The focus of today’s Fitness Friday is finding more time in your schedule to exercise. In my case I have been forced into that scenario because the kids are not napping anymore. In the end I have gained more than I have lost from the new no-nap schedule.

I have an extra two hours in a day to get up and move now. We have spent nap time doing various things in order to keep the kids from falling asleep, especially after 3:00. On Monday we had “quiet time” and then went to Open Swim. We cleaned the entire house on Tuesday. On Wednesday we went shopping for a few gifts and spent over an hour walking around the store. Yesterday we moved furniture around, and today we cleaned up so I could vacuum up all of the mystery stuff we found from moving the furniture.

I’ve also had to incorporate more “Mommy directed” activity in the afternoon to help the kids stay awake until bedtime. We have gone for strolls around the neighborhood, and I even ventured out on a walk to the playground with them in the wagon (which is horrible to pull for a mile, but worth it for all of us). Another favorite activity is going to our neighbor’s house late in the day.

My next goal is to start doing yoga with the kids at least once a week. I know that we all will benefit from the stretching and muscle strengthening that comes with the practice of yoga. Maybe I will even improve my focus a bit!

Photo courtesy of Vimages

Today’s Fitness Friday is all about taking care of yourself  when you are sick. I have been pretty sick lately, but this week I somehow managed to get in some exercise. Maybe you’ll feel inspired, too.

~The kids and I have been taking neighborhood strolls. These excursions are nothing like the power walks I used to take when the kids were little and buckled into the stroller, but my energy level is pretty low with this awful cold. At least we are getting out and about.

~We had a spur of the moment soccer game in the backyard. The kids had a ball watching mommy run around trying to keep up with them! I think they had the advantage since they aren’t sick anymore.

~Of course, A2 and I had a swim lesson together. This week A2 swam to the deep end of the pool with out the barbell that we usually depend on to keep us afloat. That meant that Mommy had to work harder to keep up! We ended up swimming the length of the pool twice.

~This week we also were able to go on a hike at a local wildlife area. It was a lot of fun to explore nature and to get some exercise together as a family. It certainly wore the kids out!

I am hoping that I will be well enough to get back to the gym this week.

Photo courtesy of broma

In my post, Set a Wellness Goal, I had encouraged my readers to get on the fitness bandwagon with me. No one responded to that post with their own fitness goals. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to reach my wellness goal. This winter was long and hard on me and the kids.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again!

I am going to try setting a new goal. My kids are both taking swimming lessons, so I am going to take them to the Open Swim at the YMCA a couple of days a week. (I know that I really need to  get a good workout, but sometimes I have to start small in order to get started at all.) They need the practice, and I like the pool. I have taken them to Open Swim once and found that I actually get the same endorphin high that I normally get when I workout. I must be getting some benefit from being in that pool with them. I think that I will be more motivated to go because I can do this particular activity with my kids. I might just feel inspired to squeeze a workout in, too!

Are you willing to try again and set a new fitness goal? Let me know what your plans are. Inspire me!

Photo courtesy of whiskymac

Photo by zimpenfish

I had set a fitness goal recently. I planned on going to the gym twice a week and had hoped to see results quickly. I have discovered that getting to the gym is not really the problem. The actual problem is that I cannot get a whole workout in at the gym. Let me explain.

Little Miss A2 has figured out that the child watch folks will come get me after she screams for 10 minutes or if she wets her pants, which she has done promptly after going to the potty with me. Basically, if she has decided that she is not staying at child watch, she finds a way out of there. As a result, I have had very brief workouts. One lasted only 10 minutes and the maximum I have been able to get in is 20 minutes. Give me a break!

E has solved my workout woes, though. He got me a Wii Fit for my birthday. I LOVE it! I like how you play games in order to workout. You can also add other types of activity to your log, and it tracks your progress. This is going to be a great way for me to get fit! I also plan to use our gym, but now I have two ways to ensure that I get exercise without having to worry about child care.

Have you tried the Wii Fit? What do you like about it? Have you seen results from using it?

Photo by Mrs. Flinger

While I was surfing the blogosphere today, I happened upon a great blog post on Deconstructing Jen that inspired me to write about my fitness goals. Yes, I have been thinking about getting fit again. You see, when I was pregnant with C4, I gained 75 pounds. I got fit, though, and lost 100 pounds with diet and exercise. I looked fantastic and was the smallest size I have been as an adult! Then I got pregnant with A2 and gained 50 pounds even though I was walking 45-60 minutes twice a day 3-4 times a week. At the end I was even walking 3 times a day trying to get that overdue baby to come out! I lost some of the weight while I was nursing, but my antidepressant medication slows my metabolism and makes me incredibly hungry. Basically, I have to lose a lot of weight again. I also want enough energy to keep up with my demanding schedule. E and I went on a diet based on the glycemic index over the summer, and I lost some weight, but I didn’t feel good on that diet. I was also going to the gym 3 times a week, but found that I couldn’t keep up with that schedule and keep up with the other things I have to do around here. I’m telling you that I need a self-cleaning house!

So my new, official goal is to go to the gym twice a week. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it? I also know that setting small, attainable goals makes me more successful, and weight loss goals are more easily reached when you have support. Who is interested in joining me in this venture? We can do this thing together!

Set a small wellness goal for yourself, and post it as a comment. I’ll post about my wellness goal again in a week, and you can comment on how you are doing with your wellness goals. In January I will have a drawing for a prize for the reader who posts the most inspirational comments about her wellness goal.

UPDATE:

This wellness goal didn’t work that great for me. See my new goal. Will you join me in my new endeavor? Please post a comment there and tell me what you are doing to stay healthy! Plus I have started Fitness Friday where I will blog about my wellness efforts each week. Accountability works, you know.