Simple Stroller Workout

Simple Stroller Workout

It’s been awhile since I have posted anything, and as some of you know it’s due to being a new mom. While exercise and pregnancy and post partum health and exercise is something I have been trained in, I certainly never felt it was my place to write about it because I always felt if I had never experienced it it was not my place to speak on.

Now that I have experienced all that goes into pregnancy and childbirth I will be writing a series of blogs specifically for women in pregnancy and post-partum. Please feel free to share this with your mom (and dad) friends!
This is the first of a series of entries. Remember always not to do any exercise that causes any pain of any kind. Also keep in mind, we do treat everything from back pain during pregnancy to wrist pain post-partum and everything in between.  It’s so important to take care of yourself during these important transitional times so you can also take better care of the litle one.
If you’re a mom, especially a new mom, you know that time is no longer your own. You may also feel like me…you spend alot of wasted time rocking and soothing your baby.  I mean, a lot. I don’t mean it’s a waste of time to rock your baby…what I mean is it ends up being a lot of down time where you can get easily bored and may, like me, wish there was something you could do in the meantime to keep yourself not only awake but productive. This is especially true if you were blessed with a fussy, colicky or high need baby. The incredible amounts of time spent trying to get your little one to settle can also be incredibly frustrating and try your patience.
So to get the most out of those times, consider small workouts with the little one while trying to settle him/her.
This workout is designed to get something accomplished while keeping the stroller moving…and we all know the stroller must keep moving!!
Stroller Workout Series:
1. Stroller Sumo Squats
Place feet as wide as you can with the feet at 45 degree angles. Squat down keeping your spine straight and tailbone towards the floor. Go as far down as you can keeping the back straight pushing the stroller forward. On the way up, squeeze your butt and push your hips forward and bring the stroller back towards you. Be sure that as you squat down your knees are following the path towards your toes, not towards the center. As in, your knees should not come in but stay out. Think of the knees as going towards the first and second toes.
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2. Walking Lunges
While pushing the stroller, perform walking-style lunges alternating left and right leg as you go.
3. Single Leg Stroller squats
This is a more advanced squat. Here, standing on one leg, sit back as far as you can and as low as you can. Think of it as sitting back in a chair getting your butt back behind you. Push the stroller forward on the squat down portion, and then back towards you when rising from the squat. Remember coming up to squeeze up with the glutes and straighten the knee and hip entirely before going back down. Try not to every put the other leg down on the ground, stay on a single leg for the entire set.
Do not let the knee come forward of the toes and do not let the knee come in towards your midline (towards your other knee).
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Work on getting in 3 sets of 15-20 reps of each exercise…or just keep going until the baby hopefully falls asleep! Getting this small workout in will do wonders for your legs and ass and hopefully at the same time give your little one some soothing stroller motion!