Guest blogger Mandi Reading is a certified personal trainer, certified nutrition consultant and mother of three young children. You can find her blogging every day about fitness, nutrition, mothers and their families at Trainermomma.
When I workout, I get the question quite frequently, “What are you training for?”.
The only answer I can honestly give is, “motherhood.”
I work with a lot of women and often they joke that after having their children their bodies take a nose dive and they are stuck in an endless downward spiral. I disagree. Having children is not necessarily a life sentence of love handles. Our children can play a central role to get us and keep us in shape.
1. They’re Watching
I was strapping my kids in their car seats once, joking with them and laughing. My daughter asked, “Mom, why are you in such a good mood?”.
Before I could come up with a good answer she answered her own question, “Oh, I know. You worked out this morning.”
These little guys are watching us. They know what food goes into our mouths and if activity is a regular part of our day. Even if they don’t adopt our healthy habits now, at some point in their life they will. We are setting their foundation for health by each good choice we make for ourselves.
2. Keeping Up With Them
Life is much more exciting when experienced with a child by your side. Water skiing, hiking a mountain, playing basketball, swimming in a brisk lake are all exhilarating, but even more so when doing it with your children. I want to be involved; being a spectator parent is not what I had in mind when I had these kiddos.
3. The Big Picture
As women we get so wrapped up in “skinny = healthy” and often miss the bigger picture. We exercise and eat right for today and for 30 years from now. Weight loss is often an added benefit, but there is much more to it. Healthy hearts, healthy brains, healthy bones, healthy muscles all add to a higher quality of life.
The best endurance, high intensity interval training, and weight lifting routine out there is the workout we do every day: Being a mom.
Let’s get training!