Playground Fitness

As a mom to three young kids, I spend a lot of time at the playground.  Sometimes my boys want me to play with them, but other times they are happy to play together or with other children.  It is at during these latter times that I get to sneak in a workout.

Me? Exercise?  At the playground?  What will all the other moms think?

Who cares!  It’s fun!

The playground is a giant piece of gym equipment designed for body weight resistance and cardio work—and it’s not just for kids.  Take, for example, these five exercises to challenge major muscle groups:

Park Bench Push Ups—Standing behind the bench, rest your hands on the top of the back and walk approx two feet backwards.  This position should allow you to bend your elbows, lowering your torso toward the top of the bench back in a diagonal push-up position.  Straighten your elbows to return to start position.  

Park Bench Tricep Dips— Sit on the bench with palms on the edge, fingertips pointing down. Scoot your bum off of bench, then lower until elbows are bent to about 75°.  Press into the bench and extend elbows to return to start position.

Body Rows—Find a railing about three feet off the ground.  Slide underneath of it, grasp the railing, and extend the legs out long.  With your hands above your chest, flex and extend the elbows, pulling your body toward the railing and then lowering down again.

Squats- With feet shoulder width apart, bend at the knees (as if sitting in a chair) until thighs are parallel to the ground.  Straighten knees to return to upright position.  Be mindful to sit back as you move, preventing the knees from projecting beyond the toes.

Lunges with Knee Lift—Stand perpendicularly behind the park bench so you can hold on if you feel unstable.  Take a big step backward, then lower body by bending back knee down to the ground.  Align the front knee over the ankle.  As you stand, drive the back knee forward and up so that it is lifted in front of you.  After 10 reps, turn around and lunge/knee lift with the opposite leg.

If you can do 10 repetitions of each of these exercises, you’ll be warmed up well for a core workout:

V-Sit- Sit on the ground (or a platform of the playscape), raise up your legs (bent knee is okay), trying to balance only on your bum.  Straighten your arms and legs to increase the difficulty.  Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Plank- Rest your forearms in the seat of a swing, then push the swing away from your body until you are in a diagonal plank position.  Hold for 20-30 seconds.

Monkey Bars- Crossing the monkey bars requires a lot of core strength.  If it hurts your hands to do the monkey bars, hold and hang and try to lift your knees to your chest.  Go for 8-10 repetitions of hanging crunches.

By this time, I’m sure your kids are wondering what you’re doing, and they probably want to get in on the fun.  Here are some ideas for cardio exercises that will help all of you burn lots of energy:

Walking Windmills—With each step, raise one leg out in front of you while reaching forward with the opposite arm.  Step again, with the other leg out and the alternate hand reaching forward.  Circle the arms to get the windmill effect.

Step Ups- Using a step or the playground edging, step up-up-down-down.  Kids like to try to do this really quickly, and turning it into a game can make you go faster (and thus increase the cardio load) than you’d probably want to do otherwise.  What great motivation!

Ladder Races—Pick three objects in the park that are roughly in a line, each one slightly further than the previous one.  The object is to run (or do some other cardio activity like skip, hop, gallop, run backwards, shuffle sideways, crabwalk…kids love to choose!) to the first object, then run back to the start.  Then run to the second object and run back to the start.  Finish by running to the third object then return to the start. 

Now all of the other kids at the playground are watching you and your kids having a great time, so they want to play, too.  It’s time for relay races! 

Think about it—you’re getting in a workout and being a great role model for the kids.  Fitness can be fun, positive family time.  Be creative!

Just remember that as you increase your exercise, drink plenty of water.  Hydrated, strong muscles are a key component of a healthy body.  Please receive clearance from your physician before engaging in this or any other physical activity program.

Good health and great happiness to you!

Scottie Strong!

Today was field day at my boys’ school.  If you want to know about a public school PE program that is doing amazing things, read on.

The school’s mascot is the scottie dog, and this year’s Scottie Olympics theme was “I’m Scottie Strong!”  The genius behind the event (and CFO– Chief Fitness Officer) is the school’s PE coach, Jim DeLine.  He worked tirelessly with part-time PE coach James Supak and a very large contingent of parent volunteers.

Promoting an atmosphere of friendly competition– and always stressing that participating with your best effort is the goal for which one should always strive–the Scottie Olympics are a day of relay races, teamwork games, and favorite PE activities.

If you think this type of event is just thrown together, take a look at how detailed the schedule is:

The Kindergarteners started off the event.  First, the Olympians filed in to the arena.  That’s my Monkey with the water bottle, quite excited for the events.

First race?  The hurdles:

There were relay races, too, in which the kids had to use their “butterfly hands” to ensure a good hand-off of the baton.

The kinder kids were lucky to compete in the morning.  As the day wore on, the sun got really strong.  Thankfully, a local dermatologist had donated sunscreen, and it was readily available to apply it regularly.

Each child brought a water bottle from home, and the teacher carried each class’ bottles from station to station.

In addition to the outdoor races and games, there were several indoor stations.  I arrived just in time to see my third-grader preparing for the long jump.

Good jump!

For the kids, the highlight of the day is the tug-0f-war: Parents vs. Kids!

The kids won!

Parent and businesses sponsor the Scottie Olympics, and the planning committee makes sure they are acknowledged.

Running the events are “Junior Coaches”– fifth-grade students who volunteer for a year-long training program to learn how to teach sports skills and lead activities with younger students.  Under the direction of Coach DeLine, they do an amazing job keeping the events of Scottie Olympics running on-time and with a positive, encouraging atmosphere.

In summary, what you have is a day devoted to the fun of fitness, where older students feel ownership of the event and the whole school is bursting with Scottie pride.  While this event wouldn’t be possible without the hours of parent volunteer efforts, it helps to have a PE coach who is so dedicated to his job that he camped out the night before just to make sure no one came into the park and messed with all the set-up the volunteers and parent coaches had done.

Seriously.  See that yellow tent in the background, left side of the photo above?  A public school PE coach SLEPT OUTSIDE just to make sure everything would be perfect for the kids to have a fantastic field day.

Talk about walking the walk.

 

Topsy Turvy

So, all went silent here at onbalance for a while.  We had a few weeks Charles Dickens would have been proud of, for they certainly were the best of times and the worst of times.  That said, let us be grateful that our worst of times are only as bad as they are….

We had Spring Break, which started off with The Monkey going to the doctor to have a cyst in his ear lanced.  If that sounds both uncomfortable and gross, you are on the right track to understanding this experience.  To reward him for outstanding behavior at the doctor’s office– truly, I would not have been so calm– I let him pick an afternoon activity.

We set off to Sweet Berry Farms to pick strawberries.

We picked nearly 7 pounds of strawberries in less than an hour.  It took us less than 48 hours to eat 7 pounds of strawberries.  We like strawberries!

The next day we had a Cousins Meet-In-The-Middle Day in Waco at the Cameron Park Zoo.  Neither my Sister-in-Law (who lives in Dallas) nor I (who live in Austin) had been to this zoo before, but it proved to be a great day trip.  Even though it was Spring Break, the crowds were manageable, the animals were exciting to watch, and the kids had a great time.

The Stowaway and her Girl Cousin even got out of their strollers to live it up on a park bench.

The Boy Cousin joined The Monkey and The Bear for a ride on a wild animal.

By this point it was Wednesday, and things were looking up.  I had a bit of a toothache, but we were getting ready to head to Houston for a few days of fun with family friends, so I didn’t think much of it.

While in Houston, I was enjoying chatting away a sunny afternoon with a dear friend while our children ran around at a playground.  My bliss was interrupted by a horrific scream, one I identified immediately as coming from The Monkey.  The next thing I knew, he was running down the playground slide, spattering it with blood, and his forehead and fabulous flop of hair was caked in bright red.  I know that head wounds bleed profusely, but trust me when I say there was a staggering amount of blood.  I held him while he screamed for a few minutes, and the spare t-shirt of The Stowaway’s being used as a bandage was soaked in blood.  I decided to call 9-1-1.

After a long wait (17 minutes!), the ambulance arrived.  The EMTs recommended taking The Monkey to the hospital for a neurological evaluation.  (The upside of the horrific screaming that was still coming from my boy was that he never passed out.)  I got to ride in an ambulance for the first time.  Lucky me.

After the ER doc determined The Monkey still had brains in his head, he glued my boy back together again.  Hooray for no stitches!

And because we like irony in our family, The Monkey had to play in the ambulance when we went to the Children’s Museum of Houston the next day.

By the time we arrived back home to Austin the next day, I was in sheer pain from my toothache.  Fortunately my dentist was able to work me in within an hour of calling Monday morning, and by lunch time I’d had a root canal.  Yippee!  In all honesty, I am grateful for modern dentistry.  As much as it stinks to have to have (and pay for– OUCH) a root canal, going from 10 on a pain scale to 2 within 24 hours is nothing short of a blessing.

So, thank goodness the kids were back to school so I could focus on my mouth, my clients, and the regular running of the family…right!?  Two days after the root canal, The Stowaway came down with the dreaded pink eye.

Back to the doctor we went….

I guess all of this is the long-winded way of letting you know why I haven’t posted in a while.

Here’s hoping you and yours have had less excitement in your lives lately!

Lunchbox Lamentation

Don’t get me wrong: I’m *ecstatic* that the boys are off to school again on Monday. The Bear will be in third grade, and The Monkey will be joining him at the local elementary school as a brand spanking new Kindergartner. The downside to having two kids in full-time school is lunch. We are lunchbox packers for a few reasons: 1) it’s economical, 2) it’s a healthier choice, and 3) my kids like to choose what they eat.

Although The Bear would be perfectly happy with a PB&J on whole wheat with carrots and either grapes or a clementine every day, I think that variety in his diet is important. The Monkey hasn’t had to pack a lunch with any regularity so far, so we’ll see his preferences. At any rate, *I* have lunch rules: lunches must have a protein, a whole grain, and at least one fruit and at least one vegetable. They get water to drink. We avoid artificial colors, HFCS, and trans-fats. Thankfully, we have no peanut restrictions or allergies to work around. And if it isn’t already obvious, I’m way too lazy to do the Bento thing with any real commitment.

I wanted to involve the boys in our lunch planning. We sat down a their table in the kitchen, and each boy got a piece of paper. The Bear was in charge of listing out all the whole grains he could think of. The Monkey was charged with listing proteins. Then we all brainstormed other options for each list.

Whole grains: whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortilla/pita, multigrain crackers, popcorn, Veggie Booty, cereal (whole grain, high fiber), whole wheat or multigrain pasta, oatmeal, and granola

Proteins: greek yogurt, lowfat cheese (cubes or sticks), peanut butter, eggs (hard boiled, already peeled), deli meat (low-sodium, nitrate-free), beans (black, refried, garbanzo, kidney), hummus, nuts (cashews, almonds, pecans, walnuts, pistachios), lowfat cottage cheese, milk, tuna, lowfat cream cheese, turkey mini-meatloafs.

Fruit and vegetable choices can be made from whatever we have in the house. My kids are great fruit & veg eaters, so these lunch items are not a struggle in my house.

We also brainstormed some favorite combination foods: bean & cheese burritos, quesadillas, hummus & veggies, yogurt & granola, sandwiches/wraps, pesto pasta primavera, trail mix, cottage cheese with fruit, cereal & milk, pita cheese pizza, chicken salad (a modified waldorf style), homemade lunchables

Now my boys are ready to help pack their lunches. We have the lists posted in the kitchen, so they can use them for reference. I don’t need lunch to be fancy; I just need it to be healthy and easy.

I’m sharing the lists here, but I urge you to sit down with your kids and make your own. There are a lot of good conversations to be had about balanced meals, portion sizes, and healthy options. I’d love to hear about your favorite packed lunch menus.

Here’s to a happy, healthy school year!

Family Fitness Traditions

I’ve blogged here multiple times about how I grew up in an active family. I’ve also blogged about activities my husband and I like to do with our kids. I was recently featured in the Austin American Statesman about my family tradition of running. It’s a short article that gets to the heart of how just one fitness-minded person can influence lots of people over several generations.

I’m grateful to my parents for having instilled in me a sense that health and wellness are not just important for my physical body but that living an active life is a way to build relationships and community. I can only hope that my kids see how much their dad and I enjoy running (and hiking and exploring and…) and build a life-long appreciation for fitness.

For the Love of Sport

You see that kid in the center of the photo? That’s my kid, The Bear. He’s 7, the youngest kid in the second grade, the shortest boy, and he weighs about the same as his 4 year old brother. He plays no organized sports (gasp!), and in two years of weekly gymnastics lessons has only just learned to get his feet over his head when doing a cartwheel. My kid, he’s more of a mathlete than an athlete.

Knowing that he comes from a family of runners (going back to his grandfather who also wore burnt orange when running for the University of Texas in the late 60s), The Bear decided it would be fun to enter the Austin Youth Cross Country Run. Yesterday he competed in his first-ever race: a 1K.

As I walked him to the starting line, he told me very self-assuredly that he wasn’t worried about getting lost, because he knew he could follow the boys in front of him. I told him that, just like everything else, if he did his best and had fun with it, I would be proud of him. Little brother and I lined up to watch the start, and sure enough The Bear was not the fastest boy in his heat.

But look at him. See his head down? …his arms pumping? …both feet off of the ground? That’s my kid finishing his first race. No one was telling him to run like that. His concentrated, full effort was his doing. That’s the picture of a self-motivated kid enjoying running, learning the thrill of friendly competition, and doing what comes naturally.

I have no idea what his finish time was, and he never asked about it, either. As far as The Bear
is concerned, he had a great race. I think so, too.

International Walk to School Day

As much as I wish that there were no need for such a proclamation, today is International Walk to School Day. Founded to promote establishing safe routes to school so that children can reap the social and health benefits of walking to school, the organization also notes the environmental benefits walking provides.

My family is fortunate to live very close (under 1/4 mile) from our local Austin ISD elementary school. We walk to and from school every day, collecting a slew of neighbor children on our way. I can attest to the social benefits of our morning walk: the kids chatter about what they did the night before, and the adults swap sports scores and daily to-do lists. We have met a lot of neighbors by way of our walking to school, and having a friendlier community is better for everyone.

If you don’t have a safe, walkable (or bikeable) route to school, check out these resources to get some ideas for how improvements can be made in your neighborhood. These routes can pave the way (pardon the pun) for a safer neighborhood for all, not just children on their way to and from school. For many families, the morning time crunch may be an impediment to walking or biking to school. Perhaps you can set a goal of just one morning per week of leaving the car at home and getting to school under your own power. The kids will likely enjoy the adventure, and I’ve long promoted exercise first thing in the morning as a way to boost energy all day. And what an efficient way to establish a routine of regular exercise!

Walking to school provides one other significant benefit: I am grateful every day that I do not have to participate in the carpool line rodeo. Isn’t that motivation enough to lace up your shoes?

Fun Places to Play

As many of you know, I’ve taken the summer off to travel with my family. One of the best parts about travelling with children is that you get to explore some really cool playgrounds. I’m not talking about the giant plastic cookie-cutter playscapes you find littering the American landscape. I’m talking about some really cool apparatus on which children can climb, whirl, slide, jump, and otherwise tire themselves out.

London is a fabulous city for children. There’s a playground right in the shadow of the London Eye, and it had a great circuit of balance activities.

My younger son, the Monkey:

The Monkey and one of our London friends

There’s also a super cool web climber, and it took all of my strength not to try it out, too.

The Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens is a must-do; tt’s Peter Pan themed.

(That’s one of me scallywags up ‘top the crow’s nest)

Yo ho ho!

My little princes…

This is an awesome playground in Coin Street near Waterloo; we’ve been there several times before.

The Monkey loved the “up high climbing places”

Another fairly common find in South London playgrounds is the zip line. You know how I love a zip line! The Bear does, too.

When we got tired of playgrounds, we’d just go to the park. I keep this super-quick-inflatable ball in my bag, so we’re ready to make up games at any time.

It was also a good way for my boys to make friends.

We even found a playground in Venice!! Venice!!! Where the streets are made of water and there is pretty much zero green space!!! This one was on Murano.

Travel with kids is a lot more fun when they have great places to play. And these places were pretty fun for the adults, too!

On the Road

Pardon the near radio silence from me, but I’ve been on the road for the last two weeks. My family has chosen to take a sabbatical this summer. We have started our family time together in Europe, spending time with relatives in Italy and friends in our former home London. Travelling with children (aged not-quite seven and not-quite four) has its challenges, but the rewards are so great. And although our sabbatical is designed to give us a lot of time together, fitting in time for ourselves is also a key element to keeping everyone happy.

Obviously, staying fit while travelling is a priority for me. My running shoes go where I go, and I have few greater loves than running in London. It makes my soul happy in a way that makes me unequivocally grateful to be alive. Running in new cities is a great way to explore, and most concierges or B&B proprietors are happy to suggest safe routes. When it’s impossible to take turns for a run, my husband and I do a short circuit workout (like the one I posted quickly last week) for 15-20 minutes. It’s also an easy practice to do 25 pushups first thing in the morning and last thing before bed; this strategy gave me sufficient upper body strength to handle the serious gelato eating I did in Italy. Not bad for two minutes of work per day!

I appreciate the lifestyle fitness that comes with a walking culture. Add in the far-greater-than-normal amount of stair-climbing I’ve done lately (how is it that every place we’ve stayed has been on the top floor of a building without an elevator?), and I’m feeling pretty good about my fitness. It certainly doesn’t hurt that I’m carrying a Mom Bag that weighs about 8 pounds everywhere I go. Carrying the bag up every bell tower, church dome, and high-point vista serves as a good reminder that I don’t want to be 8 pounds heavier! One of the essential items in the Mom Bag is a Gertie Ball, which can be quickly inflated with a small straw if we find a place to have a little family kick around (and then deflated and tucked back into the bag when it’s time to move on). I’m grateful that my kids are so keen to walk and explore, but I admit to leaving the quality high-intensity interval training of pigeon chasing to my boys.

Good health and great happiness to you.

Making Peace on Mother’s Day

Who among us has never wished for longer legs, a smaller waist, or a better-proportioned body? It never takes long, when in a group of mothers, before the discussion turns to our mama bodies. And never is this conversation positive: saggy boobs…elephant skin at the navel…those last five pounds of milk fat stores on the thighs that have yet to believe that you are done sustaining another life. “When will I get my body back?,” is the common refrain I hear regularly from my friends, my clients, and my inner critic.

We are quick to judge, criticize, and self-flagellate, yet these same bodies are the physical link between us and our children. Gestating and breastfeeding are obvious positive body images, but even if you did not birth your child, your body has a central role in your mothering—hugging, holding, carrying, cuddling, chasing, tousling…the list is infinite. These bodies of ours? They deserve to be honored and respected.

Blogs like the shape of a mother do an outstanding job of providing a forum for women to discuss body image issues in a non-judgmental environment. I challenge you to read a few of the entries and feel anything other than wonder, amazement, and gratitude that the female body can do what it does to nourish new life.

This Mother’s Day, think about your body. What has it done to support the little one(s) you mother? In what ways large and small can you celebrate your body and its integrated role with daily mothering?

Next time you’re struggling to find motivation for a workout or a healthy meal, remember how amazing your body is and how much goodness it has brought into your life. Give yourself permission to let go of an ideal of perfection and make peace with yourself. Working towards a fitness goal that will make you the healthiest mother possible is far more important than any media-driven or self-preconceived ideal of physical beauty.

Good health, great happiness, and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to you!