7 Ways to Work Out With Kids in Winter

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Oh exercise. Some days I truly hate you. Thing is, I know I need you.

However, my daily schedule with three little ones plus working from home make my options to go to a gym pretty limited. Instead, I have to settle on working out at home most of the time. My goal this year is to break a full sweat at least 2-3 times/week. These are a few things I do:

7 Ways to Work Out With Kids in Winter

• Run/walk on the treadmill. I try to sneak in a run while the kids are happily playing when possible. Sometimes I can’t manage to squeeze in a full run, but at least I’m moving. A recent funny exchange between my husband and I:
• Play outside! First, getting my little ones dressed feels like a workout in itself. I focus on walking in the snow and sledding with my kids for an hour or so each day. They need that outside time, and frankly, so do I. Getting that Vitamin D makes me feel great. Also, the stat of only 1 in 3 kids are physically active each day is alarming to me. If I’m not active, why would they think they would need to be?

They are thinking “Sucker! Got her to push us around in this sled again!” ? #legday #getoutside #gooutsideandplay #snow #michigan #michigankids #playoutside #milesurban #karinaesther

A photo posted by Lauren Weber (@laurenweber84) on Jan 14, 2016 at 2:41pm PST

• Dance party. This may be my favorite way to get my heart rate up. We pop on the Power Hip Hop station on Pandora and get down. Or, we run laps around the basement stairs.
• Shovel snow. Forget the blower — this is wear the real workout is. The kids love to help, and I enjoy the upper body workout, even if it makes me sore for the day.
• Workout videos. I enjoy the quick 20-minute videos, such as Jillian Michael’s 30-Day Shred. I can work various parts of my body with simple hand weights, and break a sweat — all before my kids lose their cool. In fact, many times, they do it right along with me!
• Make a game out of chores. I make my kids clean-up before bed, so often times I will make it a game or a race. They love the competition, and I like to get in on the action and try to clean up as fast as I can, too.
• Plan showers according to my ‘sweat schedule.’ I try to wait to shower until I’ve done something to move my body, even if it’s just pushing the kids in the snow or running up and down the stairs with the toddler on my hip. This mental trick usually works pretty well with me. No worries — on my day off, I opt to shower before the kids are up 😉

Despite not hitting the gym, I get into full gear — workout pants, shirt, headband {Goody slide-proof headbands FTW!} and shoes. I’ve found that alone is a great catalyst for showing my kids what is going to happen next in our day. Lucky for me, they are SO supportive. In fact, they even love getting dressed in their gear, too!

Fitness Savings at Meijer

I’ve gotten quite a few pieces of my workout wardrobe from Meijer. As it turns out, the beginning of the year is an amazing time to buy workout gear, diet supplements and more, with sales. I’ve also seen sales on water bottles, weights and more in the fitness aisle. And don’t get me started on the MTA Sport brand hooded sweatshirts…I own 3 of them. They are my absolute favorite sweatshirts for daily wear, and to keep me comfortable during a warm-up.

Make sure to check out mPerks for great coupon bundles tied to better health in the new year. Additionally, be on the lookout for personalized rewards — these are wonderful for saving additional money on fitness gear.

How do you incorporate your kids into your fitness routine? I’d love more ideas!