Commentary by Kara Babcock
The flowers are blooming and the sun is out! It’s time to get outside and enjoy the springtime in Indiana! After months of being stuck indoors, it’s wonderful to finally be able to do outdoor activities and enjoy the beautiful weather with your family! If your little ones are anything like mine, they love to be outside and be active!
Here are some great suggestions on activities, places and exercises, which you can do with your little ones outside this spring.
Walking Trails
Find a group of moms/parents to go for weekly walks or stroller jogs. Hamilton County has so many wonderful trails so why not organize a group to get together weekly for walks on the Monon or in your neighborhood. While you are on your walk, a great way to a little extra strength training is by doing walking lunges.
How to do Walking Stroller lunges:
Stand behind your stroller with your hands on the handlebar shoulder-width apart. Lunge forward with one leg, pushing the stroller out in front of you. Your knee should be directly above your ankle and your thigh parallel to the ground. Return to the standing position and lunge with the other leg.
Parks
Parks a fantastic place to take your little ones to get in a little exercise. Not only are they going to love playing on the slides and swings but there are a lot of ways in which you can incorporate the equipment into an exercise. During your morning or afternoon at the park, take a few minutes and do “kiss the baby” push-ups.
How to do a “kiss the baby” push-up:
Find a bench and park your baby’s stroller safely against the bench with the brake in place. Facing your baby/stroller, place your arms shoulder-width apart on it. Keeping back and abdominals strong, lower your chest to the bench and then press back to the starting position. Keep your body in a straight line. As you are lowering your body, give your little one a quick little smooch or peek-a-boo for some giggles!
Backyard
Where is an easier location than your backyard to take your little one to enjoy the beautiful weather? Here are 2 easy & fast exercises you can do in the luxury of your backyard which will get your heart pounding and little ones giggling!
How to do peek-a-boo squats:
Stand behind your stroller with your hands on the handlebar shoulder-width apart. With your feet and knees forward, squat down as if sitting on a chair, keeping your weight in your heels and your knees directly above your ankles. (Be careful not to put weight on the stroller; you don’t want it to tip.) Squeeze your rear end and return to the starting position. As you squat down in front of your baby, play a fun game of peek-a-boo so you can hear their adorable baby belly laughs!
How to do tickle-toes fast feet:
While outside, park your baby’s stroller with the brake in place. Facing the stroller, use jog in place with “fast feet”, as your are jogging in place, every 10 seconds, jump up and as your land on your feet, tickle your little ones toes! This is sure to loads of laughs out of your little one!
Family-Oriented 5K or 10K Training
If you have had the goal of running a 5K or 10K, find a local training/running group such as Baby Boot Camp’s 5K training or several of the running stores also offer 5K trainings!
There are a ton of great races coming up this Spring with the Zionsville 5K, Geist Half-Marathon and lots of other fun family friendly races. It’s a great way to set a healthy goal as a family to accomplish together.
Kara Babcock is an ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor. She can be reached at [email protected].
