With school out this week if you are in south Florida, and soon enough if you are anywhere else, some parents are wondering how they will squeeze their exercise into the day. While you may not always be able to slip away for your kickboxing or Zumba workout at the gym, there are so many alternative calorie burners, and many you can do WITH the kids.
If the weather is right (and living in land of every afternoon summer rain, I’ve learned that you have to take advantage of the breaks in the storms and sometimes just embrace them when they are sans lightening) getting outside and just playing with your kids can burn a couple of hundred calories an hour. Even pushing your baby in the stroller will burn close to 150 calories in an hour for a 130 pound individual. Kids love getting involved in gardening and an hour of that will burn about 300 calories for the same 130 pound person, and adding some leaf raking (kids love to jump in the piles) will add more calorie burn. Hit the pool and race them doing laps, for a big bang. 130 pound person can burn close to 500 calories an hour swimming laps.
Stuck indoors? House cleaning will certainly burn calories and exercise lots of muscles but if you are not in the mood, I say turn on the stereo and make like Ellen and just dance. Encourage your kids to be leaders doing silly moves and you follow. Take turns. Get them involved. Busy kids are happy (and healthy!) kids and happy kids are happy parents.
Don’t just sit there. DO ANYTHING!
