do that," not "I should de that." Instead of limping along in my exercise program, I want to run circle around it. So I began taking my own magazine's very sound advice.

do it for you

Put exercise on your schedule. Keep a fitness log. Involve your family. Set realistic goals. Mix up your cardio activities and try new things. Push yourself!

M&F HERS encourages women of all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities to get fit by stressing several tips such as these. The key may be to make yourself accountable; after all, no one else is going to get fit for you. And if you're also accountable to someone else -- say, a kazillion M&F HERS readers -- you'll quickly grasp the importance of being creative, following through and pushing your limits! I started by making "appointments" to exercise on a blank calendar page, plugging in fun-sounding outdoor cardio sessions from previous M&F HERS articles as well as my own ideas. Having it in writing really helped. But you also need to be flexible: If you want to run stadium stairs but get to the track and find a meet in progress, for example, have a backup workout ready.

With some of my workouts, my daughter and/or husband came along. Some are better done solo. All of them are low- or no-cost, so you still have money for diapers at the end of the day. If childcare is an a issue for you, ask your husband, family neighbors or friends to help. Your efforts might just get them motivated to exercise, too! Hire a babysitter if you need to; it's money well spent.

Back-to-school night

Scope out the facilities at a local high school or college: the best time to go is early morning or evening so you aren't displaced by gym classes. All-weather tracks (vs. cinder or dirt) are ideal for sprint sessions, but be considerate and stay in the outside lanes. Warm up and stretch, then begin jogging. When you're ready, elongate your stride and boost your speed to 80%-85% max for 100 meters. Slow to a jog to recover, heading back to the spot where you started your sprint. Repeat for a total of five sprints, then jog another couple of laps to coot down. Next time, try doing 200-meter sprints at 70% max, jogging 400 meters in between. Jogging plus five 100-meter sprints at 85%; 20 minutes: 190 calories.

Find a tennis or basketball court warm up and stretch. When you're ready, start at the first line and run to the next nearest line. Bend down and touch it, then run back to your starting mark. Touch that line, sprint to the second line, touch it and sprint back to the start. Repeat until you've touched all four lines. Take a 1-2-minute rest. For your second set, run to the first line, touch it, then run backward to the start. Repeat this sequence for all lines. Rest, then alternate forward and backward sets for 20 minutes.

Note: If the tennis court has a net up, run just outside the court; place your water bottle, fanny pack, etc., along the lines you'll run to as visual aids 10 sets of line sprints, one-minute rest periods, 20 minutes: 145 calories.

Speaking of tennis, thwacking that little green ball over the net (or even over the fence, if your stroke is anything like mine) can be wonderfully therapeutic for a stressed-out mom. It's even better when your husband's on the other side, running around after your wild shots! Taking a six-week class through a local parks and rec center or a community college doesn't cost much and can be a lot of fun. Since you won't be keeping your heart rate up thc entire time -- drills are generally interspersed with waiting your turn and picking up balls -- jog there and walk home if you can. 60-minute beginner/intermediate tennis class plus 15-minute jog and 25-minute walk: 375 calories.

anywhere activities

Even if you don't have a bike at home, you can cruise the countryside by renting a bike with a child's seat on the back at many vacation and tourist spots. This will probably be more of an "active rest" session, but it can still rev up your metabolism. And if you end up taking a detour to a playground or park for Junior, maybe dad can supervise while you put in another half-hour in the saddle. Flat biking at moderate speed, Santa Barbara, California, 30 minutes: 210 calories.