Friday, November 18, 2011

Why lifting your toddler does not count as a strength workout

I'm runner, yes we all know that. As a runner I tend to focus more on my lower half. I know, I know, I need to be working my whole body but I'm a mom and have limited workout time so I do what I can to get by. Plus, I'm a mom, I lift, carry, toss and squat my 25lb toddler all day long, my arms must be amazingly buff and in shape, right? So I thought!

This week I went to spend a couple of days in Eugene with my sister. It was intended to be a bit of a break for me to get away from my toddler, away from house work and cooking and just spend some time with my sis and chill. It was perfect and exactly that. Included in these days were two workouts with my sister and her personal trainer (who is a good friend of my sis). It was so freeing to get to workout for as long as the workout lasted and be pushed and challenged and not have the "I better hurry up in case my daughter needs me" voice in the back of my head. These workouts were total body workouts, with intervals and reps and sets and weights and everything in between. It was intense and I thought I might die at one point (actually did almost pass out) but I made it through and am more sore now than I have been in as long as I can remember. These workouts really opened my eyes to how far I need to come and how much harder I need to work. Yesterday I could hardly lift my arms which tells me that carrying my toddler around all day is not quite the strength workout I thought it was. (I also learned that my sister is a powerhouse, sheesh!).

The good news is that my sister and her friend/trainer are in town this weekend and I can join in on any workouts I want! The bad news is that my husband is out of town, my mom is out of town and I am lacking in babysitters. Once again the mommy role comes first (as it should) but hopefully I can squeak in a couple good workouts somehow. Lord knows I need it!


Katie

No comments:

Post a Comment