Keeping Fit With the Kids: Exercise Ideas for All Ages

It seems like everybody’s striving to lead a healthier lifestyle at the moment, but so many moms feel like they don’t have the time to exercise in between fulfilling their mommy duties. Unless your babies are still tiny, there’s no reason why they can’t join in with your exercise; they’re actually likely to love it! Here are a few age appropriate suggestions on ways to keep fit with the kids…

1-4 Years Old: Cycling

When your children are really little, there’s not much they can do to join in with your exercise. However, with cycling, you can take them with you. Buy a bike seat from somewhere like Britax UK and let them sit behind you comfortably whilst you ride along the riverside on a sunny afternoon. The fresh air will be great for them and they’ll probably love coming along for the ride.

4-7 Years Old: Dance Class

Hyperactive younger children need to burn off steam, and a great way to do this whilst keeping fit yourself is to join a dance class together. Choose one close to their school so you can go straight there and make sure it’s one that’s child friendly. Something energetic like disco or hip-hop will be the most effective at getting your heart rate racing, and it’s less technical than something like ballet so the kids will find it much more fun.

7-10 Years Old: Yoga

For the slightly older child, yoga is a good choice. It’s perfect for moms who aren’t so keen on exercise, and it has amazing benefits for your overall wellbeing, helping you to feel more energised and happy. Kids will probably find the whole thing very amusing, so they’ll enjoy coming along providing you can trust them not to get too giggly. Again, joining a class that welcomes children is preferable, and they might even make a few new friends out of it.

10-13 Years Old: Running

If your babies aren’t babies anymore, starting to go running together is a great way to squeeze in some extra bonding time. Unless you’re already a running pro, they should have no problem keeping up with you, so you don’t need to worry about that. You could even look ahead to taking part in a local fun run or short marathon for charity together to give you something to work towards.