How are we feeling about a fitness post? I’ll be honest, I’m feeling awkward. I am not athletic. That may have been one of the first sentences I uttered to my husband (who is one of those freaks who is good at, like, every sport). I huff and puff when I run, I have ZERO hand-eye coordination, and I don’t have a competitive bone in my body. My sister is my hero. She was handed the same set of DNA I was, but she still manages to lace up her running shoes and run RACES. Real ones. With numbers and everything. And she has kids, you guys! I have no excuse.
I have focused so much on nutrition the past 3 years, and have let my fitness level lay stagnant. I tell myself that I’m fine because I have lost all my baby weight (an embarrassing 70 lbs with my first and 40 with my second) and I do yoga mixed with the occasional long walk pushing the kids in the stroller. Excuses, excuses. I don’t want to be that girl! Nutrition and fitness should naturally go hand & hand. I want to prove that you can not only eat healthy on a budget, but stay fit without throwing money at a trainer or gym. Would you guys be interested in helping me stay accountable with my fitness goals? I will do a new challenge every month in 2014. For example: I want to do yoga every week day in the month of January. I love yoga already, so I thought it would be a good place to start. Well, maybe it’s more that I have a hard time committing to big change, and this seemed like a good way to eeeeaaaase myself in. If you are interested in joining me, but have never done yoga before, Erin Motz has an awesome 30 day introduction here. I’ve done that one before and it’s fun and easy. It’s a great choice if you are post-partum and need something gentle. If you are at a higher fitness level and want something more challenging without having to pay any money, doyogawithme.com has tons of free classes. Today I did this class, because it’s one of my tried-and-true favorites, and it kicks my booty everytime. Even Granola Guy likes this one. If you are an intermediate-level yogi, check out the rest of Kim Wilson’s classes on that site. You won’t be disappointed.
One of the reasons I have avoided a gym membership (besides the obvious expense) is because it’s really important to me that the Granola Babies actually see me exercise, and join me. When I visualize our family’s future, I see us being active together. Luckily, Granola Guy loves yoga almost as much as I do, and our toddler likes to join us. Where does baby hang out while we are doing all this? Well, if you haven’t nursed a baby in downward-facing dog, you haven’t lived 🙂 We also like to take our kids on hikes, and now that Granola Baby #2 is older, we can hike longer. This weekend we went for an easy and quick walk around the San Elijo Lagoon. It was really easy for us grown ups and the tiniest Granola Baby, who was carried by her daddy in the Ergo. However, for Granola Baby #1 who turns 3 in two days (!), it was a real challenge. She huffed and puffed her way back up the hill on the way back, and enjoyed throwing rocks off the 5 foot “cliff” at the top. This was the first time she has walked an entire hike with us, and I was so impressed that she stuck it out!
Now that I’ve declared my goal for January (yoga every weekday), will you help me choose a goal for February? I want to start running more, but I always hate it so much that I quit. Do you have advice for someone like me, who loves yoga and hiking, but hates running? Granola Guy says I should embrace my personality and accept that I don’t like to run, and try other things instead. Do you have a favorite free, online fitness class? What are your favorite workouts you like to do with young kids? I’m going to take the weekend off to celebrate Granola Baby #1’s third birthday, but I’ll be back Monday with our meal plan for the week.
Granola-Girl-Talk 
Hey THANKS for the shout out. I do kind of agree with Granola Guy. If you do not love running, don’t run. Find something you do love and do it but do it lots and get passionate about it and be consistent, and set goals to improve that one thing you love. I love running most of the time but some days I hate it. Like really hate it. I started doing something on those days that I like to call miles with meaning. That is how I run on the days I hate it. Last week for my first run post partum… I was dreading it, so I ran my 3.1 miles with meaning. I ran 1 mile for Ella. Thought about things I want for her, all the millions of things I love about her, funny memories of her early years, ways to help her, things I want for her future. I only thought about her for that whole mile. Then mile 2 I ran for Cash same way, and mile 3 was for Violet. Works well for me. Oh, and I love that you want your girls to see you exercise, I think that is so important. I hope my kids notice my commitment to running and commit to fitness themselves one day too.
Angie,
I have never heard of “miles with meaning” before, and I think that’s a great idea! I’m pretty much the same–run regularly, but some days I dread it–and that’s probably one of the most brilliant, exercise-distracting/motivating ideas I’ve ever heard of haha
Love this post! I too have slacked recently on the fitness because I have been making excuses…well its time to stop:)!! I have been a runner for quiet so time and love it. That is my go to exercise but I really want to try and get into yoga more. I love doing the jillian michaels dvds because they are 20 mins and a mix of cardio and strength. My advice for running if you really want to give it a try is that it is all mental. Your body is strong enough to run but you always give out mentally first. I always tells myself when I want to give up in running that I am strong and I CAN do hard things. I think running for me is a great way to clear my head and to help build confidence in myself. It is definitely hard at first but just take time start slow and focus on positive things about yourself! You can do it! Ps- love the blog!
You have some great points! I CAN do hard things too! I am a social runner (harhar) and love running with my husband. Unfortunately, he hates running with slow people. Gee, I wonder why??? We made a little compromise yesterday where he would run with me down at the beach. Every few staircases, I will stretch and do yoga with the babies while he runs up and down the stairs so he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on a good workout. Works for me!
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I LOVE this!! I use to looove running when I was in high school and college and now I just love yoga and hiking (we’re kind of like twins). I have found it so hard to get motivated to get dressed, get the baby dressed and time it perfectly so he’s happy the whole time in the stroller. I’ve been out with him before and had to carry him home so I didn’t look like a complete neglectful mother to everyone who would have listened to him scream as we ran by. I’ll join you in the goal to do yoga every weekday this month. That’ll keep me going. I also like the idea of breaking down into month long goals. That’ll help keep it simple and will be easier to stay motivated knowing I only have to do it for a month then I get to move on to something new. I would love to hear what other people suggest for future months’ fitness goals.
You have no idea how excited this made me! I did my yoga tonight, and I didn’t like it. Naptime yoga all the way.
I like this goal! I’ve been doing yoga on-and-off for a while, just pulling from youtube videos, so I’ll check out these sites. Thanks 🙂
I ran cross-country in high school and I’m still a pretty avid runner. An exercise that you could start in February is cycling. Whenever I get sick of running or my muscles are sore, I go for a long bike ride instead. It works some of the same leg muscles and is easier on your joints. I think it’s a good cardiac exercise to help you ease into running. Plus, it’s easier to stick your head phones on and not have to worry about your buds bouncing out of your ears.You just have to remember to increase your mileage or your pace each week so you prepare your endurance level for running.
Bike riding is definitely something to consider. We have bikes with kid seats on them and usually just ride for fun- I DO sweat, I just never thought of it as a real workout before. Unfortunately, headphones are a thing of the past for me- I am too paranoid and have to check on my kids every 5 seconds (“Are you okay? Are you breathing?” “Yeah, momma, I otay”)
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