Experienced Bad Mom

Not Just a Bad Mom, But an Experienced Bad Mom

A Great Winter Workout for Moms

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Step.

Whoosh.

Step.

Whoosh.

The stepping. The whooshing. Over and over. Incessant.

It’s a memory that haunts me.

Was I trudging 7 miles through the snow to school? Working in a factory? At a step aerobics class (do they even have those anymore?)

No.

I was blowing up my son’s battered snow tube with a foot pump.

But it wouldn’t fully inflate. Oh sure, we’d get about 3/4 of the tube filled. Then it stopped. It taunted me while it refused to blow up past some deranged Deflategate state.

Step.

Whoosh.

Step.

Whoosh.

I finally found and patched the itty-bitty holes that were holding back the snow tube. Then I realized something: my quadriceps were aching. It was like I’d worked out.

And as I maneuvered through the rest of that snow day with my kids, doing various activities, I felt like I’d had a great workout. Did you realize so many snow day activities can be considered exercise? Here’s a list that make a great winter workout for moms:

A Great Winter Workout for Moms

 

1. Pumping up snow tubes with a foot pump and then using your hands when your legs grow tired makes for a full body workout.

2. Ripping apart the snow tube box looking for the patches is terrific for your fine motor skills.

3. Corralling your kids into their winter wear constitutes a full body workout for moms of little ones. Those of you with school-age kids who dress themselves can exercise your vocal chords by yelling words of encouragement. For instance, “You can find your glove, not me” and “Don’t hit your sister with your boot.”

4. Taking the kids snow tubing and sitting in your nice warm car watching the kids allows the perfect opportunity to perform Kegels.

5. Okay, okay, get and out and go tubing with the kids. Twenty minutes of trudging up the hill after sledding down it counts as a whole week’s worth of exercise. That’s a well-known mom fact.

6. Strengthen your abs and back by picking up assorted socks, snow pants, mittens, hats, coats, and boots dumped by the door when the children strip down after snow tubing.

7. Use your biceps to break up fighting between children over the last packet of hot cocoa or who gets to hold the remote.

8. Get jumped by children who want you to participate in wrestling match that broke out due to boredom. Fight back. Targets all muscles.

9. Spend several hours in the yoga corpse pose. Very restorative to body and mind.

See? Who knew that what started with pumping up a holey snow tube would lead to a great winter workout for moms.

How do you exercise in the winter?

 

This post was inspired by the Finish the Sentence Friday prompt, “The memory that haunts me is…” Thanks to host Kristi at FindingNinee and cohosts Vidya at VidyaSury and Anna at Fitrunner.

 

Comments

  1. Ah my dear American friend. I have been there too. Only my experience was with a holey water tube. The floaty kind one uses in summer. Pump, pump, pump, whooosssshhhhh. And then the audible hisssss as the air slips out. “When can we go on it Mom?”
    The winter image you created reminds me of those sledding days where we never had the right snow mitts. Ever. Could find one but never the other. So had to wear the woolen ones that got soaked in 5 minutes. 20 minutes to stuff everyone in their snow gear, 15 minutes to schlep to park and then after 10 minutes of sledding “I can’t feel my hands! Can we go home and have hot chocolate?” Excellent.
    Kelly l m kenzie recently posted…The Surprising Truth About AmericaMy Profile

  2. I try to remind myself that household chores and straightening up — which makes me so frustrated at having to spend time that way — is a good workout. Bending over, squatting down. I tell myself I’m burning calories. Hmm.
    jamie@southmainmuse recently posted…Let it Go…memories.My Profile

  3. Oh, the dreaded request to go outside in the snow and play! I think I have to save this and remind myself why it’s good for me to go, too, and not just wave from the window with my cup of hot coffee! Winter is tough for working out, I admit. My arthritis does not like the cold so I tend to just hit the inside treadmill…or lift a cup of coffee!
    Lisa @ the Meaning of Me recently posted…FTSF – The Memory That Haunts MeMy Profile

  5. haha…Katy glad you solved the mystery of what exactly you were doing..lol

    glad it does not snow here, but activities performed in the snow can burn so many calories…(envy ya!)

    TGIF!
    ruchira recently posted…Reversal of roles..My Profile

  6. You know, we were supposed to go tubing this weekend but at one of those “real” places that drags you up on a piece of carpet so you don’t trudge back up the hill alone but it was so so cold and windy that we decided to wait, knowing that we’d be outside for 60 minutes and paid for a full day ticket. Still though, I appreciate the reminder that it burns calories when I do it here!! And thanks so much for linking up with FInish the Sentence Friday!
    Kristi Campbell recently posted…On Past Memories and How They Come to Us as if Preserved in Plastic, Even When They’re Not HauntingMy Profile

  7. I walk the dog in the freezing cold, and then I drag my ass to the gym to sweat in warmth. I don’t have anything to do with any snow play, preparation or otherwise. I will make the kids hot chocolate when they come in (biceps, barely?) and I do stretch my back bending down to throw all the wet stuff in the dryer. But I like your restorative yoga pose the best.
    Dana recently posted…What is the effect of science projects on my delicate psyche?My Profile

  8. It’s the Mommer-cise Moments! Yep, helping your kids play in the snowy outdoors is a great way to exercise. Here’s one way: try getting your kids to help shovel the driveway while you are also shoveling. Lots of aerobic exercise plus you get to try to herd children at the same time (exercising your patience!). Good times! (and a fun post, too!)
    Anna Fitfunner recently posted…PACS1 Awareness Day!!!My Profile

  10. #3 is most definitely a full workout! I have a 3-year-old and 2-year-old. It’s a chore getting them into socks, then snow pants followed by boots, gloves, coat, and finally hat. Of course, once done, the 3 year old will declare that she has to go potty and I get to do the whole routine one more time. Then, we spend 30 minutes outside (after taking 30 minutes to get layered) and come inside to remove everything. Anyhow, loved this post! Very funny!
    Denise G. recently posted…12 Wonderful Romantic MoviesMy Profile

  11. This post made me smile. Finding the humor (and the opportunity to exercise) in all things is an inherent trait of a mother, I’ve come to discover. Winter time is tough for exercising, but my daughter keeps me fairly active. I set up obstacle courses in our den area (blankets and cushions–nothing too complicated; she’s only one after all) and she and I will go through–first me, then us together, then her by herself. It seems to work fine. Tidying up the house with music as a timer also works. I set a goal for myself: “by the time this song ends I’ll be finished with…” and I try to do it. Sometimes my daughter follows me around and tries to “help” and sometimes I carry her with me, which is an added bonus with her weight and all.

    Thanks for sharing this. I needed a smile today, and your post definitely did it.
    Maria recently posted…The One with Hearts and FlowersMy Profile

    • Thank you for your lovely compliment! It’s a great feeling to know my words made you smile.

      I cleaned my house last weekend for 30 minutes straight (sort of a record!) I was surprised by how much calories I probably burned vacuuming and scrubbing my yucky shower. I really felt the energy I was exerting! Have fun with your obstacle courses–fun! 🙂

  13. Yeah no. This mama stays inside with hot coffee and makes hubby do it all. I’m not doing ‘cold outdoor activities’ any more. LOL

    You are kinda like my superhero. I’ll sit here, sip my coffee and cheer you on, girl!! 🙂

    • Aw, thanks. Of course I wrote this a couple years ago. I think last year I sat in my warm car and watched them!

  16. Hahaha! So grateful now that it hasn’t been a very snowy winter…yet. Then again, there is snow in the forecast this weekend. Perhaps I’ll get a full-body workout in after all! Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
    Leslie recently posted…The Happy Now Blog Link Up #45My Profile

  19. So cute! I found out a few years ago just how many calories are burned while sledding and don’t ever sit in the car anymore. I figure when I can no longer walk up the hill it’s time to head home. Of course there’s also the dreaded shoveling and the whole body swoop trying to stay on my feet whenever I find that there’s ice lurking under the snow.

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